Australian Internet history

The Internet was first connected in Australia in June 1989.

The first connection was made between a computer at the University of Melbourne under the supervision of Robert Elz and a computer in Hawaii.

The connection was the culmination of years work by computer scientists and technicians in Australia s leading universities and the CSIRO. Other Australian networks at the time included ACSNET, Spearnet, a proprietary Queensland/New Zealand system; and CSIRO s own network as well as a handful of public commercially operated networks.

Previously, university email and news was sent over an X.25 packet network. The connection was underwritten by a university network called AARNet, a joint venture of the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee and CSIRO.