Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have lived on the Australian continent for at least 65,000 years.
The Bathurst War is part of the Australian Wars. This took place in 1824 when British Governor Macquarie declared martial law against the Wiradjuri people trying to stop their land being taken
In Tasmania, the Palawa people fought a determined campaign during the 1820s to resist British settlement. To control the conflict, Governor Arthur issued the 1828 Proclamation of Demarcation
In 1842, at Kilcoy in Queensland, poison was used to kill 60 Aboriginal people. The loss of life was so sudden and tragic that many Aboriginal people couldn’t fully understand what had happened.
The actions of the Native Police in Queensland, whereby any Aboriginal person found during a “dispersal” could be shot by paramilitary forces, can be seen as acts of war or even genocide
A big factor in the lead up to World War One was the increase in militarism, otherwise known as an arms race. This was linked to massive industrialisation across Europe in the late nineteenth century, especially in Great Britain, France and Germany
An important factor in the drift to war in the early twentieth century was the race to claim territories as part of expanded empires. While Great Britain was the largest empire at this time other nations such as France and Germany also competed to control areas across the globe
Linked to militarism was the growth of alliances to ensure that countries would not be alone if a war broke out. The first key alliance was the Dual alliance of 1879 between Germany and Austro-Hungary. From 1882 this also included Italy and became known as the Triple Alliance.
Austria-Hungary faced territorial and nationalist claims within its own empire. In 1908 it had formally annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina with its capital Sarajevo. Austria-Hungary was fearful of the growth of Serbia and other nationalities in the Balkan area wanting independence and more land
In 1912 Serbia and other Balkan nations joined together to defeat the Ottoman Empire in the First Balkan War. Bulgaria was then defeated by its former allies and the Ottomans in the Second Balkan War and Serbia became larger and more powerful as a result of the peace settlement.
On 28 June 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated by a Bosnian Serb. This has been identified as the key trigger that started World War One. Austria-Hungary responded to the assassination by placing heavy demands on Serbia which would have reduced its independence
Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by a Bosnian Serb, Austria-Hungary placed heavy demands on Serbia, which would have reduced their independence. Serbia refused to accept these demands and in response, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia with unconditional support from Germany.
Europe descends into war (Austria-Hungary versus Serbia; Germany versus Russia/France/UK)
28 July: Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
When Great Britain declared war on Germany on the 4 August 1914, Australia as a part of the British Empire, was automatically at war.
Narrelle Hobbs was an Australian Nurse in World War 1. Watch the attached video to learn more about Narelle’s extraordinary journey across the world, motivated to contribute to the war effort.
25 April is significant because it is Anzac Day, a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand.
In Russia, the 1917 Russian Revolution led to the collapse of the monarchy and the rise of a communist government, following two revolutions and a civil war. This marked the beginning of the world’s first socialist state and inspired both hope and fear across Europe
•1 August: the German government declared war on Russia.
Between World War One and World War Two, many important events happened that contributed to the second conflict. One was the Treaty of Versailles, the peace agreement that officially ended World War One in 1919
From 1914 to 1918 there were 416,809 Australian men who volunteered to join World War One, but fewer than 300,000 went overseas. Of these men, over 60,000 were killed, 156,000 were wounded, gassed or taken prisoner. In 1918, Australia’s population was estimated to be just over 5,000,000 people.
World War One is sometimes seen as a colonial war because European powers used people and resources from their colonies to fight. Countries in Asia and Africa, which were under European control, had little say in the war but were still heavily involved and many people from these places suffered greatly
Coniston Massacre of 1928 in the Northern Territory.
The Great Depression doesn’t have one single “official” start and end date globally, as it unfolded differently in various countries. However, the most commonly accepted exact dates for the United States, where it began, are:
In 1935, Adolf Hitler’s government introduced the Nuremberg Laws, which legally defined Jewish people as a separate and inferior racial group and stripped them of citizenship rights
Many Germans felt the Treaty of Versailles was unfair and humiliating, which led to anger and social unrest in the years that followed World War One. This anger was increasingly directed by German leaders toward Jewish people and other marginalised groups
Imperial Japan pursued aggressive expansion based on ideas of racial and national superiority. Between 1937 and 1945, Japanese forces committed numerous war crimes and atrocities across Asia
During World War Two, life in Australia changed dramatically as the war came closer to home. Australian Prime Ministers Robert Menzies (1939-1941) and later John Curtin (1941-1945) introduced new laws and regulations to support the war effort and ensure civilians at home had access to resources.
World War Two began in Europe on 1 September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland, followed by a declaration of war against Germany by Great Britain and France two days later.
World War Two started on September 1, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland, prompting Britain and France to declare war two days later (September 3, 1939). It ended on September 2, 1945 when Japan formally surrendered, marking the official end of the war. This event is known as V-J Day (Victory over Japan Day).
On 3 September 1939, Australia’s Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced to his stunned fellow Australians that ‘it is my melancholy duty to inform you officially that, in consequence of the persistence of Germany in her invasion of Poland, Great Britain has declared war upon her, and that, as a result, Australia is...
On 10 May 1940, Germany invaded France. The fighting was fast and intense. In just a few days, the British, French, and Belgian armies were forced to retreat, and many soldiers were trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk in northern France.
By mid-1940, Nazi Germany had taken control of Poland, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France. Britain now stood alone as the last major power in Western Europe resisting Hitler’s domination.
Between 1941 and 1945, the Adolf Hitler government’s Nuremberg law ideology culminated in the Holocaust, the systematic, state-sponsored genocide carried out by the Nazi regime. Approximately six million Jewish people were murdered, alongside millions of others considered undesirable by the Nazis.
World War Two spread to the Asia-Pacific region, with conflict in this area known as the Pacific War. The Pacific War began soon after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour in Hawai’i on 7 December 1941. This drew the USA into the conflict.
Event info
Japanese forces held approximately 22,000 Australians in prisoner of war camps throughout Southeast Asia
Australia and New Zealand had relied on the “Singapore Strategy,” introduced by Britain after the First World War, as a key part of their defence against possible Japanese aggression.
Australia came under direct threat when Japan bombed Darwin in February 1942, the first of more than 100 air raids on northern Australia. In May and June 1942, Japanese submarines entered Sydney Harbour, launching an attack that sank ships and killed Australian sailors
At the end of World War Two, in both Europe and the Asia–Pacific region, government and military leaders were put on trial for crimes against humanity. In Germany, leading members of the Nazi regime were prosecuted in the Nuremberg Trials (1945–1946)
By early 1945, the Allies, including the United States, Britain, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Russia), and Canada, were defeating Germany from both the west and east.
Australia played an active role in the post-war efforts to build peace. It was a founding member of the United Nations and has continued to support peacekeeping operations around the world ever since World War Two.
After North Korea invaded South Korea, Australia joined a United Nations force to defend South Korea. Over 17,000 Australians served in the war, mainly in the Army, Navy and Air Force. More than 340 were killed. The war ended in a ceasefire, although no peace treaty has been concluded.
Australia joined the United States in supporting South Vietnam against communist North Vietnam. More than 60,000 Australians served, including many who were conscripted (forced to serve through National Service)
This conflict, known as Konfrontasi, occurred when Indonesia opposed the creation of Malaysia as a federation of former British colonies. Australian forces served alongside British and Malaysian troops to protect Malaysia from Indonesian attacks along the border of Borneo.
Australia joined the U.S. and NATO after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in a campaign to remove the Taliban from Afghanistan and stop that country being used as a base for terrorism. Over 39,000 Australians served across 20 years, making it Australia’s longest involvement in a war
In 2003 claims that the government of Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction (which were never found) saw Australia join a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. The goal was to remove Hussein and end Iraqi support for terrorist activities