Australia was inhabited by Aboriginal peoples for at least 65,000 years before European arrival.

In 1770, British explorer Captain James Cook charted the eastern coast and claimed it for Britain.

In 1788, Britain established a penal colony at Sydney Cove to relieve its overcrowded prisons.

European settlement had a devastating impact on the Aboriginal population through disease, violence, and displacement from their lands.

The economy transitioned from a penal colony to a settler society based on wool production and, later, gold rushes in the 1850s.

In 1901, the six separate British colonies on the continent federated to form the independent Commonwealth of Australia.

Australia fought alongside Britain in both World War I and World War II.

After World War II, Australia implemented a massive immigration program that transformed it into a multicultural society.

The 20th century saw a long struggle for the civil rights and land rights of Aboriginal Australians.

Australia has evolved from a British colony into a prosperous, independent, and multicultural nation in the Asia-Pacific region.