Australian Historical Events is a daily guide to the important events that shaped Australia to what it is today. It is a compilation of significant events for the month of December including the birth and death of famous Australians as well as laws promulgated by authorities. The list is constantly updated to incorporate the most recent events.
Australian Historical Events in December
| Day | Year | Event |
| 3 | 1825 | Van Diemen’s Land (Now Tasmania) became an independent colony from New South Wales with an appointed Executive Council. |
| 6 | 1988 | The Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 was enacted to create a government for the Australian Capital Territory that is separate from the Commonwealth government. |
| 8 | 1956 | Closing day of the Melbourne Summer Olympics. |
| 8 | 1977 | Sir Zelman Cowen begins his term as the 19th Governor-General of Australia. |
| 10 | 1797 | Explorer George Bass entered the Jervis Bay in New South Wales and named Bowen Island. |
| 10 | 1831 | The first railway in Australia was opened in Newcastle, New South Wales. |
| 10 | 1859 | Queensland was separated from New South Wales with Sir George Ferguson Bowen as its first governor and Brisbane chosen as the capital. |
| 10 | 1919 | Captain Ross Smith and his crew landed in Darwin and won a £10,000 Prize from the Australian Government for completing the first flight from London to Australia in under thirty days. |
| 14 | 1908 | The Seat of Government Act 1908 was enacted selecting the Yass-Queanbeyan region in New South Wales as the site for Canberra, the new capital city of Australia. |
| 15 | 1953 | Birth: Susan Lines, president of the Australian Senate. |
| 17 | 1918 | Darwin in the Northern Territory was hit with political unrest in what is known as the Darwin Rebellion. Trade union members marched towards Government House demanding the resignation of then Administrator of the Northern Territory John Gilruth and burning his effigy. |
| 18 | 1894 | The Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Act 1894 was enacted by the Parliament of South Australia to include women’s suffrage. |
| 25 | 1643 | Captain William Mynors of the Royal Mary, an English East India Company vessel, named the Christmas Island when he sailed past it on Christmas Day. |
| 25 | 1974 | Darwin was struck by Cyclone Tracy, killing 71 people and destroying over 70% of the city’s buildings, including many old stone buildings such as the Palmerston Town Hall. |
| 28 | 1836 | South Australia was proclaimed as a British province by Captain John Hindmarsh after the British Parliament passed the South Australia Act, which empowered King William IV to create South Australia as a British province and to provide for its colonisation and government. |
| 28 | 1989 | Newcastle in New South Wales experienced an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale, killing 13 people, injuring 160 and destroying a number of prominent buildings. |
RELATED: Australian Events in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November