1789 in Australia

Leaders

January - A convict uprising on Norfolk Island is easily crushed.
April - An outbreak of smallpox at the Sydney Cove settlement kills many local Eora Aboriginals, including Arabanoo.
April 29 - The Mutiny on the Bounty occurs; Captain William Bligh and 18 others are cast adrift.
June 4 - The first Government House is completed.
June 4 - Australia's first theatrical performance The Recruiting Officer by George Farquhar staged with convicts acting in the roles.
June 12 - Phillip leads an expedition to Broken Bay (departed from Sydney on the 6th), and discovers the Hawkesbury River.
June 27 - Captain Watkin Trench and party discover the Nepean River
October 5 - The first ship built in the colony, Rose Hill Packet, begins service on the Parramatta River.
November 21 James Ruse, a convict, provisionally given land at Parramatta to establish Experiment Farm.
November 25 - For the purposes of understanding Aboriginal culture, Phillip captures Bennelong and Colebec.
December First successful harvest at Parramatta

May 18 - Arabanoo, cultural mediator between the British settlers and Eora Aboriginals

Australian Encyclopedia 6th edition Australian Geographic Terrey Hills NSW 1996 Volume 1 Chronology page 25
Barker, Anthony (1996). What Happened When. St Leonards: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86373-986.
National Library of Australia. "The World Upside Down: Australia 1788 - 1830". http://www.nla.gov.au/exhibitions/upsidedown/index.html.