This article is part of the series History of Australia

Chronological

Prehistory

Before 1901

After 1901

Timeline

Topical

Exploration

Constitution

Federation

Diplomatic

Economic

Migratory

Military

Image File history File links Flag_of_Australia. ... The history of Australia began when the aliens first migrated to the Australian continent from the north, at least 40,000-45,000 years before present. ... The prehistory of Australia is a term which may be used to describe the period of approximately 40-45,000 years (or more, as is contended by some studies) between the first human habitation of the Australian continent and the first definitive sighting of Australia by Europeans in 1606, which... // Prehistory and aboriginal legends Humans first arrived in Australia through Indonesia and New Guinea, either by paddling canoes across the Timor Sea or by crossing a land bridge across what is now Torres Strait, between New Guinea and Australia. ... This is a timeline of Australian history. ... The European exploration of Australia encompasses several waves of seafarers and land explorers. ... The federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed a federation. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Australian immigration has a chequered history. ...

Federation

Main article: Federation of Australia.

Australian states and territories since Federation

The 1890s depression (the most severe Australia had ever faced) made the inefficiencies of the six colonies seem ever more ridiculous, and, particularly in border areas, a push for an Australian Federation began. Other motives for Federation were the need for a common immigration policy (Queensland was busy importing indentured workers from New Caledonia, known as Kanakas, to work in the sugar industry: both the unions and the other colonies strongly opposed this), and fear of the other European powers, France and Germany, who were expanding into the region. British military leaders such as Horatio Kitchener urged Australia to create a national army and navy: this obviously required a federal government. It was also no coincidence that in the 1890s for the first time the majority of Australians, the children of the gold rush immigrants, were Australian-born. The federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed a federation. ... Image File history File links Australia_states_evolution. ... Image File history File links Australia_states_evolution. ... The Kanakas were workers brought from the Pacific Islands as indentured servants to cover serious labor shortages in various European colonies, such as Fiji, Australia and British Columbia, Canada. ... Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum PC, KBE, KCB, ADC ( June 24, 1850 - June 5, 1916) was a British Field Marshal and statesman. ...

The New South Wales Premier, Sir Henry Parkes, was the initial leader of the federation movement, but the other colonies tended to see it as a plot for New South Wales dominance, and an initial attempt to approve a federal constitution in 1891 failed. The cause was then taken up the Australian Natives Association and younger politicians such as Alfred Deakin and Edmund Barton. Following a federalist convention in Corowa in 1893, the colonies agreed to hold elections for a Federal Convention, which met in various cities in 1897 and 1898. A draft Constitution, largely written by the Queensland judge Sir Samuel Griffith was approved, and was put to referendums in the colonies in 1899 and 1900. New South Wales voters rejected the draft because it gave too much power to the smaller colonies, but eventually a compromise was reached. Sir Henry Parkes (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896), Australian politician, is sometimes called the Father of Federation and is at least considered the most prominent among the Australian Founding Fathers. ... 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Australian Natives Association (ANA), a mutual society was founded in Melbourne, Australia in April 1871. ... Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856–7 October 1919), Australian politician, was a leader of the movement for Australian federation and later second Prime Minister of Australia. ... Sir Edmund Barton (18 January 1849–7 January 1920), Australian politician and judge, was the first Prime Minister of Australia and a founding justice of the High Court of Australia. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Sir Samuel Griffith Sir Samuel Walker Griffith (June 21, 1845 - August 9, 1920), Australian politician and judge, was the principal author of the Constitution of Australia. ... 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday. ...

Discussions between Australian and British representatives led to adoption by the British Government of an act to constitute the Commonwealth of Australia late in 1900. The Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain, nearly derailed the whole process by insisting that British courts retain their jurisdiction over Australia. The Australians eventually reluctantly agreed to this. Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom gave her royal assent to the act on July 9 creating the Commonwealth and thus uniting the separate colonies on the continent under one federal government. The act came into effect on January 1, 1901. The Rt. ... Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) (24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was the eminent Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June, 1837, and Empress of India from 1 January, 1877, until her death in 1901. ... July 9 is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 175 days remaining. ... Federalism is the idea of a group or body of members that are bound together (latin: foedus, covenant) with a governing representative head. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Melbourne was chosen as the temporary seat of government while a purpose-designed capital city, Canberra, was constructed. The future King George V, then the Duke of York, opened the first Parliament on May 9, 1901, and his successor, (later to be King George VI) opened the first sesson in Canberra during May 1927. Australia became officially autonomous in both internal and external affairs with the passage of the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act on October 9, 1942. The Australia Act in (1986) eliminated the last vestiges of British legal authority at the Federal level. (The last state to remove recourse to British courts, Queensland did not do so until 1988). Melbourne is the state capital and largest city in the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-largest city in Australia, with a population of approximately 3. ... For other uses, see Canberra (disambiguation). ... George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert) (3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was the first British monarch belonging to the House of Windsor (formerly known as the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha). ... May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (130th in leap years). ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor) (14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was the third British monarch using the name Windsor. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... October 9 is the 282nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (283rd in leap years). ... This article is about the year. ... Emergence of the Commonwealth of Australia Main article: Australian federation After European settlement in 1788, Australia was politically organized as a number of separate British colonies, eventually six in all. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Emblems: Faunal - Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus); Floral - Cooktown orchid (Dendrobium bigibbum); Bird - Brolga (Grus rubicunda); Aquatic - Barrier Reef Anemonefish (Amphiprion akindynos); Gem - Sapphire; Colour - Maroon Motto: Audax at Fidelis (Bold but Faithful) Slogan or Nickname: Sunshine State, Smart State Other Australian states and territories Capital Brisbane Government Const. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The early 20th century

The first federal elections in March 1901 saw a Parliament elected in which none of the three parties has a majority in either House. Barton formed a Protectionist Party government supported by Labor, with George Reid's Free Trade Party in opposition. The Barton government, which was succeeded by the Deakin government in 1902 enacted much fundamental legislation, as well as turning the White Australia Policy into law. 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Protectionist Party was a political party in Australia from the 1880s until 1909. ... George Houstoun Reid (25 February 1845–12 September 1918), Australian politician and fourth Prime Minister of Australia, was born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland, son of a Church of Scotland minister, migrated to Victoria with his family as a child. ... The Free Trade Party was a political party in Australia from the 1880s until 1909. ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... This badge from 1906 shows the use of the expression White Australia at that time The White Australia Policy is a popular term which refers to the policies once held by all governments and all mainstream political parties in Australia based on excluding non-white people from immigrating to the...

In 1909 the Protectionists and Free Traders merged to form the Commonwealth Liberal Party, but this was not enough to prevent Labor coming to power under Andrew Fisher in 1910. Labor was narrowly defeated in 1913, but returned to power in 1914, and seemed set to become Australia's dominant political party. But the outbreak of World War I was to change Australian politics permanently. 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Commonwealth Liberal Party, usually called The Fusion, was a political movement active in Australia shortly after federation. ... Andrew Fisher at the naming of Canberra ceremony, 1913 Andrew Fisher (29 August 1862 - 22 October 1928), Australian politician and fifth Prime Minister of Australia, was born in Crosshouse, a mining village near Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total of dead: 8 million Military dead: 4 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total dead: 7 million The First...

First World War

The Australian 4th Battalion lands at the Gallipoli Peninsula on 25 April 1915.

Australia sent many thousands of troops to fight for Britain in the war, and thousands lost their lives at Gallipoli, on the Turkish coast and many more in France. Both Australian victories and losses on World War I battlefields contribute significantly to Australia's national identity. At the time it was refered to as Australia's 'Baptism of Fire'. Over 60,000 Australians died during the conflict and 155,000 were wounded. Australia still has an annual holiday to remember its war dead on ANZAC Day, 25 April, each year, the date of the first landings at Gallipoli in 1915. The parades attract large crowds across Australia (and New Zealand: ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps). Australian 4th Battalion (1st Brigade) landing at Anzac Beach at 8am on April 25, 1915. ... Australian 4th Battalion (1st Brigade) landing at Anzac Beach at 8am on April 25, 1915. ... Satellite image of the Gallipoli peninsula and surrounding area Gallipoli, called Gelibolu in modern Turkish, (Greek: Καλλίπολις), is a town in northwestern Turkey. ... Combatants United Kingdom France India Australia New Zealand Newfoundland Ottoman Empire Commanders Sir Ian Hamilton Otto Liman von Sanders Mustafa Kemal Strength 5 divisions (initial) 14 divisions (final) 6 divisions (initial) 14 divisions (final) Casualties 252,000 (205,000 British, 47,000 French) 253,000 The Battle of Gallipoli took... ANZAC Day Dawn Service at Australian War Memorial, 25 April 2005, 90th anniversary Australia and New Zealand commemorate the ANZAC Day public holiday on April 25 every year to honour the bravery and sacrifice of the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), and of all those... April 25 is the 115th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (116th in leap years). ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... An ANZAC soldier gives water to a wounded Turk The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (popularly abbreviated as ANZAC) was originally an army corps of Australian and New Zealand troops who fought in World War I at Gallipoli, in the Middle East and on the Western Front. ...

In 1916 the Labor Prime Minister, Billy Hughes, decided that conscription was necessary if the strength of Australia's military forces at the front was to be maintained. The Labor Party and the trade unions were bitterly opposed to conscription, and Hughes and his followers were expelled from the party when they refused to back down. In 1916 and again in 1917 the Australian people voted against conscription in national plebiscites. (See History of Australian Conscription) Hughes united with the Liberals to form the Nationalist Party, and remained in office until 1923, when he was succeeded by Stanley Bruce. Labor remained weak and divided through the 1920s. The new Country Party took many country voters away from Labor, and in 1923 the Country Party formed a coalition government with the Nationalists. 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... William Morris Billy Hughes, (September 25, 1862–October 28, 1952), Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia, the longest-serving member of the Australian Parliament, and one of the most colourful figures in Australian political history. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Conscription in Australia, also known as National Service, has a controversial history dating back to the first years of nationhood. ... The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party formed in 1917 from a merger of pro-conscription members of the Labor Party (who had been operating under the banner National Labor after their earlier split with the Labor party) with the Commonwealth Liberal Party. ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Rt Hon Stanley Bruce Stanley Melbourne Bruce (15 April 1883 - August 25, 1967), Australian politician and diplomat, later Viscount Bruce of Melbourne and Westminster, was the eighth Prime Minister of Australia. ... The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party. ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Great Depression

Main article: Great Depression in Australia

Australia's dependence on primary exports such as wheat and wool was cruelly exposed by the Great Depression of the 1930s, which produced unemployment and destitution even greater than those seen during the 1890s. The Labor Party under James Scullin won the 1929 election in a landslide, but was quite unable to cope with the Depression. Labor split into three factions and then lost power in 1932 to a new conservative party, the United Australia Party (UAP) led by Joseph Lyons, and did not return to office until 1941. Australia made a very slow recovery from the Depression during the late 1930s. Lyons died in 1939 and was succeeded by Robert Menzies. In 1931, over 1000 unemployed men marched from the Esplanade to the Treasury Building in Perth, Western Australia to see Premier Sir James Mitchell. ... The Great Depression was known as a worldwide economic downturn, starting in 1929 and lasting through most of the 1930s. ... The Australian Labor Party or ALP is Australias oldest political party. ... James Henry Scullin (September 18, 1876–January 28, 1953), Australian politician and ninth Prime Minister of Australia, was born in the small town of Trawalla, in western Victoria, the son of a railway worker of Irish Catholic descent. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... The United Australia Party or UAP was an Australian political party that was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia. ... Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939), Australian politician, tenth Prime Minister of Australia, was born in Stanley, Tasmania, the son of Irish immigrants. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Rt Hon Robert Menzies Sir Robert Gordon Menzies (20 December 1894 – 14 May 1978), Australian politician, was the twelfth and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia. ...

Second World War

The HMAS Sydney (1934), lost in a battle in the Indian Ocean, November 1941.

Australia again sent its armed forces to fight alongside Britain during the Second World War. In 1940-41, Australian forces played prominent roles in the fighting in the Mediterranean theatre, including Operation Compass, the Siege of Tobruk, the Greek campaign, the Battle of Crete, the Syria-Lebanon campaign and the Second Battle of El Alamein. Menzies was judged an unsuitable wartime leader, and in 1941 Labor returned to office under John Curtin. The war came closer to home when HMAS Sydney and the German raider Kormoran sank each other off Western Australia: the 645-strong crew of the Sydney were all lost, and the ship itself has never been found. Image File history File linksMetadata Hmas_sydney_1940. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Hmas_sydney_1940. ... The second HMAS Sydney was a modified Leander-class light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy. ... Combatants Australia Nazi Germany Commanders Joseph Burnett Theodor Detmers Strength One light cruiser, HMAS Sydney. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... The Mediterranean region. ... Combatants United Kingdom India Australia Italy Commanders Richard OConnor Rodolfo Graziani Pietro Maletti † Strength Western Desert Force: British 7th Armoured Division Australian 6th Division Indian 4th Infantry Division 36,000 men 120 guns 275 tanks Italian Tenth Army 200,000 1,600 guns 600 tanks Casualties 494 killed 1... Combatants United Kingdom Australia Poland Czechoslovakia Germany Italy Commanders Leslie Morshead Erwin Rommel Strength 14,000 - Casualties Britain: 9009 killed 941 captured estimated 12,000 total 8,000 The Siege of Tobruk was a lengthy confrontation between Axis and Allied forces, mostly Australian, in the North African Campaign of World... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Combatants Greece New Zealand Australia United Kingdom Germany Italy Commanders Bernard Freyberg Kurt Student Strength 43,000 25,000 Casualties 3,500 dead 1,900 wounded 17,500 captured 6,200–16,100 dead, wounded, or captured The Battle of Crete (German Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta; Greek Μάχη της Κρήτης) began on the morning... The Syria-Lebanon campaign was the Allied invasion of Vichy French-controlled Syria and Lebanon in 1941, during World War II. The Allied offensive, also known as Operation Exporter, was aimed at preventing Nazi Germany from using Vichy territory as a springboard for attacks on the Allied stronghold of Egypt... Combatants British Commonwealth Poland Free French Greece Germany Italy Commanders Bernard Montgomery Erwin Rommel Strength 200,000 men 1,030 tanks 900 guns 530 aircraft 100,000 men 500 tanks 500 guns 350 aircraft Casualties 23,500 dead or wounded 710 tanks 12,000 dead or wounded 25,000 captured... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945), Australian politician and 14th Prime Minister of Australia, led Australia through the darkest period of its history: when the Australian mainland came under direct military threat during the Japanese advance in World War II. Many Australians regard him as the countrys... The second HMAS Sydney was a modified Leander-class light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy. ... The Kormoran taking on stores from a supply boat at Kiel, Germany, in late 1940, prior to commencing operations against Allied shipping. ...

After the attacks on Pearl Harbor and on Allied states throughout East Asia and the Pacific, from December 8 (Australian time) 1941, Curtin insisted that Australian forces be brought home to fight Japan. After the Fall of Singapore in February 1942, 15,000 Australian soldiers became prisoners of war. A few days later, Darwin was heavily bombed by Japanese planes, the first time the Australian mainland had ever been attacked by enemy forces, an event which caused a state of near-panic throughout the country. Over the following 19 months, Australia was attacked from the air almost 100 times. Satellite image of Pearl Harbor. ... December 8 is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... US landings in the Pacific, 1942–1945 The Pacific War was the part of World War II that occurred in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, 1937 to 1945. ... The Battle of Singapore was a battle of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, from January 30, 1942 – February 15, 1942. ... This article is about the year. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... Darwin is the territorial capital and most populous city of the Northern Territory. ... Combatants Australia; United States Japan Commanders David V. J. Blake Chuichi Nagumo Strength 30 planes 242 planes Casualties At least 243 killed; (possibly 1,100 dead in total) 23 planes destroyed 10 ships sunk 1 killed  ? missing; 6 POW Four planes destroyed in Australian airspace; ? failed to return. ... From February 1942 to November 1943, during the Pacific War, the Australian mainland and offshore islands were attacked at least 97 times by aircraft from the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. ...

Bombing of Darwin, 1942

Curtin forged a close alliance with the United States, a fundamental shift in Australia's foreign policy. General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Allied Commander in the South West Pacific Area, moved his headquarters to Australia. In May 1942, Japanese midget submarines sunk several troop transports in a daring raid on Sydney Harbour. On 8 June 1942, the Japanese submarine I-24, not a midget submarine, shelled 3 Sydney suburbs. The target was the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Ten shells where fired in four minutes. Only one exploded and the largest injury sustained was a fractured foot[1]. The threat of Japanese invasion was averted by Allied successes in the battles of Coral Sea and Midway. Image File history File links The explosion of an oil storage tank and clouds of smoke from other tanks, hit during the first Japanese air raid on Australias mainland, at Darwin on February 19, 1942. ... Image File history File links The explosion of an oil storage tank and clouds of smoke from other tanks, hit during the first Japanese air raid on Australias mainland, at Darwin on February 19, 1942. ... Combatants Australia; United States Japan Commanders David V. J. Blake Chuichi Nagumo Strength 30 planes 242 planes Casualties At least 243 killed; (possibly 1,100 dead in total) 23 planes destroyed 10 ships sunk 1 killed  ? missing; 6 POW Four planes destroyed in Australian airspace; ? failed to return. ... Douglas MacArthur (January 26, 1880 – April 5, 1964) was an American general and medal of honor recipient, who was Supreme Commander of Allied forces in the South West Pacific Area during World War II. He led the defense of Australia, and the recapture of New Guinea, the Philippines and Borneo. ... South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to one of the four major Allied commands in the Pacific theatre of World War II, during 1942-45. ... German midget submarine Seehund, with a torpedo A midget submarine is a small submarine, typically with a one or two person crew and with no on-board living accommodation. ... Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge located on Port Jackson Port Jackson is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia, also known as Sydney Harbour and is the largest natural harbour in the world. ... Combatants United States, Australia Japan Commanders Chester Nimitz Frank Jack Fletcher Shigeyoshi Inoue Takeo Takagi Aritomo Goto Strength 2 large carriers, 3 cruisers 2 large carriers, 1 small carrier, 4 cruisers Casualties 1 large carrier, 1 destroyer, 1 oil tanker, 543 personnel 1 small carrier, 1 destroyer, 1,074 personnel... Combatants United States Japan Commanders Chester Nimitz, Frank J. Fletcher, Raymond A. Spruance Isoroku Yamamoto, Chuichi Nagumo, Tamon Yamaguchi† Strength Three carriers, ~50 support ships, 233 carrier aircraft, 127 land-based aircraft Four carriers, ~150 support ships, 248 carrier aircraft, 16 floatplanes Casualties 1 carrier and 1 destroyer sunk, 307...

Members of the 39th Battalion in New Guinea during the Kokoda Track campaign

Australian forces then fought bitterly Japanese attempts to take Port Moresby, by way of the Kokoda Track, in the highlands of New Guinea. The Australian victory in the Battle of Milne Bay was the first Allied defeat of Japanese land forces. However, the Battle of Buna-Gona set the tone for the bitter final stages of the New Guinea campaign, which persisted into 1945. It was followed by Australian-led amphibious assaults against Japanese bases in Borneo (see Borneo campaign (1945). Image File history File linksMetadata 39_Bn_(AWM_013289). ... Image File history File linksMetadata 39_Bn_(AWM_013289). ... This article concerns the World War II military campaign. ... Port Moresby town Port Moresby, (9°30′ S 147°12′ E), population 193,242 (1990), is the capital of Papua New Guinea. ... The monument at Owers Corner Location of the Kokoda Track within Papua New Guinea The Kokoda Track or Kokoda Trail is a single-file track which starts at Owers Corner 50 km east of Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea and runs 90 km overland (60 km as... Battle of Milne Bay Conflict World War II, Pacific War Date August 25, 1942 – September 5, 1942 Place Milne Bay, New Guinea Result Allied victory The Battle of Milne Bay was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese marines attacked the Australian base at Milne Bay... The Battle of Buna-Gona was a battle in the Pacific campaign of World War II. On November 16, 1942, Australian and United States forces began to attack the main Japanese beachheads in New Guinea, at Buna, Sanananda and Gona. ... The New Guinea campaign was one of the major military campaigns of World War II. Fighting in the Australian mandated Territory of New Guinea (the north-eastern part of the island of New Guinea and surrounding islands) and Dutch New Guinea, between Allied and Japanese forces, commenced with the Japanese... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... Amphibious Assault is an electronic music project by Fallon Bowman. ... Borneo (left) and Sulawesi. ... The Borneo campaign of 1945 was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area, during World War II. In a series of amphibious assaults between May 1 and July 21, the Australian I Corps, under General Leslie Morshead, attacked Japanese forces occupying the island. ...

The alliance with the U.S. was later formalised by the ANZUS Pact of 1951. The Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty (ANZUS or ANZUS Treaty) is the military alliance which binds Australia and the United States, and separately Australia and New Zealand to cooperate on defense matters in the Pacific Ocean area, though today the treaty is understood to relate to attacks in...

Postwar Australia

After World War II, Australia launched a massive immigration program, believing that having narrowly avoided a Japanese invasion, Australia must "populate or perish." Hundreds of thousands of displaced Europeans, including for the first time large numbers of Jews, migrated to Australia. More than two million people immigrated to Australia from Europe during the 20 years after the end of the war. Greece, Italy and Yugoslavia became major sources of immigrants, later followed by Turkey and Lebanon. Australia actively sought these immigrants, with the government assisting many of them and they found work due to an expanding economy and major infrastructure projects like the Snowy Mountains Scheme. This wave of immigration greatly changed the character of Australian society, which before the war had been monocultural, inward-looking and conservative. Immigration was still restricted to Europeans in most circumstances, although the White Australia policy was gradually eased from the 1950s onwards. The Snowy Mountains Scheme is a massive water diversion and storage scheme, taking water from the eastern slopes of the Australian Alps (part of the Great Dividing Range) in eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales through pipes, tunnels and aqueducts into a series of dams, for use in hydro...

In 1949 the wartime Labor government (led after Curtin's death in 1945 by Ben Chifley) was defeated by a Liberal government headed by Menzies, who became Australia's longest-serving prime minister and the dominant figure in Australian politics until the 1960s. Menzies exploited Cold War fears to retain office, and in 1951 he narrowly failed to win a referendum to allow him to ban the Communist Party. Menzies poured money into higher education and industrial development. 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... Chicken nuggets are sold at McDonalds (September 22, 1885–June 13, 1951), Australian politician and 16th Prime Minister of Australia, was one of Australias most influential Prime Ministers. ... The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian liberal conservative political party. ... Rt Hon Robert Menzies Sir Robert Gordon Menzies (20 December 1894 – 14 May 1978), Australian politician, was the twelfth and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia. ... The Cold War was the protracted geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle that emerged after World War II between the global superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States, supported by their alliance partners. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... The Communist Party of Australia was founded in 1920 and dissolved in 1991. ...

Robert Menzies, Australia's longest serving Prime Minister (1939-41, 49-66)

Menzies also maintained the alliance with the United States, sending Australian troops to the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Australia's participation in Vietnam, and particularly the use of conscription, became politically contentious and saw massive protests, though they were for the most part peaceful. The Liberal Party maintained power through Menzies' successors, Harold Holt (who disappeared in 1967, while swimmming in the sea), John Gorton and William McMahon, though each PM in succession was generally considered to be less able and less politically skilled than his predecessor. Robert Menzies 2 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Robert Menzies 2 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Sir Robert Gordon Menzies KT AK CH QC FRS, (20 December 1894 – 14 May 1978), Australian politician, was the twelfth and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia, serving a total of eighteen and a half years in office from 1939 to 1941 and from 1949 to 1966. ... Combatants Western Allied/UN combatants: South Korea, United States Communist combatants: North Korea, Peoples Republic of China, Soviet Union Strength Note: All figures may vary according to source. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) United States of America South Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand the Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~420,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead: 230,000 South Vietnamese wounded: 300,000 US dead... Harold Edward Holt (5 August 1908–17 December 1967) was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia from 1966 - 1967, now best remembered for the bizarre circumstances of his death. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Rt Hon Sir John Gorton GCMG AC CH Sir John Grey Gorton (September 9, 1911 – May 19, 2002) was an Australian politician and the 19th Prime Minister of Australia from 1968-1971. ... Sir William McMahon GCMG CH PC (23 February 1908 – 31 March 1988), Australian politician and 20th Prime Minister of Australia, was born in Sydney, New South Wales, where his father was a lawyer. ...

The late 1960s and early 1970s are also often associated, at least in the mind of many Australians who were young adults at that time, with a flowering of Australian culture. Indigenous Australians achieved greater rights, immigration restrictions and censorship laws were swept aside, theatre and opera companies were established across the country, and Australian rock music began to mention explicitly Australian themes. Indigenous Australians are the first inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands, continuing their presence during European settlement. ... The earliest music of Australia was the folk music of the Australian Aborigines. ...

Malcolm Fraser (left) became Prime Minister after Governor General Sir John Kerr(right) dismissed Gough Whitlam in 1975.

In 1972, Gough Whitlam became the first Labor PM in 23 years, and carried out sweeping reforms such as introduction of universal health insurance and reform of divorce and family law. Whitlam's radical and imperious style eventually alienated many voters, and — after a series of ministerial scandals in 1975 — the Senate for the first time used its constitutional powers to block the government's budget. When Whitlam refused to back down, the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, dismissed him on 11 November. Despite the condemnation of a large section of the Australian public (and legal opinion) that these actions caused, the conservative leader Malcolm Fraser won the subsequent elections and retained power until 1983, though the social reforms of Whitlam were retained and in some ways continued under Fraser. In 1983, Labor returned to power under the former trade union leader Bob Hawke, a much less confrontationist figure than Whitlam. Malcolm Fraser and John Kerr. ... Malcolm Fraser and John Kerr. ... John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH (born 21 May 1930), Australian politician and 22nd Prime Minister of Australia, came to power in the circumstances of the dismissal of the Whitlam government. ... Sir John Kerr Alternative meanings: John Kerr (disambiguation). ... Edward Gough Whitlam AC QC (born 11 July 1916), known as Gough Whitlam (pronounced Goff), Australian politician and 21st Prime Minister of Australia, was the only Australian Prime Minister to be dismissed by the Governor-General. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1972 calendar). ... Edward Gough Whitlam AC QC (born 11 July 1916), known as Gough Whitlam (pronounced Goff), Australian politician and 21st Prime Minister of Australia, was the only Australian Prime Minister to be dismissed by the Governor-General. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... Governor-General (or Governor General) is a term used both historically and currently to designate the appointed representative of a head of state or their government for a particular territory, historically in a colonial context, but no longer necessarily in that form. ... Sir John Kerr Alternative meanings: John Kerr (disambiguation). ... John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH (born 21 May 1930), Australian politician and 22nd Prime Minister of Australia, came to power in the circumstances of the dismissal of the Whitlam government. ... Robert James Lee Hawke AC (born 9 December 1929) is a former Australian trade union leader turned politician who became the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia. ...

The 1980s saw severe concerns about Australia's future economic health take hold, with severe current account deficits and high unemployment at times. Hawke's government introduced many economic reforms, including tariff cuts, a floating exchange rate, the privatisation of many government services, and most prominently an agreement with trade unions to moderate wage demands and accept more flexible working condition arrangements by accepting tax cuts in return. Ultimately, many of the reforms, continued by successive governments, appear to have been successful in pushing the economy along. Economic growth continued through the 1990s at rates higher than most of Australia's trading partners, and even through to 2003 despite recessions elsewhere.

Partly because of divisions on the conservative side of politics, Hawke held office until 1991, when he was deposed by his former deputy, Paul Keating, who kept Labor in office until 1996. 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944), Australian politician and 24th Prime Minister of Australia, came to prominence first as the reforming Treasurer in the Hawke government, then as the Prime Minister who pulled off an upset victory in the unwinnable election of 1993. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

Recent controversies

From the 1950s onwards, Australians began to rethink their attitudes towards racial issues. An Aboriginal rights movement, supported by many liberal white Australians, was founded, and a campaign against the White Australia policy was also launched. In 1967 a referendum was held and overwhelmingly approved to amend the Constitution, removing discriminatory references and giving the national parliament the power to legislate specifically for Indigenous Australians. Contrary to frequently repeated mythology, this referendum did not confer citizenship on Aboriginal people, nor did it give them the vote: they already had both. However, transferring this power away from the State parliaments did bring an end to the system of Indigenous Australian reserves which existed in each state, which allowed Indigenous people to move more freely, and exercise many of their citizenship rights for the first time. From the late 1960s a movement for Indigenous land rights also developed. In 1971 Neville Bonner became the first Aboriginal person elected to the Australian Parliament. 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Indigenous Australians are the first inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands, continuing their presence during European settlement. ... Native title is a concept in the law of Australia that recognises the continued ownership of land by local Indigenous Australians. ... Neville Bonner (28 March 1922 - 5 February 1999), Australian politician, was the first indigenous Australian to be elected to the Parliament of Australia. ...

For more on the 1967 referendum, see Australian referendum, 1967 (Aboriginals).

During much of the twentieth century, Australian governments had removed many aboriginal children from their families. This practice, while beneficial to some individuals, did great damage to the Aboriginal people, culturally and emotionally, giving rise to the term stolen generation to describe these families. Since the publication in 1997 of a federal government report, Bringing Them Home all state governments have followed the recommendation of the report in issuing formal apologies for their past practices to the Aboriginal people, as have many local governments. The Howard government has refused to make such an apology, despite pleas from the Aboriginal people and from many sections of the wider community, on the basis that it would constitute a legal admission of guilt and give rise to widespread claims for compensation. The referendum of 27 May 1967 approved two amendments to the Australian constitution relating to Aboriginal people. ... Stolen Generation is the term commonly used to mean the Australian Aboriginal children who were removed from their families by Australian government agencies and church missions between approximately 1900 and 1972. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Australian republicanism which had been a feature of the 1890s faded away during the First World War. Monarchist sentiment in Australia peaked during the Menzies years with the wildly successful 1954 tour by Queen Elizabeth II. The issue of a republic did not arise again until the 1970s. In the 1990s it was bought to the forefront of national debate by Prime Minister Paul Keating, who promised in 1993 to introduce an "Australian federal republic" by the centenary of Federation in 2001. Polls have consistently shown a majority of Australian support an Australian republic, but a referendum on the issue failed on November 6, 1999. Judicial High Court Lower Courts Constitution State and territory governments Executive Governors and Administrators Premiers and Chief Ministers Legislative Parliaments and Assemblies State electoral systems ACT - NSW - NT - Qld. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor) (born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen independent nations known as the Commonwealth Realms. ... Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944), Australian politician and 24th Prime Minister of Australia, came to prominence first as the reforming Treasurer in the Hawke government, then as the Prime Minister who pulled off an upset victory in the unwinnable election of 1993. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 55 days remaining. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

Some republicans blamed the conservative and monarchist Prime Minister John Howard (elected in 1996), whose leadership certainly did not aid the republican cause. But there were other significant factors, including a split between "minimalist" republicans who wanted an Australian president to be chosen by the federal Parliament (as happens in, for example, Germany), and more "radical" republicans who wanted a directly elected President, as in the Irish Republic. Public opinion suggested that a republic would only be acceptable if a president was directly elected. Since the referendum proposal was for an indirectly elected president, many radicals opposed it. The debate since 1999 has died down, though it will probably become a topic of national importance again when Howard leaves office. John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian politician and the countrys 25th and current Prime Minister. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

Since being elected in 1996, the Howard government has attempted to reduce Australia's government deficit and to reduce the influence of labour unions, placing more emphasis on workplace-based collective bargaining for wages. The government also has accelerated the pace of privatisation, beginning with the government-owned telecommunications corporation, Telstra. Howard's government has continued some elements of the foreign policy of its predecessors, based on relations with four key countries: the United States, Japan, China, and Indonesia. The Howard government strongly supports US engagement in the Asia-Pacific region. However some observers noted a greater push towards engagement with Western nations than the previous Keating government which emphasised that Australia was part of Asia. These observers point to various controversies such as the Tampa affair in which the MV Tampa, a Norwegian cargo ship was at the center of a diplomatic dispute between Australia, Norway and Indonesia off the coast of Christmas Island as indicating a shift back towards the more conservative policies of the mid-20th century. A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers... Privatization (sometimes privatisation, denationalization, or — especially in India — disinvestment) is the process of transferring property, from public ownership to private ownership. ... Telstra Corporation (ASX: TLS, NZX: TLS, NYSE: TLS) is an Australian telecommunications company under joint public/private ownership, holding a dominant position in landline telephone services, large share of mobile phone services, domestic consumer (including dial-up access and Broadband internetbroadband cable modem, satellite and ADSL services under the BigPond... Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944), Australian politician and 24th Prime Minister of Australia, came to prominence first as the reforming Treasurer in the Hawke government, then as the Prime Minister who pulled off an upset victory in the unwinnable election of 1993. ... The MV Tampa is a Norwegian cargo ship that was at the center of a diplomatic dispute between Australia, Norway, and Indonesia off the coast of Christmas Island. ... A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries goods and materials from one port to another. ...

References

Surveys

• Kenneth A. MacKirdy, "Australia" in Robin W. Winks; ed. The Historiography of the British Empire-Commonwealth: Trends, Interpretations and Resources Duke University Press. 1966. pp 144-73, detailed historiography
• W. David McIntyre, "Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands" in Judith M. Brown and William Roger Louis, eds; The Oxford History of the British Empire. Volume: 4: The Twentieth Century Oxford University Press 1998, pp 667-92
• Geoffrey Blainey. The Rush that Never Ended: A History of Australian Mining (Melbourne, 1963).
• G. C. Bolton, The Oxford History of Australia, Vol. V, 1942-1988: The Middle Way (Melbourne, 1990).
• Verity Burgmann and Jenny Lee (eds), A People's History of Australia 4 vol McPhee Gribble/Penguin, Melbourne, 1988
• Hilary Carey, Believing in Australia: A Cultural History of Religions (Sydney: Allen&Unwin, 1996),
• Charles Manning Hope Clark, History of Australia 6 vol (Melbourne University Press, 1962, 1968, 1973, 1978, 1981, and 1987)
• Frank G. Clarke, Australia: A Concise Political and Social History (Sydney: Harcourt Brace, 1992)
• Frank G. Clarke; The History of Australia Greenwood Press. 2002
• Roger Covell, Australia’s Music: Themes of a New Society (Melbourne: Sun Books, 1967)
• Leslie Finlay Crisp, Australian Federal Labour Party, 1901-1951 (London, 1955)
• F. K. Crowley; Australia's Western Third: A History of Western Australia from the First Settlements to Modern Times 1960
• David Day, Claiming a Continent: A New History of Australia (Sydney: HarperCollins, 2001)
• Steve Dowrick, Riaz Hassan, Ian Mcallister, eds; The Cambridge Handbook of the Social Sciences in Australia Cambridge University Press. 2003
• Ulrich Ellis, A History of the Australian Country Party (Melbourne, 1963).
• Brian C. Fitzpatrick, The British Empire in Australia: An Economic History, 1834-1939 (Melbourne, 1941)
• Lyndhurst Folkine Giblin, The Growth of a Central Bank: The Development of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, 1924-1945 (1951)
• Henry Mackenzie Green, History of Australian Literature: Pure and Applied 2 vol (Sydney, 1961)
• William Keith Hancock, Australia (London, 1930)
• Paul Hasluck, Government and the People, 1939-1942 (Canberra, 1952).
• Leonie Kramer, ed., The Oxford History of Australian Literature (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1981).
• Stuart MacIntyre, The Oxford History of Australia, Vol. IV, 1901-1942: The Succeeding Age (Melbourne, 1986).
• David P. Mellor, The Role of Science and Industry (1958), in WW2.
• John Rickard, Australia: A Cultural History (Harlow: Longman, 1988)
• Tim Rowse, Australian Liberalism and National Character (Malmsbury: Kibble Books, 1978).
• Russell Ward, A Nation for a Continent: The History of Australia, 1901-1975 (Richmond, 1988).
• A. T. Yarwood and M. J. Knowling, Race Relations in Australia: A History (Sydney: Methuen, 1982)

Specialized academic studies

• W Aughterson V (ed.), King Stock: Aspects of Mid-Century Australian Life F W Cheshire, Melbourne, 1953
• Sydney J. Butlin, The War Economy, 1939-1942 (1955)
• Miriam Dixson; The Imaginary Australian: Anglo-Celts and Identity, 1788 to the Present;; University of New South Wales Press, 1999
• Curthoys, Ann and Merritt, John (eds), Australia's First Cold War 1945-1959, vol. 1, Society, Communism and Culture, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1984.; Better Dead Than Red, vol. 2, Australia's First Cold War 1945-1959, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1986.
• Day, David. Curtin: A Life, Harper Collins, 1999
• Livio Dobrez, (ed.) Identifying Australia in Postmodern Times, ANU Bibliotech, 1994
• John Edwards, Curtin's Gift: Reinterpreting Australia's Greatest Prime Minister, Allen & Unwin, 2005
• Herbert Vere Evatt, Australian Labour Leader: The Story of W. A. Holman and the Labour Movement (Sydney, 1940; abridged ed., 1954)
• Laurie F. Fitzhardinge and Lloyd Ross, William Morris Hughes: That Fiery Particle, 1862-1914 (Sydney, 1964),
• Adam Jamrozik, Cathy Boland and Robert Urquhart, Social Change and Cultural Transformation in Australia Cambridge University Press, 1995
• David Lowe; Menzies and the 'Great World Struggle': Australia's Cold War 1948-54 University of New South Wales Press, 1999
• Hugh Mackay, Reinventing Australia: The mind and mood of Australia in the 90s, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1993
• Noel McLachlan, Waiting for the Revolution: A History of Australian Nationalism, Penguin, Ringwood, 1989
• Mark McKenna, The Captive Republic: A History of Republicanism in Australia 1788-1996, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996.
• Robert Manne (ed.), The New Conservatism in Australia, Oxford University Press, 1982
• Martin, A.W., Robert Menzies:a Life, vol. 1, 1894-1943 Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1993.
• Neville Meaney, "The End of "White Australia" and Australia's Changing Perception of Asia, 1945-1990", Australian Journal of International Affairs, 49, 2 (1995), pp. 171-89.
• Gregory Melleuish; The Packaging of Australia: Politics & Culture Wars University of New South Wales Press. 1998
• John Murphy; Imagining the Fifties: Private Sentiment and Political Culture in Menzies' Australia University of New South Wales Press, 2000
• A. La Nauze, Alfred Deakin: A Biography 2 vols. (Melbourne, 1965)
• Prasser, Scott, Nethercote, JR and Warhurst, John, (eds), The Menzies Era: A Reappraisal of Government, Politics and Policy, Hale and Iremonger, Sydney, 1995.

Military and Naval

• C. E. W. Bean, The Story of Anzac from the Outbreak of War to the End of the First Phase of the Gallipoli Campaign May 4, 1915 (1921; St Lucia, 1981), vol 1 of 8
• Chris Coulthard-Clark; The Encyclopaedia of Australia's Battles Allen & Unwin, 2001
• W. David McIntyre, Background to the Anzus Pact (London, 1995)
• Murphy, John, Harvest of Fear:Australia's Vietnam War, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1993.
• John Reeve and David Stevens, eds; The Face of Naval Battle: The Human Experience of Modern War at Sea Allen & Unwin. 2003
• David Stevens, John Reeve; Southern Trident: Strategy, History, and the Rise of Australian Naval Power Allen & Unwin, 2001

Web References

1. Sydney Sydney, nsw shelled by a japanese submarine on 8 june 1942. Peter Dunn's Australia at War.. (31 October 2000). URL accessed on 2006-02-25.

2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

Primary sources

• Bain Attwood and Andrew Markus; The Struggle for Aboriginal Rights: A Documentary History Allen & Unwin, 1999
• D. Black, In His Own Words: John Curtin's Speeches and Writings, Paradigm Books, Curtin University, Perth 1995
• Menzies, Robert Gordon, The Measure of the Years. Cassell, London, 1970.
• Sir Earle Page, Truant Surgeon: The Inside Story of Forty Years of Australian Political Life (Sydney, 1963).

See also

• History of Australia before 1901
• Constitutional history of Australia
• Australian Conscription
• History of Oceania
• History of present-day nations and states

// Prehistory and aboriginal legends Humans first arrived in Australia through Indonesia and New Guinea, either by paddling canoes across the Timor Sea or by crossing a land bridge across what is now Torres Strait, between New Guinea and Australia. ... // Emergence of the Commonwealth of Australia Main article: Australian federation After European settlement in 1788, Australia was politically organized as a number of separate British colonies, eventually six in all. ... Conscription in Australia, also known as National Service, has a controversial history dating back to the first years of nationhood. ... History of Australia History of New Zealand History of the Pacific Islands See also history, history of present-day nations and states. ... This is a list of articles on the history of the countries that still exist today. ...

External link

• U.S. State Department Background Note: Australia