- 1803 – Charles Grimes, Surveyor general, discovered the Yarra River.
- 1808 – William Paterson sails to Sydney from Port Dalrymple to take over the administration of New South Wales following the removal of Bligh.
- 1880 – The first successful shipment of frozen mutton from Australia arrived in London aboard the SS Strathleven.
- 1882 – A cyclone causes considerable damage to the town of Cardwell, Queensland.
- 1982 – Lindy Chamberlain committed to trial for murdering her baby Azaria.
- 1986 – Sydney nurse Anita Cobby is brutally murdered leading to calls for the re-introduction of the death penalty.
- 1998 – A Constitutional Convention begins to decide which model of republic should be put before the people of Australia in a referendum.