A.B. 'Banjo' Paterson wrote Waltzing Matilda in 1895 while visiting Dagworth Station, near Winton.
Waltzing Matilda is Australia's national song even though it's not our National Anthem and it's known the world over!
Visit the web site of the Waltzing Matilda Centre, the world's only centre dedicated to a song.

Click here to hear Waltzing Matilda

Advance Australia Fair was proclaimed as Australia's national anthem by the Governor General on 19 April 1984.
Visit DIMA, the Australian Migration, Settlement site to learn more about our national anthem and read the words.

Click here to hear Advance Australia Fair

In 1770, Captain James Cook, the well known Pacific explorer, with the ship of his first voyage, the "HMS Endeavour", discovered the East Coast of Australia. Upon landing at a place now called Kurnell in Botany Bay, on April 29, 1770, he claimed the whole east coast for King George III and called it New South Wales. Botany Bay was later to become the destination for the first convict ships that arrived from England in 1788.

James Cook was born in the village of Marton, Yorkshire on October 27, 1728. He was one of seven children born to a day laborer. Cook received basic schooling at the village school and was then sent to work for William Sanders in the nearby fishing village of Staithes. Here Cook developed a love and fascination for the sea, but he was not happy with his job. In July 1746, at the age of 17, Cook became an apprentice to the Walker Family, ship owners, at the port of Whitby. He had his first voyage aboard the Whitby collier ‘Freelove.' While Cook was at Whitby, he educated himself in navigation and mathematics. By 1755, after nine years, and service as ship's master, Cook left his ship and enlisted in the Royal Navy as an ordinary sailor. In the Navy James Cook worked his way up through the ranks very quickly, eventually rising to command his own survey vessel. He was unknown outside of the Navy when the British Admiralty placed him in command of a small scientific expedition to the recently discovered Tahiti to observe a transit of the planet Venus. The subsequent publication of his journals of this voyage made him one of the most famous men of his time. (The surveys were so accurate and complete that they were in use until the beginning of the Twentieth Century.) Because of this reputation he was awarded the first modern scientific exploratory missions for his next two voyages. He had the will, and now the means, to seek out every uncharted area in the oceans of the world, and prove or disprove the discoveries of others who had discovered, or claimed to have discovered, new lands by chance. During the course of these voyages he gathered scientific data on the people and the flora and fauna of every new land he visited. On the 14th February 1779 Captain James Cook was killed, tragically, by the natives of Kealakekua Bay, on the island of Hawaii.

Ned Kelly is Australia's best known bushranger, earning his reputation in various daring bank robberies during his short career, being described as a rogue and a villain by certain people, the man with the bucket on his head by others and Australia's last great folk hero by more sympathetic people.

The most memorable thing associated with Ned Kelly is the suits of armour worn by him and other members of the Kelly gang to protect themselves during shoot-outs with the police. Especially the head piece.

Click here to read Ned Kelly's Story!