2026 historical anniversaries
Dear Readers
Happy New Year 2026!
Capital history here’s tagline is ‘where the past and present talk’ and that’s what remembering historical anniversaries enables us to do. By highlighting, remembering, and reassessing these events, we can gain valuable perspective on how history shapes our present.
The start of a new year offers an ideal opportunity to consider the anniversaries that will be marked in the coming months. The selection below includes historical anniversaries of international relevance, national significance, and of importance to the Canberra region.
If you wish to suggest additional anniversaries for inclusion or would like to provide feedback on the current list, please contact mail@capitalhistoryhere.com.
Acknowledgement: As noted below in May 2026 it will be the 125th anniversary of the opening of the first Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia (1901). Charles Nuttall created the image above to commemorate the Commonwealth Parliament’s first sitting. It comes from the State Library Victoria. Full details are here.
Please share. Let’s get the past and present talking.
A selection of 2026 historical anniversaries
January 2026
1 January: The 125th anniversary of the Australian Federation (1901).
10 January: The 80th anniversary of the First Session of the United Nations General Assembly (1946).
February 2026
14 February: The 60th anniversary of the introduction of Australia’s decimal currency (1966).
April 2026
29 April: The 80th anniversary of the start of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), known as the Tokyo Trial which tried leaders from Japan accused of committing war crimes during World War II (1946).
May 2026
1 May: The 80th anniversary of the Pilbara Strike where First Nations workers from pastoral stations in Western Australia went on strike for better wages and working conditions (1946).
9 May: The 125th anniversary of the opening of the first Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia (1901).
July 2026
4 July: The 250th anniversary of the Signing of the American Declaration of Independence (1776).
18 July: The 60th anniversary of Play School, Australia’s longest-running children's TV show (1966).
August 2026
1 August: The 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Australian National University (1946).
18 August: The 60th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan where Australian soldiers fought one of their fiercest battles of the Vietnam War (1966).
23 August: The 60th anniversary of the Gurindji Wave Hill Walk-Off where Gurindji people at Wave Hill cattle station in the Northern Territory went on strike demanding better wages and a return of their lands (1966).
September 2026
3 September: The 100th anniversary of the start of the Canberra Times (1926).
11 September: The 25th anniversary of the September 11 Terrorist Attacks (2001).
October 2026
7 October: The 25th anniversary of the start of the War in Afghanistan (2001).
November 2026
18 November: The 60th anniversary of the lifting of the marriage bar, which banned married women from Australian permanent public services jobs (1966).
Day and month not known
The 200th anniversary of Duncan McFarlane and his workers arriving on the Limestone Plains (later Canberra) to establish the Ginninderra pastoral estate for absentee landlord, George Palmer (1826).
