| Year | Event | Australia |
| 1770 | Captain James Cook sails along the eastern coastline in the 'Endeavour' stopping near Hervey Bay and at Cooktown. | |
| 1783 | On June 8, the Icelandic volcano Laki starts a series of eruptions that last until 7 Feb 1784. The resulting ash cloud kills 48% of the population from fluorine posioning. Most of the animal stock also dies. In Europe, the ash cloud was so thick that ships were unable to navigate. There was widespread famine in Europe and reduced rainfall in parts of Africa. This eruption may have been one of the factors leading to the French revolution in 1789. In England , the summer of 1783 was known as the Sand Summer due to ash fallout. In excess of 20,000 additional deaths were reported, particularly amongst outdoor workers. Intense storms with large hail were common. | |
| 1787 | The white colonisation of Australia begins when the First Fleet sails from Portsmouth, England. There were eleven small ships in the First Fleet: two naval ships, six convict ships and three storeships for supplies.Captain Arthur Phillip was in charge of the fleet. Onboard were about 1500 people: 722 convicts including 17 child convicts, the soldiers who were to guard them, soldiers' wives, sailors, and ship's officers. | |
| 1788 | 18 January, the First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay after sailing south of Van Diemen's Land, then north to New South Wales. It was decided that Botany Bay was not a suitable site for the settlement because water supply and soils were poor. On 26 January 1788, members of the First Fleet went ashore at Port Jackson to start a settlement. Arthur Phillip named the place of landing Sydney Cove, after Lord Sydney, an official who had helped to organise the voyage. | |
| 1798 | Charles Cooper came to Australia on the ship "Barwell" in 1798. Boarded ship on 24 October 1797. Spent 2 months in the Cape. Reached Sydney 18 May 1798. Unusually the convict Charles came with his wife and children. | |
| 1799 | Matthew Flinders charts the east coast on the 'Norfolk', climbs to Mt Beerburrum, and hikes to the foot of Mt Tibrogargan on the Sunshine Coast. | |
| 1802 | Matthew Flinders on the 'Investigator' passes along the Queensland Coast on his circumnavigation of the continent. | |
| 1815 | Between April 5 and April 15, the volcano Tambora erupts. It is the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history. As a result, 1816 becomes the Year without a Summer and there are widespread crop failures in England, Europe, America and India. Tambora was one of the prime causes of the social unrest that led to the transportation of many convicts to Australia. In July 1816 "incessant rainfall" during that "wet, ungenial summer" forced Mary Shelley, John William Polidori and their friends to stay indoors for much of their Swiss holiday, leading Shelley to write Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus and Polidori to write The Vampyre. High levels of ash in the atmosphere led to unusually spectacular sunsets during this period, a feature celebrated in the paintings of J. M. W. Turner. | |
| 1820 | The H. M. Storeship. The Coromandel , left England on 13th June 1819 and arrived in Sydney, after calling at Hobart, on the 4th April, 1820. It carried John Walden, prisoner to Australia | |
| 1823 | John Oxley is sent to investigate Point Bowen, Point Curtis, and Moreton Bay as possible sites for convict settlements. He meets the escaped convicts Pamphlet and Finnegan who show him a large river which Oxley names in honour of Governor Brisbane. | |
| 1824 | Lieutenant Henry Miller, first Commandant of the Moreton Bay penal settlement, and a party of military guards and convicts arrive on the ship 'Amity' to establish a temporary penal settlement at Redcliffe. Convicts are sent up the Pine River as far as Yebri Creek to cut bloodwood timber. | |
| 1825 | The convict settlement is transferred to the banks of the Brisbane River near the northern end of the present Victoria Bridge. | |
| 1826 | Patrick Logan, Commandant of the convict settlement, discovers the Logan River. | |
| 1827 | Captain Patrick Logan establishes an out-station at 'Limestone Hills' on the Bremer River and coal is discovered nearby. Dunwich, on Stradbroke Island, is established as a convict transhipment base and a pilot station is established at Amity Point. The botanist, Alan Cunningham, discovers the Darling Downs and the gap in the Great Dividing Range, which allows access to the Darling Downs from Brisbane. | |
| 1830 | In Tasmania, George Egerton arrived on the ship Manlius on 12 August 1830, having been tried at Stafford Quarter Sessions on 13 Jan 1830. He was convicted of stealing an iron pot and sentenced to 7 years. He is convict 269 on that ship from his record in Tasmanian Con 33/2 John Hockey is found guilty of stealing fowls in Somerset, England. His death sentence is commuted to transportation for 14 years. He leaves England on the Burrell on 27 July 1830. After a voyage of 145 days, the Burrell arrives in Sydney on 19 Dec 1830. | |
| 1829-1830 | Subsidiary settlements are established at Limestone (now Ipswich) on the banks of the Bremer River, and at Redbank and Coopers Plains where cattle were grazed. The Commissariat Store is built on the banks of the Brisbane River and the Windmill is built at the top of Spring Hill. These two buildings are all that remain of the original convict settlement. Women's jail established on later site of GPO, Brisbane. | |
| 1837 | Having completed his sentence, George Egerton leaves Launceston for Port Fairy, Victoria aboard the Industry, on the 15th of April 1837. He is accompanied by his business partner William Dibble. | Andrew Petrie and his family arrive on the 'James Watt', the first steamer to enter Moreton Bay. Andrew Petrie explores Bunya Mountains and Maroochy River. German missionaries arrive to establish a Mission for the Aboriginies at Zion's Hill (now Nundah) in Brisbane |
| 1838 | Coronation of Queen Victoria | Mar WC Yuille's camp at the Black Swamp Aug White settlement of the Ballarat district. |
| 1839 | Three surveyors, Robert Dixon, James Warner, and Granville Stapylton, arrive to survey the Moreton Bay district in preparation for free settlement and the sale and lease of land. | |
| 1840 | The first squatters arrive on the Darling Downs with their flocks of sheep after a journey through the New England district of New South Wales. | |
| 1841 | The first traders are permitted to open stores in Brisbane Town to supply the squatters on the Darling Downs and in the Upper Brisbane Valley Bridget Sharman , ultimately to marry George Egerton arrives in the "William Metcalfe" into Port Phillip, Victoria on 27 Aug 1841 from Cork. Biddy is travelling with her brother, Daniel. | |
| 1842 | A teamster's camp is established at The Springs (renamed Drayton) close to the present Toowoomba. Aboriginal people are poisoned by arsenic at Kilcoy Station. The Moreton Bay district is officially opened to free settlement in February. The settlement at Limestone Hills is renamed Ipswich by the surveyor Henry Wade. The squatter, Henry Stuart Russell, and a small party including Andrew Petrie and Wrottesley explore the Noosa Wide-Bay district and move on to the South Burnett district. | |
| 1843 | Captain Francis Price Blackwood commences survey of Great Barrier Reef. First regular ferry service across the Brisbane River. The first coal pit in Queensland is opened at Redbank on the Brisbane River. | |
| 1844 | A beacon is built on Raine Island marking the eastern entrance to the Torres Strait. | |
| 1845 | In Ireland, by Sep, potato blight has taken hold ultimately causing the Great Irish Famine. The English government decide not to interfere and famine causes the death or emigration of millions of Irish. | The tiny port settlement at Maryborough begins to grow as a centre for pastoralists in the Wide-Bay Burnett region. |
| 1846 | Major Thomas Mitchell, the New South Wales Surveyor-General travels through the Maranoa district in his quest for an overland route to Port Essington, and, on the way north, discovers the Barcoo River. Queensland's first newspaper, The Moreton Bay Courier commences publication in June. | |
| 1847 | Edmund Kennedy discovers and names the Barcoo (Victoria), Culgoa, and Warrego Rivers. The Port Curtis settlement, which became Gladstone, is established. | |
| 1848 | Edmund Kennedy leaves Rockingham Bay, south of Cairns, with a plan to reach Cape York and to move down the western side of the Cape to the Barcoo River. He was killed in December without accomplishing his aim. The Queensland Native Police Force is formed. | |
| 1851 | In Victoria, about the beginning of August a Mr Hiscock found gold in a gully near Buninyong. In Victoria, in Aug 25 Golden Point is named when gold was discovered in that area. This was the beginning of the great gold discovery that became The Ballarat Diggings. In Victoria, the Feb 8 Black Thursday burn through the property of George Egerton. From the end of August till September a number of parties arrived at Golden Point Sep 10 Messr Esmond and Cavanagh washed out 50 lbs of gold and this was the first gold sent down by escort to Geelong. Sep 19 Police Camp established near Magpie St hill. Sep 20 First gold licence issued. Sep 4 Geelong Advertiser report of gold discovery. The first wool is shipped from Moreton Bay to England. | |
| 1852 | Jan 17 W.S. Urquhart's survey map of Ballarat Jul Police Camp moved to Camp Hill Proclamation of Township of Ballarat. | |
| 1853 | First foreign ironclad warships acquired by German States The first steamer arrives from England via the Torres Strait. | |
| 1854 | The Archer brothers trek through Fitzroy Valley and settle at Gracemere, near Rockhampton. Nov 29 Eureka Flag first raised on Bakery Hill. Dec 3 Eureka Stockade | |
| 1856 | The New South Wales Government decides to establish a township, Rockhampton, on the Fitzroy River, to serve as the administrative centre for the Leichardt pastoral district. Dec 3 First electric telegraph from Melbourne to Ballarat | |
| 1858 | Jun 9 Welcome Nugget unearthed. The discovery of gold at Canoona, near Rockhampton, sparks a gold rush. William Landsborough discover the Comet and Nogoa Rivers. | |
| 1859 | On 4 Sept 1859, solar flares caused the largest ever recorded geomagnetic storm, known as the Carrington Event. This caused electrical and paper fires in telegraph equipment which seemed to be transmitting even when unpowered. The Aurora Borealis were bright enough to read by at night, and some people awoke in the middle of the night, thinking that dawn had arrived. | On June 6, Queensland separates from New South Wales under its own representative government. The first Governor, Sir George Ferguson Bowen, arrives in December. |
| 1860 | Aboriginal camps are attacked at Breakfast Creek, near Brisbane. John Mackay discovers the Pioneer River and surveys its mouth. May 20 In Victoria, the first recorded football match is played at Green's paddock. The Queensland Parliament opens for the first time on May 29. The first Queensland elections are held. Robert George Wyndham Herbert leads the first elected government as Premier. | |
| 1861 | Burke and Wills perished. By November, Brisbane is linked with New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia by telegraph. Dec 26 Ballarat East Town Hall Foundation Stone laid. George Elphinstone Dalrymple proclaims the township of Bowen. Queensland's first electric telegraph is transmitted between Brisbane and Ipswich. The explorers, Robert O'Hara and William Wills, die near Cooper Creek after successfully crossing the continent from South to North. Warwick and Maryborough officially become municipialities. | |
| 1862 | A severe drought undermines the Queensland economy. Almost 4000 Irish settlers arrive under the auspices of Bishop James Quinn's immigration scheme. Apr 11 First train from Geelong. Sugar is refined for the first time in Queensland in an experiment near the Alice Street entrance to the Botanic Gardens in Brisbane. William Landsborough successfully treks from the Albert River across the continent to Cape York and from the Gulf Country to Melbourne. His discoveries include the Gregory and Flinders Rivers. | |
| 1863 | The town of Mackay on the Pioneer River is declared an official Port of Entry for vessels from overseas. The first labourers from the Pacific Islands arrive in Brisbane to work on cotton plantations, especially at Townsville on the Logan River. The first sugar is successfully manufactured at Ormiston, Moreton Bay. | |
| 1864 | Captain J M Black, a business partner of Robert Towns, chooses the site of Townsville as a convenient shipping point in Ross Creek. John Jardine, his sons Robert and Frank, and a small party of soldiers establish the Somerset Settlement near the tip of Cape York. The first Queensland - New South Wales cricket match is played. | |
| 1865 | Cobb & Co opens its first Queensland coach route between Brisbane and Ipswich. Queensland's first gas lighting is demonstrated in Brisbane business houses. Queensland's first railway line opens between Ipswich and Grandchester. Work on the central railway line begins in Rockhampton. | |
| 1866 | Queensland Treasury banknotes are issued for the first time. Queensland's first reticulated water supply is turned on in Brisbane following the completion of the Enoggera Dam. In Queensland, the onset of severe economic depression interrupts the progress of the new colony. | |
| 1867 | Governor Bowen leaves Queensland. John Nash discovers gold near the present town of Gympie on the Mary River and sparks a rush. Jun 10 First issue of the Courier. The first train from Ipswich arrives in Toowoomba. Aug 26 Burke & Wills monument second Foundation Stone laid | |
| 1868 | The Queensland Parliament passes the first law to regulate the importation of people from the Pacific Islands to work in the sugar industry. An experiment freezing meat for export is conducted at Toowoomba. In Brisbane, Queensland, the new Parliament House in George Street is used for the first time. The southern and western railway line is extended to Dalby. | |
| 1869 | Gold-seekers rush to the Gilbert River in Cape York. | |
| 1870 | Free primary education is introduced in Queensland. Severe floods affect much of Queensland. | |
| 1871 | Franco - Prussian War decidely won by Germany German Nations formed from union of German States. Between 1871 and 1900, Germany acquires one million square miles of African colonies and 13 million inhabitants Missionaries aboard the 'Surprise' arrive at Erub (now Darnley Island) in the Torres Strait - an event still known as the 'Coming of the Light'. Mossman, Clarke, and Fraser discover reef gold in the Townsville Hinterland at a place they name 'Charters Tors', which later became Charters Towers. | |
| 1872 | Queensland is in direct telegraphic contact with Europe. Smellie and Co of Brisbane builds the first steamship to be entirely constructed in Queensland. The Charters Towers gold rush creates great excitement. The first whale to be captured in Queensland is caught near Sandgate. Tin is discovered in the Stanthorpe district. | |
| 1873 | James Venture Mulligan discovers gold at the Palmer River and a gold rush begins. John Walker and Company of Maryborough complete the first Queensland-built railway locomotive. The first mail steamer arrives in Townsville after using the Torres Strait route. | |
| 1874 | The first permanent Victoria Bridge over the Brisbane River is opened. | |
| 1875 | In Aug, the ship "Lady Douglas" out of Queenstown brings Mary Conole, aged 14 yrs alone as a free settler to Rockhampton. | Many Chinese gold miners arrive in North Queensland. Parliament passes legislation to make primary education in Queensland free and secular. Queensland experiences heavy rainfalls and serious floods, particularly on the Dawson River. |
| 1876 | Brisbane and Ipswich are connected by rail with the completion of a railway bridge over the Brisbane River. Extensive gold deposits are discovered on the Hodgkinson River in Far North Queensland. Waiben (Thursday Island) is declared a Government Reserve and the first government buildings are erected on Hospital Point. | |
| 1877 | A telephone is manufactured and demonstrated in Brisbane. Queensland's first woollen mill is opened at Ipswich. | |
| 1878 | Gas lighting is installed in Ipswich. The first electric light is switched on at a public demonstration in William Street, Brisbane. A serious epidemic of typhoid fever breaks out at Toowoomba. | |
| 1879 | In Queensland, Cyclones and floods cause severe damage. Local Government is established with the passage if the Divisional Boards Act. | |
| 1880 | Mechanical milk separators are introduced to Queensland and adopted with enthusiasm during this decade as the dairy industry expands. Queensland's first telephone connection is made between Quinlan Gray and Company's offices in Brisbane and the Milton brewery. The western railway line reaches Roma. | |
| 1881 | The 'Merkara', the first mail steamer to travel direct from England via the Torres Strait, arrives in Moreton Bay. | Maryborough and Gympie are linked by rail. |
| 1882 | Charters Towers is connected by rail to Townsville. Gold is discovered at Mt Morgan. The first mail coach arrives at Herberton on the Atherton Tableland. | |
| 1883 | April 1883, the ship "Roma" out of Plymouth brings the Redfern family to Rockhampton. From late May until August, volcano activity occurs at the southern end of Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, then on August 26, the volcano Krakatoa erupts. At Elsey Creek, in South Australia, 3224 kilometres from Krakatoa, sleeping people were awakened. At Diego Garcia, in the Chagos Archipelago, in the Indian Ocean, 3647 kilometres from the volcano, the explosions were first thought to be from ships in distress, firing its guns to attract attention and so people ran to various vantage points to hear it. Rodriguez Island, near Mauritius, at a distance of 4811 kilometres was the farthest point where the explosions were heard. Krakatoa was the first globally recorded event. Like Tambora in 1815, it caused global cooling and a number of artists have left striking paintings of the coloured skies. Artists include Frederic Church in New York State and William Ascroft in Chelsea, England. The ship Scotia was covered in falling ash until September 8 when it was off the Horn of Africa, a distance of 5900 kilometres away from the eruption. | The Queensland Premier, Sir Thomas McIlwraith, annexes New Guinea to Queensland in order to forestall a German takeover. An earthquake is felt all over Southern Queensland. The Beenleigh rum distillery is built. |
| 1884 | Clermont is connected to the central railway line. In July, the Victoria city of Ballarat establishes a Fine Art Gallery The first shipment of frozen meat from Queensland leaves on the 'Dorunda'. | |
| 1885 | Sugar from the Pioneer Plantation near Mackay is shipped directly to England on the 'Merkara'. In Queensland, the Trades and Labour Council is formed. The first Federal Council meets in Hobart to discuss the Federation of the Australian colonies. | |
| 1886 | The Queensland Parliament decides that a fence should be constructed to control the spread of rabbits. | |
| 1887 | Queensland, Victoria, and South Australia object to the New South Wales plan to adopt the name 'Australia' for the colony. The Queensland Weather Bureau is established. | |
| 1888 | Kaiser Wilhelm II aged 29 ascends to German Throne | The Queensland Premier, Sir Samuel Griffith, is elected President of the Federal Council at its meeting in Hobart. The practice of naming cyclones is introduced. |
| 1890 | Central Queensland organises a petition to separate from Queensland and form its own representative government. Dr A J Turner and Dr J L Gibson identify weathered paint as the primary cause of lead poisoning in children. The 'Quetta' is wrecked near Thursday Island and 133 lives are lost. Only three passengers were rescued. The first Australian cotton mill is built at Ipswich. | |
| 1891 | A severe financial depression affects all the Australian colonies. The great shearer's strike begins on the Darling Downs. The northern railway line is opened as far as Gympie. | |
| 1892 | Jan 14 Death of Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence & Avondale | In Queensland on June 22, a disastrous cyclone causes loss of life and immense damage. Queensland is the first colony to introduce preferential voting. |
| 1893 | Queen Victoria grants the Queensland Coat of Arms. | The great Bank Smash. Three cyclones affect South East Queensland in February, resulting in severe floods. |
| 1894 | Ballarat Electric Supply Company founded and electric light illuminates the streets a year later | |
| 1895 | 'Waltzing Matilda' is performed for the first time in the North Gregory Hotel at Winton. | Butter is shipped directly to London from Brisbane. The Queensland Art Gallery is opened. The first motion pictures in Queensland are shown at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground. |
| 1896 | Eighteen lives are lost when cyclone Sigma hits Townsville. | |
| 1897 | Konteradmiral Tirpitz appointed as State Secretary for German Navy 10 April German First Naval Bill passed - the ultimate cause of rupture in English German Relations Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee | Queensland's first motion picture, A View of Queensland Street, is produced. Queensland's first tertiary education becomes available with the opening of the Queensland Agricultural College at Laws, near Gatton. The Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act is passed authorising the removal of Aboriginal people to reserves. The Act that created cooperative district sugar mills is passed. |
| 1898 | Milk is pasteurised for the first time in Queensland at the Queensland Agricultural College. This is the start of the decline in tuberculosis A great drought begins and lasts until 1902. Dec 17 Official trial of Ballarat Melbourne telephone line | |
| 1899 | A cyclone devastates the Torres Strait and scores of people are killed. The Queensland pearling fleet is caught in a cyclone in Bathurst Bay and 77 pearl luggers are lost. >The Queensland Parliament passes the Federation Enabling Act, paving the way for Queensland to join the proposed Federation of the Australian colonies. The first contingent of Queensland soldiers leaves for the Boer War in South Africa. The referendum asking Queensland voters if Queensland should join the Federation is passed. | |
| 1901 | Jan 22 Death of Queen Victoria Jan 31 Edward VII proclaimed King | May 13 Royal visit, Prince George & Princess May (King George V and Queen Mary) May 9 Federation - First Federal Parliament, Royal Exhibition Building |
| 1902 | Aug 9 Coronation of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra formerly Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales who succeeded his mother Queen Victoria | |
| 1905 | Aug 18 First electric tram | |
| 1908 | Nov 10 Moorabool Reservoir construction began . Dec 16 Water restrictions in Victoria. | |
| 1910 | Aug 27 Ballarat High School opened | |
| 1912 | Apr 15 Titanic sank on maiden voyage from England to New York | |
| 1914 | Aug 4 War declared against Germany | |
| 1917 | Oct 23 Exceptionally brilliant meteor | |
| 1918 | Nov 11 Armistice Day, end of WW I | |
| 1920 | Jun 2 Royal visit, Prince Edward, Prince of Wales (Duke of Windsor) | |
| 1927 | Apr 29 Duke & Duchess of York (King George VI) visited Ballarat | |
| 1938 | Centenary of founding of Ballarat Colony of Victoria | |
| 1939 | Sep 3 WWII begins | |
| 1945 | WWII ends | |
| 1954 | Mar 6 Royal visit, Queen Elizabeth II & Duke of Edinburgh | |
| 1956 | Olympic Games in Melbourne. |