| Summary: | Australian English is a relatively new variety of English. As a result, many of its features are still largely unexplored and most research concerning this variety of English has focused on the description of its distinctive phonological features. The aim of the present study is to contribute to a better understanding of the evolution of Australian English by carrying out a diachronic corpus analysis on the evolution of perfect tenses, paying especial attention to the choice of be andhaveasperfectauxiliaryverbsduringthe 19th century and the first third of the 20th century. The results will confirm that have was already the primary perfect auxiliary verb, although it is expected that be-perfects are also frequently used throughout the period analysed.
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