On January 26, 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip guides a fleet of 11
British
ships carrying convicts to the colony of New South Wales, effectively founding Australia.
Who were the first Australian settlers?
Thousands of years before the arrival of the British, Australia was settled by the indigenous people of Australia called
the Aborigines
. This timeline begins when the Europeans first arrived. 1606 – The first European to land at Australia is Dutch explorer Captain Willem Janszoon.
Who were the first to settle Australia arriving about 40000 years ago?
Who were the first to settle Australia arriving about 40000 years ago? Australia was first inhabited perhaps 40,000 years ago by
aboriginal peoples
. During the Age of Exploration, the land was discovered and mapped by many Europeans including the Spanish, Dutch and English.
What was the first Australian settlement?
The first settlement, at
Sydney
, consisted of about 850 convicts and their Marine guards and officers, led by Governor Arthur Phillip. They arrived at Botany Bay in the “First Fleet” of 9 transport ships accompanied by 2 small warships, in January, 1788.
Who were the first settlers in Australia and where did they come from?
The
First Fleet of British ships arrived
at Botany Bay in January 1788 to establish a penal colony, the first colony on the Australian mainland. In the century that followed, the British established other colonies on the continent, and European explorers ventured into its interior.
Who was in Australia before the aboriginal?
Researchers say the findings overturn a 2001 paper that argued the oldest known Australian human remains found near Lake Mungo in New South Wales were from an
extinct lineage of modern humans
that occupied the continent before Aboriginal Australians.
Who was the first white person born in Australia?
New South Wales. Commonly cited as the first white child or the first white female born in Australia,
Rebecca Small
(22 September 1789 – 30 January 1883), was born in Port Jackson, the eldest daughter of John Small a boatswain in the First Fleet which arrived at Botany Bay in January 1788.
What did the aboriginals call Australia?
The nations of Indigenous Australia were, and are, as separate as the nations of Europe or Africa. The Aboriginal English words ‘
blackfella’ and ‘whitefella’
are used by Indigenous Australian people all over the country — some communities also use ‘yellafella’ and ‘coloured’.
What was Australia called before?
After British colonisation, the name
New Holland
was retained for several decades and the south polar continent continued to be called Terra Australis, sometimes shortened to Australia.
What was Australia like before it was colonized?
In The Biggest Estate, Gammage supports his thesis with exhaustive and compelling research from primary sources to prove that prior to British colonisation in 1788, Australia was
an “unnatural” landscape
, carefully and systematically managed by its traditional owners to ensure that “life was comfortable, people had …
What’s the oldest town in Australia?
George Town
– the oldest town in Australia. George Town was founded in 1803 and the George town Watch House was commissioned shortly after.
Was Australia invaded or settled?
It goes on to say that “
Australia was not settled peacefully
, it was invaded, occupied and colonised. Describing the arrival of the Europeans as a ‘settlement’ attempts to view Australian history from the shores of England rather than the shores of Australia.”
What did the British do to the Aboriginal?
British
farming
methods, like the use of wire fences, disrupted the traditional Australian way of life and led to further violence between British settlers and Aborigines. The introduction of sheep and rabbits devastated their environment, their food sources and hunting grounds.
Where did the Aborigines come from?
Aboriginal origins
Humans are thought to have migrated to Northern Australia from Asia using primitive boats. A current theory holds that those early migrants themselves came out of
Africa
about 70,000 years ago, which would make Aboriginal Australians the oldest population of humans living outside Africa.
How did the first settlers live in Australia?
Most European settlers in Australia in the early colonial years were
convicts sent by the British government
. There were also some free settlers, however—people who chose to leave their homes in Britain and make a new life in the colony.
Who named Australia?
It was
the English explorer Matthew Flinders
who made the suggestion of the name we use today. He was the first to circumnavigate the continent in 1803, and used the name ‘Australia’ to describe the continent on a hand drawn map in 1804.
