Australian+History

//When?// - John Batman signs a treaty
On 6 June //**(what year?)**//, at Merri Creek, near what is Northcote, Batman signed a treaty for the purchase of 600,000 acres of land form the eight aboriginal chiefs. This area of land included the sites of both Melbourne and Geelong.

1779 - Captain Cook's Death
Captain Cook's third and final voyage (1776-79) was an effort to find a passage across the northern part of America. After he was forced to turn back at the Bering Strait, he reached Hawaii in January of 1779. A dispute at Kealakekua Bay (over a stolen boat) ended with Cook dead, apparently at the hands of the islanders. Considered one of the first navigators of the scientific era, Cook's expeditions made him the most famous naval explorer since Ferdinand Magellan.

1788 - Arrival of First Fleet
A number of European explorers sailed the coast of Australia, then known as New Holland, in the 17th century. However it wasn’t until 1770 that Captain James Cook chartered the east coast and claimed it for Britain. The new outpost was put to use as a penal colony and on 26 January 1788, the First Fleet of 11 ships carrying 1,500 people – half of them convicts – arrived in Sydney Harbour. Until penal transportation ended in 1868, 162,000 men and women came to Australia as convicts.

Between 1788 and 1850 the English sent over 162,000 convicts to Australia in 806 ships. The first eleven of these ships are today known as the First Fleet and contained the convicts and marines that are now acknowledged as the Founders of Australia.

**1835 - Settlement of the Port Phillip District**
Settlement of the Port Phillip District in the Colony of New South Wales.

1835 - John Batman founded Melbourne.
On 8 June, 1835, John Batman rowed up the Yarra River and landed near the site of the Immigration Museum and Melbourne Aquarium. He wrote in his journal: “this will be the place for a village”. He returned to Launceston and began planning a large expedition to establish a settlement on the Yarra River. That settlement became the city of Melbourne.

1838 - The Melbourne Cricket Club
Formation of the Melbourne Cricket Club.

1851 - Gold Rush Commences
The Australian gold rushes started in 1851 when prospector Edward Hammond Hargraves claimed the discovery of payable gold near Bathurst, New South Wales, at a site Edward Hargraves called Ophir. Six months later, gold was found in Victoria at Warrandyte and Ballarat, and a short time later at Bendigo Creek. Gold was later found in all of the other Australian colonies.

By November 1851, alluvial gold had been discovered at Clunes, Anderson's Creek, Buninyong, Ballarat, Mount Alexander and Bendigo, which at the time was known as Sandhurst. The streets of Melbourne were virtually deserted and, by early 1852, ships from all over the world were emptying eager miners on the wharves of Melbourne. By 1854 the colony's population had grown from 80,000 to 300,000.

1852 - MCG is born
The MCG is established in Yarra Park (then Richmond Paddock).

1855 - The First Labor Day
In 1855, the Stonemasons working in Sydney got together and devised a plan. On August 18, they announced that in six-months time, they would only be working an eight-hour day (for the same pay). They believed strongly in an idea at the time that the 24 hours of a day should be split into eight hours labour, eight hours recreation and eight hours rest. That’s why we have a public holiday!

1858 - First Game of Australian Rules Football
Austrlian Rules Football started in 1858 as the VFA. Tom Wills, his cousin Henry Harrison, W.J. Hammersley and J.B. Thompson thought of a game for cricketers to play during the off season to keep fit. The first recorded game was in August 1858. This match was between Scotchdale College and Melbourne Grammar. The first game of football was played next to the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

1858 - Melbourne Football Club formed
The Melbourne Football Club was formed on August 7, 1858 – the year of the code’s first recorded match between Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar School. It ranks as the 10th oldest football club.

1859 – Geelong Football Club formed
The Geelong Football Club was formed in 1859 by //**? **//

**1866 – Australian Rules established**
In 1866 an updated set of rules for Australian Rules football was put in place and a competition started //**(by who?)**//.

1896 - Victorian Football League estabished
The Victorian Football League was established in 1896 and the following year the League’s first games were played among the foundation clubs – Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda and South Melbourne.

1901 - Austrlalia's First Prime Minister
Edmond Barton, the Premier of New South Wales, was chosen as Australia’s first Prime Minister when the states and territories joined together to form Australia.

1903 - Australia's Second Prime Minister
Alfred Deakin is elected as Australia’s second Prime Minister.

1908 - Don Bradman is born
Don Bradman was born in Cootamundra, New South Wales, on 27 August 1908. He grew to become one of the world’s greatest cricketers.

1908 - Richmond and University Football Clubs join the VFL
In 1908, Richmond and University joined the competition. **//Where were they playing before this?// **

1914 - University Football Club leaves the VFL
After the 1914 VFL season, the University Football Club left the League. **//Why? Where did they go?// **

//Date?// - Outbreak of the First World War
For Australia, as for many nations, the First World War remains the most costly conflict in terms of deaths and casualties. From a population of fewer than five million, 416,809 men enlisted, of which over 60,000 were killed and 156,000 wounded, gassed, or taken prisoner.

The break of war was greeted in Australia, as in many other places, with great public enthusiasm. In response to the overwhelming number of volunteers, the authorities set __exacting physical standards__ for recruits **//(what does this mean?)// **. Yet, __most of the men accepted into the army in August 1914 were sent first to Egypt, not Europe, to meet the threat which a new belligerent, the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), posed to British interests in the Middle East and the Suez Canal__ **//(what does this mean?)// **.

1925 - 3 new teams join the VFL
In 1925, Footscray (now the Western Bulldogs), Hawthorn and North Melbourne (now the Kangaroos) joined the VFL. //**Where were they playing before this?**//

1929 - The Great Depression Starts
The Great Depression was a worldwide economic downturn starting in most places in 1929 and ending at different times in the 1930s or early 1940s for different countries. It was the largest and most important economic depression in the 20th century, and is used in the 21st century as an example of how far the world's economy can fall. The Great Depression originated in the United States; historians most often use as a starting date the stock market crash on October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday.

**1932 - The Bodyline Series**
In 1932, England toured Australia. Desperate to stop Don Bradman scoring so easily, they came up with the nastiest tactic cricket had seen. Called 'Bodyline', the English bowlers aimed for the batsman's body. "If I had stood exactly where I was, that ball would have hit me in the chest." Bodyline kept Don Bradman's batting average down, and England won the series.

1942 - Bombing of Darwin
On 19 February 1942, 188 Japanese planes were launched against Darwin, whose harbour was full of Allied ships. It was the largest Japanese attack since Pearl Harbour, 7 December 1941, and followed a military flight on 10 February 1942. On that day there were 27 Allied ships in the harbour and approximately 30 aircraft at the Darwin Civil and RAAF airfields.

**1948 - The First ANZAC Day**
On the 25th of April in 1914 at dawn, Australian and New Zealand troops (called ANZACS) landed at Gallipoli where they were going to fight the Turks for land. As soon as they got off the boat they ran as fast as they could to the bottom of the mountain to take shelter. They then fought to get to the top of the mountain. The Australians lost an amount of 5,000 ANZACS of their men on that first morning.

1948 - Sir Donald Bradman's Last Test
In 1948 Sir Donald Bradman walked out onto The Oval in England with a batting average of 99.94. On the first ball of the test he was bowled out for a golden duck. He only needed to score 4 runs to retire with a batting average of 100. As it stands his batting average is the highest in history with //**?**// in second place with an average of //**?**//.

1949 - Donald Bradman is knighted
After retiring from international cricket, Don Bradman is knighted in recognition of his services to cricket.

//Date? //- Gough Whitlam is Sacked
Gough Whitlam became the first and only Prime Minister in Australia’s history to be sacked. This was done by the<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> //**<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">? ? **//, who is the representative of the Royal Family in Great Britain. They sacked Gough and the <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">//**??**// <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> Party because <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">//**??**//

**1983 - Ash Wednesday**
Ash Wednesday started on the 16th February with one of the major blazes starting at the saw mill in Deans Marsh at 2.50pm. Within twelve hours<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">, more than 180 fires fanned by winds of up to 110km per hour (68 mph) caused widespread destruction across the states of Victoria and South Australia. Years of severe drought and extreme weather combined to create one of Australia’s worst fire days in a century. The fire is now one of the worst Bushfires in Australain history. In Victoria, 47 people died, while in South Australia there were 28 deaths. This included 14 CFA and 3 CFS volunteer fire fighters who died across both states that day.

1987 - Two new clubs join the VFL
Inl 1987 the Victorian Football League expanded to include the West Coast Eagles and the Brisbane Bears. They joined the<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> //**? ?**// as the three teams playing in the VFL from outside of Victoria.

1989 - Cathy Freeman wins her first Gold Medal
Cathy Freeman wins her first gold medal at a school athletics championship when she was only eight years old.

1991 - Adelaide Crows join the AFL
In 1991, the Adelaide Crows joined the Australian Football League. This was the first team in the league from South Australian. They beat<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> //**who?**// in their first ever AFL match.

**1993 - First test, Old Trafford**
Shane Warne's first delivery of the 1993 Ashes series was of the most unexpected balls and also at the same time definitely the best ball ever bowled. This delivery, his first ever in an Ashes Series, fizzed from his fingers, drifted slightly down the leg stump, gripped viciously into the Old Trafford pitch, ripped past Mike Gatting’s bat and exploded right onto the top of the stumps. A stunned Gatting walked of the pitch listening to the commentary of Richie Benaud, "Warne’s started off with a beautiful delivery, Gatting has absolutely no idea what has just happened to it and still doesn’t."

1995 - Fremantle joins the AFL
In 1995 the AFL expanded to 16 teams when the Fremantle Football Club was formed and joined the AFL.

1996 - Fitzroy and Brisbane Football Clubs merge
After the 1996 season, foundation club Fitzroy merged with the Brisbane Bears to form the Brisbane Lions Football Club.The Brisbane Lions were formed on 4 July, 1996, when the AFL approved a merger between the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions. The club was officially launched on 1 November 1996 and joined the national competition in 1997. It was the first union of two clubs in VFL/AFL history - the perfect combination of an emerging force, full of youthful enthusiasm and energy, with a proud foundation club, overloaded with history and tradition.

1996 - John Howard becomes Australia’s 25th Prime Minister.
John Howard wins the Federal Election, replacing //<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">**?** //, to become Australia's 25th Prime Minster. He would hold this position for 11 years, until Kevin Rudd defeated him in 2007.

1997 - Port Adelaide joins the AFL
In 1997 the AFL expanded again when the Port Adelaide Football Club successfully joined the AFL. They were the first existing interstate club to join the AFL from a state competition.

**1999 - Australia decides against a Republic**
In 1999 Australian’s had a referedum on whether we should stay a monarchy or become a republic. And the result showed that 55% voted no to becoming a republic.

2000 - Sydney Olympic Games
Cathy Freeman had the honour of lighting the Olympic flame at the 2000 Olympic Games and won the Womens' 400 metres in a record time of 49.11 seconds. She was the first Aboriginal, first female and first competing athlete to light an Olympic flame.

2005 - Grant Hackett makes history
Grant Hackett wins a gold medal in mens' 1500m freestyle at the World Championships in<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> //**?**//. This made him the only swimmer to have won a world title in one event four times. In total, he ended up winning 10 World Championship gold medals.

2005 - The McGrath Foundation is created
In 2005 the McGrath foundation was unvelied. Glen McGrath designed the foundation because his wife died of breast cancer. Adam Gilchrist wore pink wicket keeping gloves at the Boxing Day Test of 2006 and every time he caught a ball $10,000 was donated to the McGrath Foundation.

2005 - Creation of the A-League
The fully professional A-League domestic competition was created in 2005. It replaced the old National Soccer League. In the first season Sydney FC won the championship. The creation of the A-League allowed for many past and present Australian players to return and play on home soil.

2007 - Kevin Rudd becomes Prime Minister
The Rudd Government commenced on 3 December 2007, when Rudd was sworn in. This took place nine days after the defeat at the 2007 federal election of the Howard Government which had consisted of John Howard and members of the Liberal and National parties.Kevin Rudd then became the 26th <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> Prime Minister of Australia and ended John Howard's run of 11<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> years as leader of the country, the<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> //**?**// longest in history.

2007- National Thong Day
The first National Thong Day was an event staged to draw attention to poverty in Australia (which still exists, despite the economic boom). The organisers chose an icon that symbolises the casual nature of this society. Sadly both John Howard and Kevin Rudd both declined to wearing thongs in public.

2008 - Buddy Franklin creates history
In 2008 during the round 22 game against Carlton at Telstra Dome, Buddy Franklin kicked his 100th goal of the season. After he kicked the 100th goal all of his team mates and a lot of fans came racing around him and Buddy had to go off the field for a while, while all of his fans had to go and sit back in their seats. He came back on the ground with some security guards around him. He became the first aboriginal person in the history of the AFL and the VFL to kick 100 goals in a season.

**2008 - Steve Hooker wins gold!**
Steve Hooker created history at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, becoming the first Australian to win a gold medal in the pole vault and the first Australian field event athlete to win Olympic Gold in 60 years. In dramatic circumstances, Hooker twice cleared clutch jumps on his third attempt in the final, before clinching the gold medal with yet another third attempt clearance at 5.90m. With the gold medal secured he went on to break the Olympic record, with another third and final attempt heart-stopper at 5.96m.

**2008 - Adam Gilchrist breaks a world record**
On the 21st of April, Adam Gilchrist broke a world record of the fastest Twenty-20 century, hitting a century off only 42 balls. This innings included nine sixes and nine fours.

2009 - Black Saturday
This fire was the biggest natural disaster in Australia’s history. But, was it even a natural disaster? Investigators say that it may have been lit by an arsonist. It was started on the 25th of February 2009, killing over 150 people and destroying over 10,000 houses and buildings.

2009 - 17th AFL team announced
In 2009 the AFL announced a 17th team would be joining the competition and they would be from the Gold Coast. Their first match will be played in 2011. Many people across Australia can’t wait for them to begin.