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The first European to sail to Australia were the Dutch, or the Netherlands, in 1606, but they did not settle there
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Captain James Cook sailed around Australia. Cook named the area New South Wales. He ignored the Aborigines living there and calimed land England.
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The Dutch made one landing, were attacked by Aborigines, and then abandoned further exploraion.
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Australia seemed like a good choice; no chance of escape, no colonies around it, and very few indigenous people lived there.
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New South Wales was offically a penal colony consisting mainly of convicts, marines, and marines' families.
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From 1883 until the 1850s, it was the destination for the hardest of convicted Brithish and Irsih criminals.
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British transported prisoners to Australia until 1868.
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Many free immigrants were setteling in Australia.
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American Revolution forced the British to stop sending prisioners to Georgia. He used him as a penal colony.
