Timeline of Sydney

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

Pre-Colonial

* 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.
*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. The finds show that the Aboriginal Australians in that region used charcoal, stone tools and possible ancient campfires.
*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.
*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.
*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.
*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.

18th–19th centuries

* 1770 – Lieutenant (later Captain) James Cook, in command of HMS ''Endeavour'', sighted the east coast of Australia and landed at Kurnell.
* 1786 – British government decides to found convict settlement in Botany Bay.
* 1787 – First Fleet of eleven vessels under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip leaves Portsmouth.
* 1788
** Phillip arrives in Botany Bay but moves site of settlement to Sydney Cove.
** French vessels under the command of Lapérouse land in Botany Bay.
** Parramatta founded.
* 1789
** Smallpox epidemic kills many of indigenous population.
** ''Rose Hill Packet'' built for service on Parramatta River.
** Six marines hanged for theft from government stores.
* 1790
** Phillip speared by Willemering at Manly Cove.
** Second Fleet arrives with many convicts in poor condition.
* 1791
** Successful convict farmer James Ruse granted land at Rosehill.
** Convict station established at Old Toongabbie.
** Mary Bryant and other convicts escape by open boat to Timor.
** First convicts arrive from Ireland in the ''Queen''.
* 1792 – Burial Ground established.
* 1793
** John and Elizabeth Macarthur begin building Elizabeth Farm at Rosehill.
** Visit of Malaspina's Spanish exploratory expedition.
** First free settlers arrive on the ''Bellona''.
** Watkin Tench's ''Complete Account of the Settlement at Port Jackson'' published in London.
* 1794 – Maurice Margarot and four other radical political prisoners arrive.
* 1795
** Bennelong returns from visit to England.
** Descendants of cattle that had escaped in 1788 found at Cowpastures (Camden).
* 1796
** White population: 4,000.
** Political prisoner Thomas Muir escapes on American ship.
** Bushranger "Black Caesar" shot and killed.
* 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. The aboriginal people were led by their leader, Pemulwuy, a member of the Bidjigal tribe who occupied the land.Willey, K., When the sky fell down : the destruction of the tribes of the Sydney region, 1788-1850s, Collins, Sydney, 1979
** First windmill.
** First merino sheep brought from Cape of Good Hope by Captain Waterhouse.
* 1798 – First church burns down.
* 1800 – Hundreds of rebels of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 arrive as convicts.
* 1801
** Female Orphan School first state charitable institution.
** Lieutenant Governor Paterson wounded by John Macarthur in a duel.
* 1802
** Visit of Baudin's French exploratory expedition.
** Pemulwuy shot and killed.
* 1803
** ''Sydney Gazette'' newspaper begins publication.
** First Vaucluse House built.
* 1804
** Castle Hill convict rebellion
** Fort Phillip construction begins.
* 1805 – first whaling vessels based in Sydney.
* 1808 – New South Wales Corps depose Governor Bligh in Rum Rebellion.
* 1810
** Macquarie Street laid out.
** Liverpool founded.
* 1813
** Crossing of Blue Mountains opens route from Sydney to west.
** Benevolent Society founded as charity for general purposes.
** First steam engine imported.
* 1814 – Native Institution established for education of black children.
* 1816
** Royal Botanic Gardens open.
** Sydney Hospital built.
* 1817
** Bank of New South Wales established.
** Construction of Fort Macquarie begun on Bennelong Point.
* 1818 – Macquarie Lighthouse operational.
* 1819
** Hyde Park Barracks built.
** Visit of de Freycinet's French exploratory expedition.
* 1820
** Devonshire Street Cemetery established.
** Deaths from flu epidemic.
* 1821
** First Catholic church, St Mary's, begins construction.
** Philosophical Society (later Royal Society of New South Wales) founded.
* 1823 – Sydney Royal Easter Show begins.
* 1824
** St James' Church consecrated.
** New South Wales Supreme Court proclaimed.
** ''The Australian'' newspaper begins publication.
* 1826
** Scots Church opened.
** Eliza Darling establishes the first friendly society, the Female Friendly Society of the Town of Sydney.
* 1825 – New South Wales Legislative Council established in Sydney.
* 1827 – Australian Museum established.
* 1828
** Thieves steal some £14,000 in Bank of Australia robbery.
** North Head begins use as quarantine station.
* 1831
** Weekly ''Sydney Herald'' newspaper begins publication.
** The King's School, Parramatta founded.
* 1833
** Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts founded.
** Randwick Racecourse opened.
** Theatre Royal opened.
* 1834
** First Catholic bishop appointed.
** Markets consolidated at Paddy's Markets site at Haymarket.
** Australian Union Benefit Society formed to support workers in distress.
** Commercial Banking Company of Sydney founded.
* 1835 – Tooth and Co. build Kent Brewery at Blackwattle Creek.
* 1836
** Visit of Charles Darwin on voyage of the ''Beagle''.
** First Anglican bishop installed.
** Great North Road completed connecting Sydney to Hunter Valley.
* 1837 – Government House and Botany-Sydney aqueduct built.
* 1838
** Seven perpetrators of Myall Creek Massacre hanged.
** David Jones (shop) in business.
* 1839
** Penal establishment for secondary punishment opened on Cockatoo Island.
** First ice imported to Sydney from Boston.
* 1840
** Farmers & Co. in business.
** Visiting Maori chiefs' attempted sale of South Island to W.C. Wentworth and associates prevented by Governor Gipps.
* 1841
** Caroline Chisholm establishes Female Immigrants Home
** Darlinghurst Gaol in operation.
** Scarlet fever epidemic.
* 1842
** City incorporated; city council elected.
** Area of city: 11.65 square kilometres (approximate).
** Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney established.
* 1843 – Depth of depression with failures of Bank of Australia and Sydney Banking Company.
* 1846
** Hero's welcome to Ludwig Leichhardt on his return from overland expedition to Port Essington.
** First Australian meat canning plant opened.
* 1847
** Isaac Nathan's opera ''Don John of Austria'' produced at Royal Victoria Theatre.
** Herman Melville's ''Omoo'' describes a whaling voyage from Sydney.
* 1848
** House of the Good Shepherd and Sydney Female Refuge founded as women's refuges.
** First shipment of Irish Famine orphans arrives on the ''Earl Grey''.
* 1849
** Arrival of '' Hashemy'', last convict transport.
** Foundation of AMP Society to provide life insurance.
* 1850
** University of Sydney established.
** ''Freeman's Journal'' newspaper begins publication.
* 1853 – Manly ferry services begin.
* 1854
** Sydney Cricket Ground opens.
** St Paul's College founded.
* 1855
** First New South Wales Government Railways train operates from Redfern to Parramatta.
** Sydney Mint established in General Hospital and Dispensary building.
** Stonemasons first workers to win Eight-hour day.
* 1856
** First Pyrmont Bridge built.
** St Philip's Church rebuilt.
** Anglican Moore Theological College opens.
** First Australian medical school established at Sydney University
* 1857
** Wreck of ''Dunbar'' at The Gap kills 121.
** Fitzroy Dock dry dock completed on Cockatoo Island Dockyard.
** St Vincent's Hospital founded by Sisters of Charity.
** St John's College founded.
** Construction of Fort Denison completed.
** Australian Museum opened to the public.
* 1858
** Sydney Observatory built.
** Royal Navy takes over Garden Island for use as naval base.
* 1859
** Parliamentary electoral districts of East Sydney and West Sydney created.
** Great Hall of the University of Sydney completed.
* 1861
** Thomas Sutcliffe Mort establishes freezing works at Darling Harbour.
** First horse-drawn trams run from Circular Quay to Redfern station.
** Population: 95,000 city and suburbs.
* 1865 – St Mary's Cathedral destroyed by fire.
* 1867
** Henry Kendall's poem ''Bell-Birds'' published in ''Sydney Morning Herald''.
** Measles epidemic kills some 750, mostly young children.
* 1868
** Belmore Park opens.
** St Andrew's Cathedral consecrated.
** Prince Alfred survives shooting by Irishman Henry O'Farrell at Clontarf.
** First mention of Granny Smith apple, discovered by Maria Smith at Ryde.
* 1869 – Sydney Free Public Library established.
* 1871
** Trades & Labor Council formed as peak union body.
** Sydney Exchange and Academy of Art founded.
* 1872
** Sydney connected to Europe by telegraph.
** Fish market opens in Woolloomooloo.
** Toohey's opens Darling Brewery.
* 1874 – Art Gallery of New South Wales opened.
* 1877 – Waverley Cemetery established near city.
* 1878
** Great Synagogue completed.
** Robinson-Finlay wedding takes place.
* 1879
** St Aloysius College, Jesuit school established.
** 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.
** Royal National Park established near city.
** Joseph Conrad's first visit to Sydney.
* 1880
** ''The Bulletin'' magazine first published.
** Jesuit school Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview established on Lane Cove River.
* 1881
** Population: 237,300 city and suburbs.
** First telephone exchange.
* 1882
** Sydney Showground opens.
** St Mary's Cathedral consecrated.
** Royal Prince Alfred Hospital opened.
** Garden Palace destroyed by fire.
** Sydney Technical College formed, incorporating Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts.
** Royal Easter Show moves to Moore Park site.
* 1883
** Melbourne–Sydney railway built.
** Sydney High School and Sydney Wharf Labourers Union established.
** Sydney University Medical School founded by Professor Anderson Stuart.
** Sydney Cricket Ground hosts third and fourth tests in first test tour in Australia.
* 1885 – Doyles Restaurant at Watsons Bay founded.
* 1886 – Angus & Robertson bookselling partnership formed.
* 1887 – Four hanged in Mount Rennie rape case.
* 1888
** Arrival of ''Afghan'' from Hong Kong sparks anti-Chinese demonstrations.
** Centennial Park established to mark centenary of Sydney.
** Louisa Lawson founds '' The Dawn'' feminist magazine.
** Charles Conder's paintings ''Coogee Bay'' and ''Departure of the Orient - Circular Quay''.
** Intercolonial Rabbit Commission meets to consider schemes for eradication of rabbits.
* 1889
** Sydney Town Hall built.
** Women's College and Sydney Church of England Grammar School founded.
** St Patrick's Seminary, Manly, founded.
* 1890
** Sydney Town Hall Grand Organ installed.
** Banjo Paterson's poem ''The Man from Snowy River published in ''The Bulletin''.
** Julian Ashton Art School established.
** Kerry photography studio in business.
* 1891
** General Post Office built.
** Population: 399,270 city and suburbs.
** Australia Hotel opens with visit of Sarah Bernhardt.
* 1892
** Strand Arcade opens.
** GPS (Great Public Schools) Association founded.
** Henry Lawson's short story ''The Drover's Wife'' published in ''The Bulletin''.
** Suspension Bridge connects Northbridge and Cammeray.
* 1893
** Technological Museum opens.
** Royal Sydney Golf Club founded.
** Arthur Streeton's painting ''Railway Station, Redfern''.
* 1894
** ''Seven Little Australians'' published.
** Photographic Society of New South Wales founded.
* 1895 – City Tattersalls Club formed.
* 1896 – Australis motor car manufactured in Leichhardt.
* 1897
** Balmain Colliery dug.
** Sacred Heart Monastery, Kensington, constructed.
* 1898
** Queen Victoria Building constructed.
** Clyde Engineering formed to manufacture railway rolling stock.
* 1899 – Ultimo Power Station commissioned.
* 1900
** Sydney Harbour Trust active.
** Bubonic plague outbreak.
** NSW troops embark for Boer War.

20th century

1900s–1940s

* 1901
** Inauguration of Commonwealth of Australia at Centennial Park.
** Royal Australian Historical Society founded.
** Population: 112,137 city; 369,693 suburbs.
** Fire destroys Anthony Hordern's department store with 5 lives lost.
** Haberfield subdivided to create garden suburb of Federation houses.
* 1902 – Second Pyrmont Bridge built.
* 1903
** Glebe Island Bridge and Her Majesty's Theatre rebuilt.
** Bronte Surf Club became the first Surf Club as noted in Bronte by S. Vesper in his history of the Bronte Surf Club
** Death of prominent Chinese businessman Quong Tart after bashing.
* 1904 – Electric street lighting installed.
* 1905 – Hordern's Palace Emporium in business.
* 1906
** Central railway station opens.
** Bondi Surf Bathers' Life Saving Club active.
* 1907
** 20 October: Bathing costume protests.
** Melbourne–Sydney telephone begins operating.
* 1908
** Camperdown becomes part of city.
** New South Wales Rugby League Premiership formed
** Burns-Johnson world heavyweight boxing title fight at Sydney Stadium.
** Visit of American Great White Fleet.
* 1909
** City of Sydney Library established.
** Mark Foy's emporium opened on Liverpool Street.
** First powered flight in Australia at Victoria Park Racecourse, Zetland.
* 1910 – '' The Sun'' newspaper begins publication.
* 1912
** Natural living advocate William Chidley declared insane and confined in Callan Park Hospital.
** Culwulla Chambers built.
* 1913
** Eileen O'Connor founds Our Lady's Nurses for the Poor to assist the sick poor at home.
** Parcel Post Office built at Railway Square.
** Arrival of first Royal Australian Navy fleet.
** Sydney quarantined in smallpox epidemic.
* 1914 – Anzacs train at Kensington Racecourse before being sent to Gallipoli.
* 1915
** Sydney Conservatorium of Music established.
* 1916
** First Anzac Day commemoration in Sydney.
** 14 February: Liverpool riot of 1916.
** Taronga Zoo opens.
** '' Art in Australia'' magazine begins publication.
** Middleweight boxer Les Darcy wins Australian heavyweight championship at Sydney Stadium.
* 1917
** General strike begins with walkouts of Sydney railway workers.
** J.G. Park photography studio in business (approximate date).
** White Bay Power Station operational.
* 1918
** Crowds celebrate Armistice Day.
** Publication of ''Snugglepot and Cuddlepie'' introduces May Gibbs' cartoon gumnut babies.
** Norman Lindsay's children's book ''The Magic Pudding'' published.
* 1919
** Some 3500 die in Spanish Flu epidemic.
** Elioth Gruner's ''Spring Frost'' painted at Emu Plains.
* 1920
** Communist Party of Australia formed.
** 18 February: World's "first" swimsuit competition (beauty contest) held in Sydney.
** Hurlstone Park Choral Society formed.
** ''The Home'' luxury magazine first published.
* 1921
** First award of Archibald Prize for portraiture.
** Bronte Splashers Winter Swimming Club was formed becoming the first Winter Swimming Club in Australia.
* 1922
** Country Women's Association founded.
** State funeral for Henry Lawson.
** D.H. Lawrence's brief visit results in novel ''Kangaroo'' set in extreme Right and Left politics in Sydney.
* 1923 – ABC radio station 2BL begins broadcasting.
* 1924
** Sydney Airport begins operating.
** Hordern Pavilion built.
** Architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin move to Castlecrag and begin designing the suburb.
** Star Amphitheatre completed at Balmoral Beach.
** HMAS ''Australia'' scuttled off Sydney Heads under terms of disarmament treaty.
* 1925 – Poet Christopher Brennan dismissed by Sydney University for divorce and drunkenness.
* 1926
** Electric train services begin
** Radio station 2GB begins broadcasting.
** Anna Pavlova dances at Her Majesty's Theatre.
** Patent for Weet-Bix cereal registered.
* 1927
** St James railway station opens.
** Sydney Cenotaph erected.
** Hyde Park built.
** Greycliffe ferry disaster on Sydney Harbour kills 40.
** Darrell Lea chocolate shop established in Haymarket.
** Romano's Restaurant opens.
** Aeroplane Jelly launched.

* 1928
** Capitol Theatre opens.
** Government Savings Bank building constructed.
** Catholic Eucharistic Congress witnessed by 500,000.
** Kingsford Smith leaves for first Trans-Tasman flight.
** Alexander MacRae's line of swimwear renamed Speedos.
* 1929
** State Theatre opens.
** Sun Building constructed.
* 1930
** Modern Art Centre opens.
** Grace Building constructed in Art Deco style.
** Grace Cossington Smith's painting ''The Bridge in Curve'' shows the Harbour Bridge under construction.

* 1931 – Collapse of Government Savings Bank and amalgamation with Commonwealth Bank.
* 1932
** Sydney Harbour Bridge, Town Hall railway station, and Wynyard railway station open.
** Governor Sir Philip Game dismisses Premier Jack Lang in constitutional crisis.
** Bodyline bowling of Harold Larwood secures England victory in first test match.
** Dymocks building constructed.
** Archibald Fountain unveiled.
** Arthur Stace begins decades of chalking "Eternity" on Sydney pavements.
** Edward Hallstrom's refrigerator factory opens in Willoughby.
* 1933
** ''The Australian Women's Weekly'' begins publication.
** Australia's first traffic lights installed at corner of Market and Kent Streets.
* 1934
** Anzac Memorial, Hyde Park opened.
** Communist Egon Kisch given test in Scottish Gaelic in attempt to exclude him from Australia.
** Christina Stead's novel ''Seven Poor Men of Sydney'' portrays struggles of poor intellectuals.
** Comedian Roy Rene's only film, ''Strike Me Lucky'' made by Ken G. Hall.
* 1935
** Luna Park and Astoria Theatre open.
** Shark Arm case when human arm found in captured shark.
** Shark Menace Advisory Committee recommends meshing.
** Olive Cotton's photograph ''Tea cup ballet''.
* 1936
** First Black and White charity ball.
** Ford car factory opened at Homebush West.
** Harry's Cafe de Wheels pie cart opens in Woolloomooloo.
* 1938
** City hosts 1938 British Empire Games.
** Five dead when large waves wash away sandbar at Bondi Beach.
** Aboriginal Day of Mourning protests sesquicentenary celebrations of settlement.
** Rose Bay Flying Boat Base opened with flights to London.
* 1939
** AWA Tower built.
** Last execution in NSW.
** Kenneth Slessor's poem ''Five Bells'' commemorates friend who drowned in Sydney Harbour.
** Prime Minister Joseph Lyons dies at St Vincent's Hospital.

* 1940
** St. James Theatre opens.
** Charles Chauvel movie ''Forty Thousand Horsemen'' filmed at Bondi and Cronulla.
** ''Dunera'' arrives after horror voyage with "enemy aliens".
** Christina Stead's novel ''The Man Who Loved Children'' describes growing up with a controlling paterfamilias.
* 1941
** ''Daily Mirror'' newspaper begins publication.
** '' Queen Mary'' departs Sydney with troops for Middle East.
* 1942
** Anti-submarine defences built.
** May–June: Attack on Sydney Harbour by Japanese midget submarines.
** Bankstown Bunker constructed as Air Defence HQ.
** Yaralla Military Hospital (later Concord Repatriation General Hospital) opened.
* 1943
** Sydney University philosopher John Anderson censured by State Parliament for anti-religious views.
** William Dobell's Archibald Prize-winning portrait ''Mr Joshua Smith'' subject of legal case as to whether it was a caricature.
** Kylie Tennant's novel ''Ride on Stranger'' describes a country girl making her way in the city.
* 1944 – Sali Herman's painting ''McElhone Stairs'' wins Wynne Prize.
* 1945
** Celebration of VJ Day.
** First Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.
* 1946
** Sydney Symphony Orchestra active.
** Norman Gilroy named first Australian-born cardinal.
** Criminal Darcy Dugan makes first of several escapes from custody.
* 1947
** Population: 95,852 city; 1,484,434 metro.
** Qantas operates Sydney-London Kangaroo Route.
** New Year's Day hailstorm causes massive damage.
** Don Bradman scores 100th Test century.
** Australian School of Pacific Administration moved to Middle Head.
* 1948
** Visit of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh.
** Communist-Catholic debate attracts 30,000 to Sydney Stadium.
** Ruth Park's novel ''The Harp in the South'' describes an inner-Sydney poor Irish community.
** Qantas connects Australia to Africa via air for first time via Sydney-Johannesburg Wallaby Route.
* 1949
**Alexandria, Darlington, Erskineville, Glebe, Newtown, Paddington, Redfern, and Waterloo become part of the city.
** University of Technology (later University of New South Wales) established.
** Australia's first computer, CSIRAC, constructed at CSIRO Radiophysics Lab.
** Security forces seize documents in raid on Communist headquarters Marx House.
** Ingrid Bergman stars in Alfred Hitchcock's film ''Under Capricorn'', set in 1830s Sydney.

1950s–1990s

* 1950
** Nuffield Australia opens car assembly plant at Zetland.
** Lloyd Rees awarded Wynne Prize for ''The Harbour From McMahon's Point''.
* 1951
** Joan Sutherland's stage debut in Eugene Goossens' opera ''Judith''.
** Cumberland Plan adopted for green belt around city.
* 1952 – Berala train crash kills 10.
* 1953
** '' Sydney Sun-Herald'' newspaper in publication.
** Racehorse trainer Tommy J. Smith wins the first of 33 consecutive Sydney Trainers' Premierships.
** Rugby League commentator Frank Hyde broadcasts the first of 33 consecutive grand finals on 2SM.
** Fictionalised autobiography '' Caddie, A Sydney Barmaid'' published.
* 1954
** Queen Elizabeth II makes first royal visit.
** Sydney Film Festival begins.
* 1955 – Public outcry against Rosaleen Norton, the "Witch of Kings Cross", for alleged Satanism.
* 1956
** ATN Channel 7 television begins broadcasting.
** Circular Quay railway station opened.
** St George rugby league club wins the first of 11 consecutive premierships.
** Kurnell oil refinery built.
** Kirribilli House begins use as Prime Ministerial residence.
** Anti-communist cultural magazine '' Quadrant'' founded.
** James Dibble begins 27 years as ABC TV newsreader.
** Conservatorium director Eugene Goossens resigns after pornography found at Airport.
* 1957
** Jørn Utzon wins competition to design Sydney Opera House.
** John Laws joins 2UE, beginning 50-year Sydney radio career.
* 1958
** Cahill Expressway completed.
** National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) founded.
** First Australian nuclear reactor opened at Lucas Heights.
** Betty Archdale appointed headmistress of Abbotsleigh.
* 1959
** J. J. Cahill dies in office after seven years as premier.
** 150,000 attend evangelist Billy Graham's last appearance at Sydney Showground.
** D'Arcy Niland's novel '' The Big Smoke'' tells stories of early twentieth-century Sydney.
* 1960
** Murder of Graeme Thorne solved with scientific methods.
** Overseas Passenger Terminal opens at Circular Quay.
* 1961
** Last Trams in Sydney operate.
** Dr William McBride reveals thalidomide is causing birth defects.
* 1962
** First performance by Australian Ballet at Her Majesty's Theatre.
** Shows by visiting comedian Lenny Bruce cancelled for obscenity.
** AMP Building opens, then the tallest building in Australia.
** Blues Point Tower completed.
* 1963
** Mysterious deaths of Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler.
** Lifeline telephone counselling service launched by Rev Alan Walker.
* 1964
** Gladesville Bridge opened.
** Macquarie University established.
** Dawn Fraser returns from Tokyo Olympics with third consecutive women's 100m freestyle gold medal.
** Rev Ted Noffs establishes Wayside Chapel near Kings Cross.
** The Beatles perform at Sydney Stadium.
** ''The Mavis Bramston Show'' brings satirical sketch comedy to Australian TV.
** Editors of '' Oz'' magazine convicted of obscenity but conviction overturned on appeal.
** First of Charmian Clift's five years of essays in ''Sydney Morning Herald''.
** Paddington Society founded.
* 1965
** Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti in J.C. Williamson's opera tour.
** Controversy over failure of Sydney University to appoint Dr Knopfelmacher to post in political philosophy.
** Roselands Shopping Centre opens.
** Robin Dalton's memoir ''Aunts up the Cross'' describes interwar life in Kings Cross.
** Afferbeck Lauder's ''Let Stalk Strine'' published.
** Wanda Beach Murders.
** Sydney Maritime Museum founded.
** Hydrofoil ferry service to Manly begins.
* 1966
** Attempted assassination of Arthur Calwell, Federal opposition leader, in Mosman.
** Protestors disrupt motorcade of President Lyndon Johnson in Oxford Street.
** Significant changes to Opera House design after Jørn Utzon's resignation.
** Movie comedy ''They're a Weird Mob'' portrays tensions between Italian immigrants and Irish-Australians.
** Children's TV series ''Play School'' begins broadcasting.
* 1967
** Australia Square hi-rise built.
** Thomas Keneally wins Miles Franklin Award for novel ''Bring Larks and Heroes'' set in early Sydney.
** ABC TV current affairs show ''This Day Tonight'' premieres.
** Bourbon & Beefsteak pub opens in Kings Cross, catering to American servicemen on leave from Vietnam.
** HMAS Platypus, Neutral Bay commissioned as base for Oberon-class submarines.
* 1968
** South Sydney Municipal Council created.
** Sydney Region Outline Plan envisages dispersed city centres.
** Sister city relationship established with San Francisco, USA.
** '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'' TV series begins broadcast.
** Australia's first heart transplant by Dr Harry Windsor unsuccessful.
** Glenfield siege ends with wedding of gunman and hostage.
** D.M. Armstrong's ''A Materialist Theory of the Mind'' defends philosophical theory that the mind is identical with the brain.
** Entrepreneur Dick Smith founds Dick Smith Car Radios, later Dick Smith Electronics.
* 1969
** Musical ''Hair'' provokes controversy over nudity and swearing.
** Death by overdose of English comedian Tony Hancock.
* 1970
** Pope Paul VI makes first papal visit.
** Nimrod Theatre founded.
** Aboriginal Legal Service founded in Redfern.
* 1971
** City of Sydney Strategic Plan created.
** Green Bans begin in Hunters Hill.
** Protests against Springbok rugby union tour.
** First City2Surf fun run and race.
** First McDonald's in Australia opens at Yagoona.
** Qantas pays $500,000 ransom in bomb hoax.
* 1972
** Construction workers take over the Sydney Opera House.
** Aboriginal Medical Service established in Redfern.
** Gough Whitlam's Blacktown speech launches successful Labor It's Time federal election campaign.
** Soap opera Number 96 stretches boundaries of what can be shown on TV.
** '' Cleo'' magazine for young women founded with Ita Buttrose as editor.
** Fashion designer Carla Zampatti opens first boutique in Surry Hills.
* 1973
** Sydney Opera House opens.
** Patrick White awarded Nobel Prize for Literature.
** Political disturbances in Sydney University Philosophy Department lead to strike and split in department.
* 1974
** Elsie Women's Refuge established in Glebe.
** Federal government buys Glebe Estate to begin urban renewal.
** Bob Hawke and Frank Sinatra negotiate deal for Sinatra to continue controversial tour.
* 1975
** Disappearance of activist Juanita Nielsen.
** Savoy Hotel fire kills 15.
** Development begins of Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System.
** Triple J radio begins broadcasting.
** Radio Station 2EA (later SBS Radio) begins broadcasts in multiple languages.
** Premiere of TV comedy ''The Norman Gunston show'' with Garry McDonald.
** Gough Whitlam meets Iraqi agents at Blues Point Tower seeking money for electioneering.
* 1976 – Sydney New Year's Eve firework display launched.
* 1977
** Granville train disaster kills 84.
** Sydney Festival begins.
** Harry Seidler-designed MLC Centre opens.
** First Sydney International Piano Competition.
* 1978
** First Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
** Painter Brett Whiteley wins Archibald Prize, Archibald, Wynne Prize, Wynne and Sulman Prize, Sulman prizes in same year.
** Sydney Hilton Hotel bombing, Hilton bombing kills three.
* 1979
** 9 June: 1979 Sydney Ghost Train fire.
** Martin Place, Sydney, Martin Place pedestrianised.
** Eastern Suburbs railway line opens.
** Sydney Theatre Company founded.
** Teen novel ''Puberty Blues (novel), Puberty Blues'' describes surfing culture in Sutherland Shire.
** Racing identity and crime figure George Freeman (bookmaker), George Freeman survives being shot in the neck.
* 1980
** Collapse of Nugan Hand Bank.
** Publication of the first of Peter Corris's Cliff Hardy detective novels.
** Clive James's memoir ''Unreliable Memoirs'' describes his Sydney childhood and youth.
** CPAP machine for sleep apnea developed by Colin Sullivan (physician), Colin Sullivan.
** SBS Television begins broadcasts in multiple languages from studios in Milsons Point, New South Wales, Milsons Point.
** Advance Airlines Flight 4210, Crash at Sydney Airport kills 13.
* 1981
** Sydney Tower opened.
** Drug dealer Warren Lanfranchi shot dead by policeman Roger Rogerson in Chippendale, New South Wales, Chippendale.
** Croatian Six convicted of conspiracy to bomb several targets.
** First edition of Macquarie Dictionary of Australian English.
** Judy Davis/Bryan Brown movie ''Winter of Our Dreams'' portrays inner-Sydney life.
* 1982
** Sydney Israeli Consulate and Hakoah Club bombings, Bombings of Israeli Consulate and Hakoah Club.
** First Harvey Norman retail store opened at Auburn, New South Wales, Auburn.
* 1983
** Hillsong Church established in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, Baulkham Hills.
** Glenn Murcutt-designed Berowra Waters Inn restaurant opened by Gay Bilson, Gay and Tony Bilson.
** Golfer Jack Newton loses right arm after walking into propeller at Sydney Airport.
** Joan Sutherland, Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti, Pavarotti perform at Sydney Opera House, Opera House benefit concert.
** Beverly Hills Twin Cinema in business.
* 1984
** Victor Chang performs Australia's first successful heart transplant at St Vincent's Hospital.
** Judge's wife killed in Family Court of Australia attacks.
** Seven killed in Milperra massacre bikie shootout.
* 1985
** Parliament House, Sydney, Parliament House rebuilt.
** Granny Smith Festival begins in Eastwood, New South Wales, Eastwood.
** Financial services firm Hill Samuel becomes Macquarie Group, Macquarie Bank.
** Lionel Murphy, Justice Lionel Murphy convicted of attempting to pervert the course of justice (later overturned).
** Chief Stipendiary Magistrate Murray Farquhar jailed for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
** Suicide of Harry Bailey, Dr Harry Bailey while under investigation for deep sleep therapy at Chelmsford Hospital.
* 1986
** ''This Sporting Life (radio program), This Sporting Life'' radio comedy with Roy and HG first broadcast.
** Body of Sallie-Anne Huckstepp found in Centennial Park.
** Anita Cobby murder.
* 1987
** David Williamson's play ''Emerald City (play), Emerald City'' satirises Sydney cultural life.
** TV sitcom ''Hey Dad..!'' begins.
** University of Sydney's Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific established.
* 1988
** Sydney Monorail opens
** University of Technology, Sydney and University of Sydney's Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies established.
** Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre and Powerhouse Museum open.
** Australian Bicentenary events staged including First Fleet Re-enactment Voyage, First Fleet Re-enactment on Sydney Harbour.
** Kay Cottee completes first women's solo non-stop unassisted circumnavigation of world.
** Peter Sculthorpe's composition ''Kakadu (Sculthorpe), Kakadu'' completed.
** Bicentennial Park, Homebush Bay and Mount Annan Botanic Garden open near city.
** New South Wales Institute of Technology becomes University of Technology Sydney.
* 1989
** South Sydney City Council established.
** Area of city: 6.19 square kilometres.
** Neil Perry opens Rockpool restaurant.
** St James Ethics Centre (later The Ethics Centre) founded.
** Three colleges federate to form University of Western Sydney (later Western Sydney University).

* 1990
** Sydney Children's Choir founded.
** Bell Shakespeare company founded by actor John Bell (Australian actor), John Bell.
** Arrest of "Granny Killer" John Wayne Glover.
** Media tycoon Kerry Packer revived after severe heart attack while playing polo at Warwick Farm, New South Wales, Warwick Farm.
** Eureka Prizes for science inaugurated.
* 1991
** Sydney Park established.
** ''Brides of Christ'' TV miniseries dramatises convent life.
** Heart surgeon Victor Chang shot dead in Mosman.
** Eight dead in Strathfield massacre.
** Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Museum of Contemporary Art opens in former Maritime Services Board building.
** Chris Riley (priest), Fr Chris Riley founds Youth Off The Streets charity.
* 1992
** Sydney Harbour Tunnel opened.
** Sydney Jewish Museum opened.
** Romantic comedy ''Strictly Ballroom'' portrays the world of competitive ballroom dancing.
** Reality TV series ''Sylvania Waters (TV series), Sylvania Waters'' portrays wealthy suburban life.
** Melina Marchetta's novel ''Looking for Alibrandi (novel), Looking for Alibrandi'' explores growing up in multicultural inner Sydney.
* 1993
** Sydney makes successful Bids_for_the_2000_Summer_Olympics, bid for 2000 Olympics.
** South Sydney Heritage Society founded.
** Offset Alpine fire raises suspicions of arson.
** Liberal Presbyterian minister Peter Cameron (minister), Peter Cameron convicted of heresy by church court.
* 1994
** Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, Sydney International Aquatic Centre opens.
** Politician John Newman (Australian politician), John Newman assassinated in Cabramatta, New South Wales, Cabramatta.
** 1994 eastern seaboard fires, January bushfires penetrate several suburbs.
** Two blank shots fired at Prince Charles by David Kang at Darling Harbour.
* 1995
** Anzac Bridge opens.
** Pope John Paul II beatifies Mary MacKillop at Randwick Racecourse.
** Museum of Sydney opens.
** The Star, Sydney, Sydney's first legal casino opens.
* 1996
** Princess Diana attends Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute Royal Ball.
** CSIRO patents successful fast wifi technology developed by John O'Sullivan (engineer), John O'Sullivan and other scientists.
* 1997
** Royal Commission into the New South Wales Police Service, Wood Royal Commission finds widespread corruption in NSW Police Force.
** Asian Australian Artists’ Association Gallery 4A opens.
** The Star, Sydney casino opens
** First Sydney Writers' Festival.
** Inner West Light Rail opens between Central and Wentworth Park, signalling the return of trams to Sydney after 36 years.
* 1998
** March: Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre, State Hockey Centre opens.
** July: 1998 Sydney water crisis
** BridgeClimb Sydney commences
** 1998 Sydney water crisis, Water crisis over fears of contamination with pathogens.
** Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority formed to coordinate state-owned Harbour properties.
* 1999
** 6 March: Stadium Australia opens.
** 4 October: Sydney Super Dome opens.
** 8 December: Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre, NSW Tennis Centre opens.
** City Recital Hall opens.
** Lucy Dudko enables escape of prisoner from Silverwater Correctional Complex, Silverwater Jail in hijacked helicopter.
** 1999 Sydney hailstorm, Hailstorm causes damage of around A$2.3bn.
* 2000
** September: City hosts 2000 Summer Olympics & 2000 Summer Paralympics
** City of Sydney Historical Association founded.
** Spires of St Mary's Cathedral completed.
** Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, Mary Donaldson meets her future husband, Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, Prince Frederik of Denmark, at the Royal George Hotel, Sydney, Slip Inn.

21st century

2000s

* 2001
** Sydney Harbour Federation Trust established.
** Population: 4,128,272.
** Drama film ''Lantana (film), Lantana'' portrays complex relationships in Sydney suburbia.
* 2002
** Glenn Murcutt awarded Pritzker Architecture Prize.
** Six members of Coogee Dolphins rugby league club killed in 2002 Bali bombings, Bali bombing.
** Short and Sweet (festival), Short and Sweet 10-minute play festival founded.
* 2003
** Lowy Institute for International Policy headquartered in city.
** George Pell, Archbishop Pell appointed cardinal.
** Prominent stockbroker Rene Rivkin found guilty of insider trading.
* 2004
** 14 February: 2004 Redfern riots.
** City of South Sydney becomes part of City of Sydney.
** Judicial inquiry criticises James Hardie Industries for evading compensation to victims of asbestos.
* 2005
** December: 2005 Cronulla riots occur near city.
** 2005 Macquarie Fields riots, Macquarie Fields riots.
** Cross City Tunnel opens.
** Businessman Rodney Adler jailed for misconduct related to the collapse of HIH Insurance.
** Sydney Swans Australian Rules football team win 2005 AFL Grand Final, AFL Grand Final.
** Bankstown Bites Food Festival and Sydney Comedy Festival begin.
* 2006
** Liberal arts college Campion College opens at Toongabbie, New South Wales, Toongabbie.
** ''Bondi Rescue'' TV series first broadcast.
* 2007
** September: APEC Australia 2007, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meets in city.
** Sydney Underground Film Festival begins.
* 2008 – Pope Benedict XVI visits for World Youth Day 2008.
* 2009
** Institute for Economics and Peace headquartered in city.
** Festival of Dangerous Ideas begins.
** First Vivid Sydney festival

2010s

* 2010
** Sydney Desalination Plant at Kurnell begins operation.
** Jessica Watson returns to Sydney after solo round the world voyage.
* 2011
** Population: 4,028,524.
* 2012
** Redevelopment of Barangaroo, New South Wales, Barangaroo commences.
* 2013
** Southern Sydney Freight Line opened.
** White Bay Cruise Terminal opened.
* 2014
** 2014 Sydney hostage crisis
** Second Sydney Airport location announced as Badgerys Creek, New South Wales, Badgerys Creek.
* 2015
** 2015 Parramatta shooting, Police worker killed by Islamic terrorist in Parramatta.
* 2017
** Population reaches 5 million, according to the 2016 Australian census.
* 2019
** Completion of the Sydney Metro Northwest, the first line of the upcoming Sydney Metro, Australia's first rapid transit system.
** CBD and South East Light Rail, Light Rail opens from Circular Quay to Randwick, New South Wales, Randwick.
** Death of serial killer Ivan Milat in jail.
* 2020
** 4 Jan Record high temperature of 48.9 °C (120 °F) recorded at Penrith.
** Disembarkation of ''Ruby Princess'' cruise ship leads to cluster of COVID-19 cases.
** Opening of the remaining leg of the Light Rail to Kingsford

See also

* History of Sydney
* List of mayors, lord mayors and administrators of Sydney
* Governors of New South Wales#List of Governors of New South Wales, List of Governors of New South Wales, headquartered in Sydney
* Premier of New South Wales, List of Premiers of New South Wales, headquartered in Sydney.

References

Bibliography

Published in the 19th century

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1962 facsimile
published by Ure Smith)
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Published in the 20th century

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* K. W. Robinson, 'Sydney, 1850–1952, A Comparison of Developments in the Heart of the City', Australian Geographer, Vol. 6, 1952–1956
* Nineteenth Century Sydney: Essays in Urban History, M. Kelly (ed.), Sydney University Press, 1978
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* P. Webber, ed. (1988), The Design of Sydney. Sydney: Law Book Company.
* Shirley H. Fitzgerald, Sydney 1842–1992 (Hale and Iremonger, Sydney, 1992)
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* J. Birmingham. (1999), ''Leviathan: The Unauthorised Biography of Sydney''. Knopf.

Published in the 21st century

* ''Sydney: the Emergence of a World City''. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 2000.
* P. Spearritt. (2000), ''Sydney's Century: a History''. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press.
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External links

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Items related to Sydney
various dates (via Europeana).

Items related to Sydney
various dates (via Digital Public Library of America).

{{Coord, -33.859972, 151.211111, type:city, display=title

History of Sydney,
Sydney-related lists,
Timelines of cities in Australia, Sydney
New South Wales timelines