Australian Journal of Chemistry was established in 1948, and consisted of four issues annually, published under the title Australian Journal of Scientific Research. Very quickly, the volume of papers received was so great, including published papers in the fields of both chemistry and physics, and the journal split into two distinct publications in 1953: Australian Journal of Chemistry and Australian Journal of Physics.

Submissions continued to grow and today Australian Journal of Chemistry publishes 12 issues each year. Its vision continues to be to showcase the best chemical science from Australasia to the rest of the world, along with publishing important international contributions. In 2018, this journal celebrated 70 years of publication, and in 2019, although somewhat belatedly, we celebrate this significant milestone with this virtual issue – a free online collection of papers showcasing aspects of this vision.

The selection of the papers was largely subjective, being based initially on the consensus opinions of the editors, who were asked to select papers reflecting the breadth and quality of science published in Australian Journal of Chemistry by Australian scientists over the last seven decades. We were informed by hard data (citations and downloads), but we also chose papers that reflect other criteria, such as landmarks in important aspects of chemical science; recognition of an influential individual; gender diversity; and simply to reflect the breadth of the journal’s output.