Timeline of Sydney

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Pre-Colonial

Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, 1792

• 50,000–45,000 BP – Near Penrith, a far western suburb of Sydney, numerous Aboriginal stone tools were found in Cranebrook Terraces gravel sediments dating to this time period; at first when these results were new they were controversial. More recently in 1987 and 2003, dating of the same strata has revised and corroborated these dates.^[1]
• 30,000 BP – Radiocarbon dating suggests human activity occurred in and around the Sydney basin, as evidenced by an archaeological dig in Parramatta, in Western Sydney.^[2][3] The finds show that the Aboriginal Australians in that region used charcoal, stone tools and possible ancient campfires.^[4][5]
• 21,100–17,800 BP – Stone artifact assemblages dating to this time period discovered in Shaws Creek (near Hawkesbury River) and in Blue Mountains. A rock shelter with flakes dating to this period discovered near Nepean River.^[6]
• 5,000–7000 BP – The Sydney rock engravings, a form of Australian Aboriginal rock art consisting of carefully drawn images of people, animals, or symbols, date to this time period.^[7]
• 4,000–2,000 BC – The first backed stone artifacts developed, such as blades and spears. The stones would drill, scrape, cut and grind material. They were also associated with woodworking.^[8]
• 1,000–500 BC – Bone and shell usage dating to this period discovered. They would've been attached to fishing spear prongs, which would mean that multi-pronged fishing spears occurred at this time. The evidence of spear-throwing is suggested by an excavated shell in Balmoral Beach.^[9]

18th–19th centuries

Government House, 1819

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• 1770 – Lieutenant (later Captain) James Cook, in command of HMS Endeavour, sighted the east coast of Australia and landed at a bay in what is now southern Sydney.
• 1788 – Sydney founded as British penal settlement following arrival of the First Fleet of eleven vessels under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip;^[10] French vessels under the command of Lapérouse land in Botany Bay.
• 1792 – Burial Ground established.
• 1796 – Population: 2,953.
• 1797 – Prospect, a western Sydney suburb, became the boundary between colonists and indigenous Australians. Hostility grew where a state of guerrilla warfare existed between indigenous people and the settler communities at Prospect and Parramatta.^[11] The aboriginal people were led by their leader, Pemulwuy, a member of the Bidjigal tribe who occupied the land.^[12]
• 1803 – Sydney Gazette newspaper begins publication.^[13]
• 1804 – Fort Philip construction begins.^[14]
• 1808 – Rum Rebellion.
• 1810 – Macquarie Street laid out.
• 1816
  • Royal Botanic Gardens open.
  • Sydney Hospital built.
• 1817 – Bank of New South Wales established.^[15]
• 1819 – Hyde Park Barracks built.
• 1820 – Devonshire Street Cemetery established.
• 1823 – Sydney Royal Easter Show begins.
• 1824 – St James' Church consecrated.
• 1825 – New South Wales Legislative Council established in Sydney.
• 1831 – Weekly Sydney Herald newspaper begins publication.^[16][17]
• 1833 – Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts founded.^[18]
• 1836 – Australian Museum established.^[19]
• 1837 – Government House^[20] and Botany-Sydney aqueduct^[18] built.
• 1838 – David Jones (shop) in business.^[21]
• 1839 – Cockatoo Island prison in operation.
• 1840 – Farmers & Co. in business.^[22]
• 1841 – Darlinghurst Gaol in operation.
• 1842
  • City incorporated; city council elected.^[23]
  • Area of city: 11.65 square kilometres (approximate).^[24]
  • Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney established.
• 1850
  • University of Sydney established.
  • Freeman's Journal newspaper begins publication.
• 1854
  • Sydney Cricket Ground opens.
  • St Paul's College founded.^[25]
• 1855
  • First New South Wales Government Railways train operates from Redfern to Parramatta
  • Sydney Mint established in General Hospital and Dispensary building.
• 1856
  • First Pyrmont Bridge built.^[26]
  • St Philip's Church rebuilt.
• 1857 – St John's College founded.^[25]
• 1858 – Sydney Observatory built.
• 1859 – Parliamentary electoral districts of East Sydney and West Sydney created.
• 1861 – Population: 95,000 city and suburbs.^[20]
• 1868
  • Belmore Park opens.
  • St Andrew's Cathedral consecrated.
• 1869 – Sydney Free Public Library established.^[27]
• 1871 – Sydney Exchange and Academy of Art founded.
• 1877 – Waverley Cemetery established near city.
• 1878 – Robinson-Finlay wedding takes place.
• 1879
  • Sydney Riot of 1879.
  • Sydney International Exhibition held; Garden Palace built.
  • Art Gallery of New South Wales opens.
  • Dymocks Bookseller in business.
  • New South Wales Zoological Society founded.^[28]
  • Royal National Park established near city.
• 1881 – Population: 237,300 city and suburbs.^[20]
• 1882
  • Sydney Showground opens.
  • St Mary's Cathedral consecrated.
• 1883
  • Melbourne–Sydney railway built.^[29]
  • Sydney High School and Sydney Wharf Labourers Union^[30] established.
• 1889
  • Sydney Town Hall built.
  • Women's College^[25] and Sydney Church of England Grammar School founded.
• 1890
  • Sydney Town Hall Grand Organ installed.^[31]
  • Kerry photography studio in business.^[32]
• 1891
  • General Post Office built.
  • Population: 399,270 city and suburbs.^[20]
  • Australia Hotel in business.
• 1892 – Strand Arcade opens.
• 1893 – Technological Museum opens.
• 1894 – Photographic Society of New South Wales founded.
• 1895 – City Tattersalls Club formed.
• 1898 – Queen Victoria Building constructed.
• 1900 – Sydney Harbour Trust active.

20th century

1900s–1940s

King Street, circa 1900

• 1901
  • City becomes part of the new Commonwealth of Australia.^[29]
  • Royal Australian Historical Society founded.
  • Population: 112,137 city; 369,693 suburbs.^[20]
• 1902 – Second Pyrmont Bridge built.
• 1903 – Glebe Island Bridge and Her Majesty's Theatre^[33][34] rebuilt.
• 1904 – Electric street lighting installed.^[34]
• 1905 – Hordern's Palace Emporium in business.
• 1906
  • Central railway station opens
  • Bondi Surf Bathers' Life Saving Club active.^[34]
• 1907
  • 20 October: Bathing costume protests.
  • Melbourne–Sydney telephone begins operating.^[34]
• 1908
  • Camperdown becomes part of city.^[24]
  • New South Wales Rugby League Premiership formed
• 1909 – City of Sydney Library established.
• 1910 – The Sun newspaper begins publication.^[35]
• 1912 – Culwulla Chambers built.^[34]
• 1913 – Parcel Post Office built at Railway Square.
• 1915 – Sydney Conservatorium of Music established.^[25]
• 1916 – 14 February: Liverpool riot of 1916.
• 1917 – J.G. Park photography studio in business (approximate date).^[32]
• 1920
  • 18 February: World's "first" swimsuit competition (beauty contest) held in Sydney.^[17]
  • Hurlstone Park Choral Society formed.
• 1924
  • Sydney Airport begins operating.
  • Hordern Pavilion built.
• 1926
  • Electric train services begin
• 1927
  • St James railway station opens.
  • Sydney Cenotaph erected.
• 1928
  • Capitol Theatre opens.
  • Government Savings Bank building constructed.^[36]
• 1929
  • State Theatre opens.^[36]
  • Sun Building constructed.^[36]
• 1930
  • Modern Art Centre opens.^[37]
  • Grace Building constructed.

Aerial view of Sydney, 1932

• 1932
  • Sydney Harbour Bridge, Town Hall railway station, and Wynyard railway station open.
  • Dymocks building constructed.^[36]
• 1935 – Luna Park and Astoria Theatre^[38] open.
• 1938 – City hosts 1938 British Empire Games.
• 1939 – AWA Tower built.^[36]
• 1940 – St. James Theatre opens.^[38]
• 1941 – Daily Mirror newspaper begins publication.^[16]
• 1942 – May–June: Attack on Sydney Harbour by Japanese forces.
• 1946 – Sydney Symphony Orchestra active.
• 1947 – Population: 95,852 city; 1,484,434 metro.^[25]
• 1949 – Alexandria, Darlington, Erskineville, Glebe, Newtown, Paddington, Redfern, and Waterloo become part of the city.^[24]

1950s–1990s

• 1953 – Sydney Sun-Herald newspaper in publication.^[35]
• 1954 – Sydney Film Festival begins.
• 1956 – ATN Channel 7 television begins broadcasting.^[35]
• 1958 – Last Trams in Sydney operate
• 1964 – Paddington Society founded.^[39]
  • – Gladesville Bridge opened
• 1967 – Australia Square hi-rise built.
• 1968
  • South Sydney Municipal Council created.^[24]
  • Sister city relationship established with San Francisco, USA.^[40]
• 1971 – City of Sydney Strategic Plan created.^[41]
• 1972 – Aboriginal Medical Service established in Redfern.^[34]
• 1973 – Sydney Opera House opens.
• 1977
  • Granville train disaster
  • Sydney Festival begins.
  • MLC Centre opens
• 1979
  • 9 June: 1979 Sydney Ghost Train fire.
  • Martin Place pedestrianised.
  • Martin Place railway station opens.
  • Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras begins.
  • Sydney Theatre Company founded.
• 1981 – Sydney Tower opened
• 1983 – Beverly Hills Twin Cinema in business.^[38]
• 1985
  • Parliament House rebuilt.
  • Granny Smith Festival begins in Eastwood.
• 1987 – University of Sydney's Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific established.^[42]
• 1988
  • Sydney Monorail opens
  • University of Technology, Sydney and University of Sydney's Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies^[42] established.
  • Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre and Powerhouse Museum open.
  • Australian Bicentenary events staged.
  • Bicentennial Park, Homebush Bay and Mount Annan Botanic Garden open near city.
• 1989
  • South Sydney City Council established.^[24]
  • Area of city: 6.19 square kilometres.^[24]

Sydney hosts the 2000 Summer Olympics.

• 1990 – Sydney Children's Choir founded
• 1992 – Sydney Harbour Tunnel opened
• 1993 – South Sydney Heritage Society founded.^[43]
• 1994 – Sydney International Aquatic Centre opens.
• 1995 – Anzac Bridge opens.
• 1997 – Asian Australian Artists’ Association Gallery 4A opens.^[44]
  • The Star, Sydney casino opens
• 1998
  • July: 1998 Sydney water crisis
  • BridgeClimb Sydney commences
• 1999 – Sydney Super Dome, Stadium Australia, and City Recital Hall open.
• 2000
  • September: City hosts 2000 Summer Olympics & 2000 Summer Paralympics
  • City of Sydney Historical Association founded.^[45]

21st century

2010s

Interior of a Sydney Metro train, scheduled to begin operation in 2019.

• 2011
  • Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder cricket teams formed.
  • Population: 4,028,524.^[46]
• 2014
  • 2014 Sydney hostage crisis
• 2017
  • Population reaches 5 million, according to the 2016 Australian census.^[47]
• 2019
  • Completion of the Sydney Metro Northwest, the first line of the upcoming Sydney Metro

See also

• History of Sydney
• List of mayors, lord mayors and administrators of Sydney
• List of Governors of New South Wales, headquartered in Sydney

References

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sydney.

• "Historical Atlas of Sydney". City of Sydney Archives.
• "Dictionary of Sydney".
• Items related to Sydney, various dates (via Europeana).
• Items related to Sydney, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America).

Coordinates: 33°51′36″S 151°12′40″E / 33.859972°S 151.211111°E / -33.859972; 151.211111