Matthew Flinders

Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun between 42, 000 and 48, 000 years ago, [37] possibly with the migration of people by land bridges and short sea-crossings from what is now South-East Asia. These first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. At the time of European settlement in the late 18th century, most Indigenous Australians were hunter-gatherers, with a complex oral culture and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturalists and hunter-gatherers.[38]

Following sporadic visits by fishermen from the Malay Archipelago, [39] the first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent were attributed to the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula on an unknown date in early 1606, and made landfall on 26 February at the Pennefather River on the western shore of Cape York, near the modern town of Weipa.[40] The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines of " New Holland" during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement.[40] William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer landed on the north-west coast of Australia in 1688 and again in 1699 on a return trip. In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast of Australia, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain.[41] Cook's discoveries prepared the way for establishment of a new penal colony. Captain Arthur Phillip led the First Fleet into Port Jackson on 26 January 1788.[42] This date became Australia's national day, Australia Day. (The British Crown Colony of New South Wales was not formally promulgated until 7 February 1788, but 26 January has entered the popular consciousness as the effective date of its foundation.) Van Diemen's Land, now known as Tasmania, was settled in 1803 and became a separate colony in 1825.[43] The United Kingdom formally claimed the western part of Australia in 1828.[44]

Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859.[45] The Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia.[46] South Australia was founded as a " free province" —it was never a penal colony.[47] Victoria and Western Australia were also founded " free", but later accepted transported convicts.[48][49] A campaign by the settlers of New South Wales led to the end of convict transportation to that colony; the last convict ship arrived in 1848.[50]

Port Arthur, Tasmania was Australia's largest gaol for transported convicts.

The indigenous population, estimated at 750, 000 to 1, 000, 000 at the time of European settlement, [51] declined steeply for 150 years following settlement, mainly due to infectious disease.[52] The " Stolen Generations" (removal of Aboriginal children from their families), which historians such as Henry Reynolds have argued could be considered genocide, [53] may have contributed to the decline in the Indigenous population.[54] Such interpretations of Aboriginal history are disputed by conservative commentators such as former Prime Minister John Howard as exaggerated or fabricated for political or ideological reasons.[55] This debate is known within Australia as the History wars.[56] The Federal government gained the power to make laws with respect to Aborigines following the 1967 referendum.[57] Traditional ownership of land—aboriginal title—was not recognised until 1992, when the High Court case Mabo v Queensland (No 2) overturned the notion of Australia as terra nullius (" land belonging to no one") before European occupation.[58]

A gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s, [59] and the Eureka Rebellion against mining licence fees in 1854 was an early expression of civil disobedience.[60] Between 1855 and 1890, the six colonies individually gained responsible government, managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire.[61] The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs, [62] defence, [63] and international shipping.