The discovery of Australia was made more than 50 000 years ago.
Aboriginal peoples were the First Nations of Australia.
The first Europeans found Australia in the 1600s.
They were Dutch explorers from the Netherlands.
The first Englishman to explore a part of Australia was William Dampier in 1699.
Captain James Cook explored and mapped the east coast in 1770.
The First Australians
When and where did the first people come from?
Aboriginal people recorded their history in rock paintings like this. Getty Images
Humans probably began settling in Australia at least 50 000 years ago. It may even, according to some archaeologists, have been as long ago as 70 000 thousand years ago.
No one knows how many different groups came to Australia, but it thought that the way some of the first people came was by moving along between a chain of islands from Sulawesi (Sulawesi is in Borneo and is now part of Indonesia) and New Guinea. Others may have reached North Western Australia via Timor.
Settling across Australia
The Aboriginal flag was designed in the 1970s to represent indigenous Australians
These First Nations peoples soon occupied the whole continent. Different groups had their own languages and separate territory and they moved through their territory on foot, making pathways beside streams and rivers, or between water-holes. There were hundreds of different languages spoken across the continent.
The different groups asked permission if they were wanting to pass through another group's territory. Today First Nations people still perform a Welcome to Country on their traditional lands. Those who are not on their traditional lands express an Acknowledgement of Country as a mark of respect.
This flag representing the Torres Strait Islanders was designed in 1992
Some groups of people settled on the islands in the Torres Strait and are known today as Torres Strait Islanders.
These Islanders and the Aboriginal peoples in Northern Australia made rafts and canoes and travelled across rivers and across the sea.
Some groups travelled south and crossed into the land we now call Tasmania, which was part of the mainland until about 14 000 years ago when it became separate when the sea level rose.
How did the First Nations peoples live?
Aboriginal peoples were hunters and ate the animals they caught, they were also gatherers of plants that could be eaten. They built shelters that were different in design, depending on the climate (the weather), and the season in their part of Australia. Australia is a vast continent with many climates, so clothing varied too, dependant on the weather and the season.
Bark painting showing a kangaroo that had been hunted.
Those groups that lived in the north traded with people who lived in New Guinea and with visiting sailors and fishermen from parts of what is now Indonesia. The 200-300 language groups were run by older members, known as Elders. Aboriginal peoples had their own laws, and languages, and through storytelling, songs, rock art and bark paintings, they passed on their history to each new generation.
William Dampier had once been a pirate!
When did the first European explorers arrive?
In 1606 the first Europeans, (they were Dutch and from the Netherlands) to explore Australia were led by Willem Janszoon. These sailors explored the western side of Cape York, in the Gulf of Carpentaria. They made one landing where the land was swampy and when they were attacked by Aboriginal people they left. He reported that he didn't think much of Australia!
In 1616 another Dutchman, Dirk Hartog landed on an island off the coast of Western Australia. The island is now called Dirk Hartog Island. His discovery was an accident. His ship had been blown off course while on the way to what we now call Indonesia.
In 1642 a third Dutchman, Abel Tasman sailed to Tasmania, before discovering New Zealand, Fiji and visiting Papua New Guinea. He named Tasmania 'Van Diemen's Land'. He didn't find the mainland of Australia!
In 1699 William Dampier became the first Englishman to see Australia. William Dampier (he'd once been a pirate!) explored the north-west coast of Australia in 1699. Dampier was the first European to tell about seeing Australia's 'large hopping animals'!
Captain James Cook (1728 - 1779)
A replica (copy) of Captain Cook's ship Endeavour
In 1770 Captain James Cook was the first European to explore and map the eastern coastline of Australia.
Captain James Cook
It is often said the James Cook discovered Australia. This is NOT true. But he did claim the continent for Britain!
It’s a good idea to get information from more than one source!
Read a biography of James Cook
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/cook-james-1917
Find out more about the First Nations people of Australia
https://australian.museum/learn/first-nations/
Read the kidcyber page
First Nations People of Australia
Watch a video about the first Europeans who came to Australia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKHehoqz34A