18th Century
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1770 | English Lieutenant James Cook's expedition in HM Bark Endeavour charts the eastern coast, and claims it for the British Crown. Australia dubbed "terra nullius" i.e., according to the European legal precepts of the era, it was "owned" by no-one. | |
| 1788 | The British First Fleet, led by Governor Arthur Phillip arrives in New South Wales to found first European settlement and penal colony at Sydney. Colony includes "all the islands adjacent in the Pacific Ocean" and running westward to the 135th meridian east. This claim included the islands of New Zealand, which were administered as part of New South Wales. | |
| British settlement founded at Norfolk Island. | ||
| 1790 | Beleaguered Second Fleet arrives. Colony gripped by food crisis. | |
| 1792 | Two French ships, La Recherche and L'Espérance, anchor at Recherche Bay, near the southernmost point of Tasmania at a time when England and France were racing around the globe to be the first to discover and colonise Australia. | |
| Governor Philip returns to England, accompanied by his friend Bennelong and a companion who became the first Australian born person to sail to Europe. | ||
| 1797 | Sydney Cove wrecked and some survivors travelled from Bass Strait to Port Jackson allowing for the rescue of others but also furthering knowledge of the geography of Australia. | |
| 1798 | George Bass and Matthew Flinders sail from Sydney and circumnavigate Tasmania, thus proving it to be an island. (to 1799) |
Read more about this topic: Timeline Of Australian History