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Rooksana Hossenally
Section editor
Travel is my driving force in life, and although I have had the privilege of visiting 30 countries so far, my heart will always remain in India...
Around 40,000 BC: arrival of first inhabitants (Aborigines).
1642: Abel Tasman discovers Tasmania.
1770: James Cook lands at Botany Bay (Sydney) and annexes the east of the continent for the crown of England.
1788: under the orders of Arthur Phillip, the first English convicts reach Sydney, thus forming the first colonisation base.
1814: New South Wales is christened Australia.
1829-1830: on creation of Perth, the whole island became English territory.
1901: Australia becomes an independent federation (capital: Melbourne).
1975: in order to end a serious political crisis, the Labour Prime Minister Gough Whitlam is removed from office by the governor general, John Kerr.
1988: Australia celebrates its bicentenary.
1999: rejection of the referendum on the Republic.
2001: commemoration of the centenary of the Federation.