This is a timeline of Australian history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Australia and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see history of Australia.
Pre-written history
YearDateEventThe ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the last glacial period. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world.[The Story of Australia's People, Volume 1: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia, Penguin Books Australia Ltd., Vic., 2015 The Torres Strait Islander people first settled Torres Strait Islands around 4000 years ago.The Story of Australia's People, Volume 1: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia, Penguin Books Australia Ltd., Vic., 2015 , p.87 Culturally and linguistically distinct from mainland Aboriginal peoples, they were seafarers and obtained their livelihood from seasonal horticulture and the resources of their reefs and seas.In 1944, nine coins were found on Marchinbar Island, the largest island in the Wessel Islands of the Northern Territory of Australia. While four coins were identified as Dutch duits dating from 1690 to the 1780s, five with Arabic inscriptions were identified as being from the Kilwa Sultanate. The coins are now held by the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia. In 2018 another coin, also thought to be from Kilwa, was found on a beach on Elcho Island, another of the Wessel Islands.
16th century Year Date Event 1521 Several writers have argued that Portuguese expeditions visited Australia at this time.McIntyre, K.G. (1977) The Secret Discovery of Australia, Portuguese ventures 200 years before Cook , Menindie Trickett, P (2007). Beyond Capricorn. How Portuguese adventurers discovered and mapped Australia and New Zealand 250 years before Captain Cook. East Street Publications. Adelaide. However, historians generally disagree and the evidence remains contentious.Richardson, W.A.R. (2006). Was Australia charted before 1606? The Jave La Grande inscriptions. Canberra, National Library of Australia, P.96, Pearson, M. Great Southern Land; The Maritime Exploration of Terra Australis. Australian Government Department of Environment and Heritage, 2005. (to 1522)
17th century
Year Date Event 1606 February/March The Dutch East India Company (VOC) ship Duyfken, under Captain Willem Janszoon, explored the western coast of Cape York Peninsula, near what is now Weipa. This was the first recorded landfall by a European on Australian soil. August Spanish seaman Luís Vaz de Torres sailed through the Torres Strait, between Australia and New Guinea, along the latter's southern coast. Torres reported 'shoals', some of which may have been the northernmost atolls of the Great Barrier Reef. 1616 25 October Dutch captain Dirk Hartog in the Eendracht made the second recorded landfall by a European, at Dirk Hartog Island on the western coast of Australia. He left a commemorative plate, the Hartog Plate. 1618 July VOC ship Mauritius under command of Supercargo Willem Janszoon, landed near North West Cape, near the modern town of Exmouth, and named Willem's River, later renamed Ashburton River. 1622 1 May The English ship Tryall sighted Point Cloates on the west coast of Australia. 25 May The Tryall was wrecked on Tryal Rocks, northwest of the Montebello Islands, crew spent seven days ashore before sailing a longboat to Bantam in Java – this was the first recorded shipwreck in Australian waters and first extended stay in Australia by Europeans.; reprinted in the Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, Vol. XX., Part V., pp. 274–276 1623 Dutch captain Jan Carstensz navigated the Gulf of Carpentaria aboard the Pera and Arnhem. The Arnhem crossed the Gulf to reach and name Groote Eylandt. 1623 First white child in Australia was Born. Seebaer van Nieuwelant (born 27 July 1623), son of Willemtgen and Willem Janszoon, was born south of Dirk Hartog Island, in present-day Western Australia. 1629 4 June VOC ship Batavia wrecked on Houtman Abrolhos, off Geraldton. Mutiny ensued and at least 110 men, women and children were murdered. First European structure in Australia – Wiebbe Hayes Stone Fort on West Wallabi Island. 1642 Dutch explorer Abel Tasman explored the west coast of Tasmania, landed on its east coast and named the island Anthoonij van Diemenslandt. 1656 28 April In 1656 the Vergulde Draeck struck a submerged coral reef midway between what are now the coastal towns of Seabird and Ledge Point, Western Australia. On board were 193 crew, eight boxes of silver coins worth 78,600 guilders and trade goods to the value of 106,400 guilders. Of the 193 crew, 118 are believed to have perished. The initial 75 survivors, including the ship's captain Pieter Albertszoon, and the under steersman, made it to shore. They had with them the ship's boat, a schuyt, along with a small amount of provisions and stores washed on shore. A number of rescue attempts was conducted by the Dutch East India Company once the loss was reported. 1681 English navigator John Daniel on the New London charted the west coast of Australia, including Rottnest Island and the Wallabi Group of the Houtman Abrolhos. 1688 English explorer William Dampier explored the west coast of Australia. 1696 Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh charted the southwestern coast of Australia, making a landfall at Rottnest Island and the site of the present-day city of Perth.
18th century