Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1942
Japanese submarines enter Sydney Harbour and fire torpedos. Two subs are destroyed in the har-
bour boom net; the wreckage of a third is discovered of Sydney's Northern Beaches in 2006.
1959
Construction of the much-admired Sydney Opera House gets underway, but it doesn't open for
performances until 1973, after a long and turbulent period of construction.
1984
Homosexuality is decriminalised in NSW. Today, Sydney is considered one of the world's most
gay-friendly cities.
1990s
Sydney booms as a film-making centre, churning out classics such as
The Matrix, Strictly Ballroom,
Shine, Muriel's Wedding
and
The Adventures o
f
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
1999
A referendum seeking to abandon the monarchy and turn Australia into a republic is defeated,
with 55% of voters against. However, in Sydney, 68% voted in favour of a republic.
2000
Sydney stages a dazzling Olympic Games, at which Australia wins 16 gold medals - in fourth
place overall after traditional powerhouse nations USA, Russia and China.
2003
In February, an estimated 250,000 people take to the streets of Sydney to protest against the loom-
ing war in Iraq. Australian troops are part of the invasion the following month.
2004
Redfern erupts in a night of rioting following the death of an Aboriginal teenager who was im-
paled on a fence after falling off his bike while being pursued by police.
2005
Race riots break out in Cronulla following an assault on local surf lifesavers, with drunken mob
attacks on people of Middle Eastern appearance.
