1797 in Australia

Leaders

February 9 - Sydney Cove wrecked, but some of the crew managed to travel to Sydney more than 600 km away and more of the crew were rescued.
June 26 - HMS Reliance arrives in Sydney from the Cape of Good Hope, carrying stores ordered by Governor Hunter and merino sheep imported by John Macarthur.
July 3 - Following Aboriginal attacks on farms in the Hawkesbury region, Hunter dispatches a party of soldiers from the New South Wales Corps to protect settlers there.
August 1 - following advice from the master of the Sydney Cove who observed currents and tides while wrecked on Preservation Island, Governor Hunter wrote to Joseph Banks that it seemed certain that the yet to be discovered Bass Strait existed.
September 19 - John Shortland is the first European to enter the port of Newcastle. On the 9th he discovered the Hunter River estuary and coal.
December 3 - George Bass sets out from Sydney in a whaleboat with six oarsmen to explore south along the coast. He discovers the Kiama Blowhole (December 6) and the Shoalhaven River (December 7), he also visits Jervis Bay, and named Twofold Bay on December 19, Wilson's Promontory (January 2, 1798) and Western Port (January 5). He returns to Sydney two months later, having greatly increased the settlers' knowledge of the geography of Australia.

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.