Events that Shaped Australia

The events in this book have all, in a significant way, shaped our history, attitudes and culture. Not many nations can remember their own birthday, in Australia’s case 1 January, 1901 – the first day of the twentieth century. So it’s perhaps not surprising that many visitors to the Antipodes express wonder that Australia has a history at all.

Certainly, it’s a short chronology by European standards – a little over 200 years ago the First Fleet deposited its white cargo on the fatal shores of Port Jackson. Yet we are not the shortest-lived nation in the Commonwealth by a long shot. When we take into account the First Australians we have perhaps the longest history of all. The events that changed Australian history are iconic, character-building and cataclysmic – the Boer War, Gallipoli and Kokoda. They can also be as seemingly flippant as the introduction of surfing, cricketers bowling a dangerous high bouncing ball and the death of a racehorse.

However, all are major events in the evolution of our national psyche. Bodyline caused a diplomatic rift between England and Australia, millions have paid homage to Phar Lap’s heart. Surfing created a culture. Floods and Bushfires, the Covid impact on Australia and the Bondi terror attack.