Western Australia Timeline of Events

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Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

Timeline of Events

1616

10.25.1616

Dutch sea-captain Dirk Hartog makes second recorded landfall by a European on Australian soil, at the later-named Dirk Hartog Island off the Western Australian coast.

1829

4.25.1829

Charles Fremantle arrives in the ''HMS Challenger'' off the coast of modern-day Western Australia prior to declaring the Swan River Colony for the United Kingdom.

1833

7.11.1833

Noongar Australian aboriginal warrior Yagan, wanted for the murder of white colonists in Western Australia, is killed.

1834

10.28.1834

The Battle of Pinjarra is fought in the Swan River Colony in present-day Pinjarra, Western Australia. Between 14 and 40 Aborigines are killed by British colonists.

1901

1.1.1901

The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton is appointed the first Prime Minister.

1941

11.19.1941

World War II: Battle between HMAS ''Sydney'' and HSK ''Kormoran''. The two ships sink each other off the coast of Western Australia, with the loss of 645 Australians and about 77 German seamen.

1964

10.26.1964

Eric Edgar Cooke becomes last person in Western Australia to be executed.

1984

9.5.1984

Western Australia becomes the last Australian state to abolish capital punishment.

1989

2.1.1989

The Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to form the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

1993

2.16.1993

Western Australia's and Australia's first female Premier, Carmen Lawrence, is voted out of office.