Discovery of Australia

  • Aborigines
    50,000 BCE

    Aborigines

    It is uncertain how they got here but genetic evidence shows aborigines are Decedents of african migrators and some theories claim that the ice age made it easier to cross the ocean to australia.
  • Indonesians
    5000 BCE

    Indonesians

    There is some evidence that shows that fisherman and tradesmen went on trading expeditions to north Australia affecting the Aboriginal way of life and introducing the dingo.
  • Greeks
    200

    Greeks

    Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy believed Earth had to be balanced otherwise it would topple so he thought there had to be a continent laying somewhere in the southern hemisphere undiscovered.
  • Dutch

    Dutch

    A small Dutch ship set of from Indonesia and found Australia which they thought was part of New Gunie. They continued around and made several expeditions on land which they described swampy but didn't settle for didn't find anything interesting in what they called New Holland. Dutch continued exploration of New Holland through to the end of the 1600s.
  • British

    British

    The British were the first to to settle on Australia. Lieutenant James Cook had orders to find the great south land and did so. They landed in New south wales botany bay. They returned 8 years later to colonise.