Timeline: Australia

A chronology of key events:

40,000 BC - The first Aborigines arrive from south-east Asia. By 20,000 BC they have spread throughout the mainland and Tasmania.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef, as seen from space Science & Nature: Great Barrier Reef 2004: Australia reef's days 'numbered'

1788 - British Navy captain Arthur Phillip founds a penal settlement at Sydney. He had arrived with a fleet of 11 vessels, carrying nearly 800 convicts. The Aboriginal population numbers several hundred thousand.

1829 - Colony of Western Australia established at Perth by Captain James Stirling.

1836 - South Australia established, with Adelaide as its capital.

1850s - Gold is found at several locations leading to gold rushes throughout the decade. The population increases three-fold in 10 years to pass the million mark. An influx of Chinese leads to restrictions on their entry. Aborigines are treated very badly and their numbers collapse.

1856 - Australia becomes the first country to introduce the secret ballot - or 'Australian ballot' - for elections.

Early 20th century legislation restricted non-white immigration

1877 - Australia and England play the first-ever cricket Test match in Melbourne.

1901 - The country is unified. The Commonwealth of Australia comes into being on 1st January.

The Immigration Restriction Act puts a brake on non-white immigration.

1911 - Canberra is founded and designated as the capital.

1914 - Outbreak of World War I. Australia commits hundreds of thousands of troops to the British war effort. Their participation - alongside New Zealanders - in the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey in 1915 leads to heavy casualties. The Gallipoli landings help cement a sense of identity in the young nation.

Economic woes

1929 - The Great Depression following the Wall Street Crash hits Australia hard. Recovery is uneven, and the Labor government is defeated in the election in 1931.

Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock, towers over the desert

1939 - Australia follows Britain's lead and declares war on Nazi Germany.

1941 - The US declares war on Japan. Australia turns to the US for help in its defence after the Japanese take Singapore. Australia allows the US to base its supreme command for the Pacific war on its territory.

1948 - Australia begins a scheme for immigration from Europe. Over the next 30 years, more than two million people arrive, about one-third of them from Britain.

1950 - Australia commits troops to the UN forces in the Korean war.

1956 - Olympic Games held in Melbourne.

1965 - Australia commits troops to the US war effort in Vietnam.

1967 - National referendum on changes to constitution is passed. Section which excluded Aboriginal people from official census is removed. Another change enables federal government to pass laws on Aboriginal issues.

Indigenous Australians make up 2.4% of the population 2005: Australia's Aboriginal debate 2004: Australia's lost generation 2004: Aborigines' dark island home

1975 - Australia introduces new immigration laws, restricting the number of unskilled workers allowed into the country.

The government of Gough Whitlam is plagued by resignations and the blocking of its budget by the upper house of the parliament. In an unprecedented move, the governor-general, Sir John Kerr, dismisses the government. A caretaker administration under Malcolm Fraser is installed.

1986 - The Australia Act makes Australian law fully independent of the British parliament and legal system. There is no longer any provision for Australian courts to mount final appeals to the Privy Council in London.

Turning to Asia

1992 - The Citizenship Act is amended to remove swearing an oath of allegiance to the British Crown. Prime Minister Paul Keating's Labor government pledges to make Australia a republic and to concentrate on links with Asia.

1993 - Keating wins elections. The Native Title Act establishes a process for the granting of Aboriginal land rights.

Cricket and rugby are national passions BBC Sport: The Ashes Tour Sir Donald Bradman 1908-2001

1996 - Keating defeated in elections. John Howard of the Liberal Party becomes prime minister.

1998 - Elections see Howard's Liberal and National party coalition re-elected, but with a reduced majority. Delegates to a constitutional convention vote to replace Queen Elizabeth II as head of state with a president chosen by parliament. The issue is put to a referendum in 1999. The proposal is defeated, with 55% voting to retain the status quo.

1999 - Australia leads intervention force in East Timor to counter pro-Indonesia militia violence after territory's independence vote. Relations with Indonesia worsen.

2000 - Australia hosts the Olympic Games in Sydney, the most popular ever.

2001 January - Australia celebrates 100 years since its inauguration as the Commonwealth of Australia.

2001 February - Sir Donald Bradman, Australia's most famous cricketer, dies at the age of 92.

2001 May - Churches rebuke Prime Minister John Howard for failing properly to acknowledge suffering of thousands of Aborigines under past assimilation policy. Howard has refused to apologise to "Stolen Generations" of Aborigines who as children were forcibly removed from their parents to live with whites.

ASYLUM SEEKERS Hunger strikes, riots have been features of detention centre life 2005: Australia eases asylum rules 2004: Refugees find their niche in Australia 2003: Australia's strict asylum policy

2001 August - Australia turns away hundreds of boat people over several months, the most prominent group having been rescued from a sinking ferry. Australia pays Nauru to detain many of them.

2001 November - Howard wins a third term in general elections.

2002 - Aid agencies, rights groups and UN report criticise policy of holding asylum seekers in detention camps until their visa applications are processed. Woomera desert camp in South Australia sees riots, hunger strikes and escapes.

Bali bombing

2002 October - The nation mourns as 88 of its citizens are killed in a night club bombing in Bali, Indonesia, which some call Australia's September 11.

2003 January - Australia deploys troops to the Gulf ahead of a possible war. The move sparks public protests.

Bushfire ravages the capital, Canberra. More than 500 homes are destroyed. Other fires rage across New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania.

2003 February - Senate passes no-confidence motion against Prime Minister John Howard over his handling of Iraq crisis. It is Senate's first-ever vote of no-confidence in serving leader.

2003 May - Governor-General Peter Hollingworth resigns after admitting that, as an Anglican archbishop in the 1990s, he allowed a known paedophile remain a priest.

Bush fires are an annual menace 2004: Australia 'facing hotter future'

2003 July - Australia heads peacekeeping force intended to restore order in troubled Solomon Islands.

2004 February - Race riots in district of Sydney, sparked by death of Aboriginal teenager.

2004 March - Parliamentary committee clears government of lying about threat posed by weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In July, report details intelligence failings over Iraq, Bali bombings, but clears government of manipulating Iraq intelligence.

2004 August - Government announces a multi-million dollar cruise missile programme, set to give Australia the region's "most lethal" air combat capacity.

2004 September - Bomb attack outside Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, kills at least nine, injures dozens more.

Howard's fourth term

2004 October - John Howard wins fourth term as prime minister; his party extends its grip on parliament.

2004 November - Death of Aboriginal man in police custody sparks rioting on Palm Island, off north-east coast.

Australian troops have served in global, regional conflict zones 2006: Australia increases troop numbers

2005 January - Worst bush fires for more than 20 years kill nine people in South Australia.

2005 July - Australia says it will deploy 150 special forces troops in Afghanistan to counter rebel attacks. The original contingent was withdrawn in 2002. Further deployments are announced in 2006.

2005 November - As parliament debates controversial new anti-terrorism laws, police say they have foiled a planned "large-scale terrorist attack".

2005 December - Racially-motivated violence, involving thousands of youths, hits Sydney.

2006 January - Australia and East Timor sign a deal to divide billions of dollars in expected revenues from oil and gas deposits in the Timor Sea. Under the agreement, discussions on a disputed maritime boundary are postponed.

2006 April-May - Australian troops spearhead peacekeeping forces in the Solomon Islands and East Timor after unrest in both countries.

2006 August - Proposed legislation, under which future asylum seekers who arrive by boat will be sent to offshore detention camps, is scrapped after a revolt by ruling party lawmakers.

TOUGH LEADER John Howard will be remembered for taking a tough stand on big issues Refused to apologise for abuses against Aborigines Took hard line on asylum seekers Supported Iraq war Opposed Kyoto Protocol on climate change Profile: John Howard

2006 December - Amid the worst drought in a century, the government slashes economic growth forecasts, reflecting a slump in farm output. In January PM John Howard declares water security to be Australia's biggest challenge.

2007 October - General election set for 24 November.

2007 November - Opposition Labor Party, under Kevin Rudd, sweeps to power with landslide victory over John Howard.

2007 December - Prime Minister Rudd signs documents ratifying Kyoto protocol on climate change, reversing the previous government's policy.

2008 February - Government apologises for past wrongs committed against the indigenous population.

Australia ends its policy of sending asylum seekers into detention on small Pacific islands, with the last refugees leaving Nauru.

2008 July - Labor government abandons policy - introduced in 1990s - of holding all asylum seekers in detention centres until their cases are heard.

2008 September - Quentin Bryce sworn in as Australia's governor-general, the first woman to hold the post.

2009 February - Devastating bushfires in the south-eastern state of Victoria leave around 180 people dead.

2009 May - Australia announces plans to more than double its submarine fleet and buy 100 US Stealth fighters as part of a $70bn military modernisation programme.

Indian students hold rallies in protest against a series of violent attacks - more than 70 in the past year - which they say are racially motivated. India voices concern about the violence.