2025, a year of historical milestones
Dear Readers
Happy New Year 2025! The New Year is a good time to think about the historical anniversaries to be remembered in the year ahead. In 2025 there will be a wealth of major historical milestones. Below is a selection of anniversaries. Some are significant internationally, some nationally while others are important to the history of the Canberra Region. If you think there are other anniversaries to add to the ones below or you have comments on the list, please let me know by contacting mail@capitalhistoryhere.com.
Day and month unknown
The 200th anniversary of James Ainslie arriving at what would become the property Duntroon with a flock of sheep owned by the wealthy Sydney merchant Robert Campbell (1825).
January 2025
1 January: The 25th anniversary of the Y2K (Year 2000) Scare when there was a fear that computers would stop working because they were not programmed to handle dates after 31 December 1999 (2000).
1 January: The 100th anniversary of the start of the Federal Capital Commission. The body charged with preparing Canberra for the transfer of Parliament and the necessary Public Service Departments from Melbourne (1925).
March 2025
1 March: The 50th anniversary of the official commencement of colour television in Australia (1975)
April 2025
17 April: The 50th anniversary of the start of the Cambodian Genocide (1975).
30 April: The 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon (1975).
May 2025
8 May: The 80th anniversary of VE Day (Victory in Europe Day). VE Day commemorates the end of World War II in Europe when the German forces surrendered to the Allied powers (1945).
June 2025
11 June: The 50th anniversary of the Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act becoming law (1975).
24 June 1965: The 60th anniversary of the Canberra Theatre Centre, Australia’s first performing arts centre (1965).
25 June: The 75th anniversary of the start of the Korean War (1950).
July 2025
5 July: The 80th anniversary of the death of Australia’s war-time leader Prime Minister John Curtin who died in office shortly before the end of World War II (1945).
8 July: The 50th anniversary of the abolishment of appeals from the High Court of Australia to the Privy Council in England (1975).
August 2025
6 & 9 August: The 80th anniversary of the dropping of atomic bombs on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1945).
15 August: The 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Jubilant crowds gathered across the country to celebrate Victory in the Pacific (VP) Day (1945).
28 August: The 50th anniversary of the Commission of Inquiry into Poverty chaired by Ronald Henderson of the Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research (1975).
September 2025
16 September: The 50th anniversary of Papua New Guinea becoming fully independent from Australia (1975).
November 2025
11 November: The 50th anniversary of the Dismissal. The Gough Whitlam-led federal Labor government became the first (and only) Australian government dismissed by the Governor-General (1975).
Acknowledgement: As noted above this year 2025 will be the 80th anniversary of VP Day and the end of World War II. The image above is of people celebrating VP Day at the Australian War Memorial in August 1945. Official war artist Harold Abbott created the image. It comes from the Australian War Memorial. Full details are here.
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