Modern History and First Nations Rights Timeline

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key historical events, treaties, military campaigns, and First Nations rights milestones from 1901 to 2023.

First Nations Immigration Restriction Act (White Australia Policy)

Australian legislation introduced in 1901 following Federation that restricted non-white immigration to Australia.

WWII causes Treaty of Versailles

Peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919 concluding World War I, later recognised as a primary contributing cause of World War II.

WWII causes 1923 German Hyperinflation

Period of extreme economic collapse in Germany in 1923 that served as a cause of World War II.

Interwar Wall Street Crash (1929)

Major American stock market crash in October 1929 that initiated the Great Depression during the interwar period.

Axis Powers Invasion of Manchuria (1931)

Military invasion launched by Japan in 1931, representing an early aggressive expansion by the Axis Powers.

Germany Hitler's Chancellorship Appointment

The event on 30 January 1933 in which Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany.

Holocaust / Axis Nuremberg Laws

Antisemitic laws enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935 targeting Jewish people.

Appeasement Remilitarisation of the Rhineland

The reoccupation of the demilitarised Rhineland by German military forces in 1936 during the appeasement era.

Appeasement Anti-Comintern Pact

An anti-communist pact signed in 1936 between Germany and Japan during the lead-up to World War II.

Day of Mourning (1938)

A major protest held by Aboriginal Australians on 26 January 1938 to mark 150 years of European colonisation.

Anschluss

The annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany, which took place in 1938.

Munich Agreement

Settlement reached on 30 September 1938 permitting Nazi Germany's annexation of parts of Czechoslovakia under appeasement policy.

Kristallnacht

A violent, coordinated Nazi pogrom against Jewish communities and businesses across Germany on 9–10 November 1938.

WWII Invasion of Poland (1939)

The invasion launched by Germany on 1 September 1939, prompting Britain, France, and Australia to declare war on 3 September 1939.

Australian at War Siege of Tobruk

A lengthy military siege in North Africa in 1941 featuring Australian troops defending against Axis forces.

Holocaust Wannsee Conference

A high-level Nazi conference held in 1942 that planned the systematic implementation of the "Final Solution".

Australians at war Kokoda Campaign

A major military campaign fought in Papua in 1942 involving Australian troops defending against Japanese forces.

WWII End of World War II (1945)

The conclusion of the war in 1945 marked by the liberation of concentration camps, the end of war in Europe in May, and in the Pacific in August.

Rights Universal Declaration of Human Rights

A milestone document establishing global human rights standards, adopted on 10 December 1948.

First Nations Freedom Rides (1965)

A 1965 civil rights bus tour through regional New South Wales led by Aboriginal activists and students to expose racial segregation.

First Nations Wave Hill Walk-Off

A strike and walk-off begun in 1966 by the Gurindji people led by Vincent Lingiari, protesting wages, conditions, and dispossession.

First Nations 1967 Referendum

Australian constitutional referendum held on 27 May 1967 that passed with 90.77% voting Yes to include Aboriginal people in the census and enable the Commonwealth to make laws for them.

First Nations 1975 Gurindji Land Handover

The symbolic handing back of traditional land to the Gurindji people by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1975.

First Nations Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody

An inquiry established to examine systemic causes of First Nations deaths in police and prison custody, delivering its final report in 1991.

First Nations Mabo Decision

Landmark High Court of Australia ruling delivered on 3 June 1992 that overturned the doctrine of terra nullius and recognised native title.

First Nations Native Title Act (1993)

Commonwealth legislation enacted in 1993 to provide a national framework for the recognition and protection of native title in Australia.

First Nations Bringing Them Home Report

The 1997 report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families (the Stolen Generations).

First Nations National Apology to the Stolen Generations

The formal apology delivered to the Stolen Generations by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 13 February 2008.

First Nations Voice to Parliament Referendum (2023)

Australian constitutional referendum held in 2023 to establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament, which did not pass.