When did the Europeans first come to live in Australia?

Answer 1

There is a strong case for the Portuguese being the first Europeans to arrive in Australia. However, records of such Portuguese activity have been lost through the years.

The first recorded arrival of Europeans was Willem Jansz/Janszoon, a Dutchman who was seeking new trade routes and trade associates. Travelling in a small ship called the Duyfken, he became the first recorded European to step foot on Australia's shores on the western shore of Cape York Peninsula, on 26 February 1606. However, he believed the Cape to be part of New Guinea, from whence he crossed the Arafura Sea, so he did not record Australia as being a separate, new continent.

As for when permanent European settlement in Australia commenced - that occurred with the arrival of the First Fleet on 26 January 1788.

Answer 2

In 1802, explorer Matthew Flinders became the first European to chart South Australia's coast, to determine its suitability for settlement. The South Australian Colonisation Act was passed by the British Parliament in 1834, and the first settlers arrived in 1836. However, prior to this, sealers and whalers often visited Kangaroo Island, off the southern coast.

South Australia is the only state in Australia not to have had convicts. Governor John Hindmarsh arrived in the new colony on the HMS Buffalo, accompanied only by free settlers. South Australia was officially proclaimed on 19 February 1836 in England. The Old Gum Tree at Glenelg North, South Australia, was the location of the reading of the Proclamation by Governor Hindmarsh on 28 December 1836.

Answer 3

The first permanent European colony established in Australia was at Port Jackson, now the site of Sydney, on 26 January 1788. The settlement was established as a convict colony, administered by Governor Arthur Phillip.

Answer 4

Officially, the first Europeans to live in Australia were those who arrived on the First Fleet in 1788.

Unofficially, there is evidence that suggests the first Europeans living in Australia were survivors of Dutch shipwrecks from the early to mid 1600s.

Answer 5

The very first European settlers in Australia were a mix of convicts, officers and marines, and free settlers, all of whom came from England. This is the official situation.

However, there is strong evidence that the first European settlers in Australia were actually survivors of Dutch shipwrecks in the west.

Answer 6

The First Fleet arrived on 26 January 1788.