TIMELINE

60,000 – 40,000 years ago

Ancestors of the Aboriginal people arrived in Australia.

1770 James Cook charted the east coast and claimed it for Great Britain.

1788 On 26 January, the First Fleet of 11 ships – carrying 1,500 people, half of them convicts – arrived in Sydney Harbour.

1901 The 6 colonies united to form the Federal Commonwealth of Australia.

1967 In a national referendum, 90 per cent of Australians voted to remove clauses in the Constitution which discriminated against Indigenous people.

2008 The Australian Parliament passed a motion of Apology to Indigenous Peoples for past mistreatment and injustices.

2009 The Australian Government committed $26.6 million for the establishment of a Healing Foundation to address trauma in the Indigenous community, with a focus on the Stolen Generations (see box below).