Timeline of Australian history

Timeline and periods

Prehistory	to c. 1788
Maritime exploration	1606–1803
Inland exploration	1813–1860s
Colonial Australia	1788–1850
First Fleet	1788
Convict Era	1788–1868
Gold Rush and Nationhood	1851–1900
Australian gold rushes	1851–1890s
Australian colonies	1851–1900
Federation	1901
Early 20th century	1901–1945
World War I	1914–1918
Great Depression	1929–1939
World War II	1939–1945
Postwar Australia	1945–present
Post-war immigration	1945–1970s
1967 Referendum	1967
1975 Constitutional crisis	1975

This is a timeline of Australian history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Australia and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see history of Australia.