Australian Bicentenary

The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1970 on the 200th anniversary of Captain James Cook landing and claiming the land, and again in 1988 to celebrate 200 years of permanent white settlement.

1970

The bicentenary of Captain James Cook's arrival and claiming of the east coast of Australia in 1770. The name of the place on which he is believed to have made first landfall was renamed from Cape Everard back to the name Cook had given it, Point Hicks.

1988

'The bicentenary of Captain Arthur Phillip's arrival with the First Fleet in Sydney Harbour in 1788 and the founding of the city of Sydney and the colony of New South Wales.

The Australian Bicentennial Authority (ABA) was setup to plan, fund and coordinate projects that emphasized the nation's cultural heritage. State Councils were also created to ensure cooperation between the federal and state governments. The result was a national programme of events and celebrations to commemorate the Bicentenary, including,

* World Expo '88 in Brisbane the largest event of these celebrations.
* the First Fleet re-enactment in Sydney Harbour
* Australian Bicentennial Exhibition, toured throughout Australia
* Australia Live, a television special
* all Australian schoolchildren were presented with a Bicentennial "Heritage Medallion"
* the issue by the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (from late 1987 to the end of 1988) of over 160,000 commemorative Bicentennial number plates which were sold at a premium.

The opening ceremony of the 16th World Scout Jamboree, which took place at midnight on December 31, 1987, was the first official event of Australia's Bicentenary.

1988 was also marked by the completion of many unique development projects such as the Bicentennial National Trail and on 9 May of that year, Queen Elizabeth II opened the New Parliament House in Canberra. [cite web | url = http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page4385.asp | title = Historic speeches: The Queen marks Australia's bicentenary | accessdate = 14 August | accessyear = 2006 | date = 9 May 1988]

Significant improvements to Australian roads were made through the "Australian Bicentennial Road Development Program" [ [http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?SC=Subject&SA=Australian%20Bicentennial%20Road%20Development%20Program%2E&PID=414&BROWSE=1&HC=1&SID=3 National Library of Australia Catalogue ] ]

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