The first known Caucasians to land in Australia were the Dutch, firstly in 1696, then 1616, with subsequent expeditions exploring around the Western coast. The Dutch had no interest in colonising the land, as they could not see any benefits.
After the expedition of Lieutenant (later Captain) James Cook in 1770, the idea of colonising the eastern half of the continent previously known as New Holland gained strength. This was because Cook charted the fertile eastern half. The First Fleet of eleven ships carrying British prisoners, officers and marines landed in Port Jackson, now the site of Sydney, in January 1788.
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It was Dirk Hartog who was the first European to land on the west coast of Australia.
According to the Australian Government's Geoscience website, the mainland area of Australia is 7 659 861 sq km, and the total land area (including 32 163 sq km for the islands) of Australia is 7 692 024 sq km.
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Willem Janzoon was an important person in Australia between 1550 and 1650. He was a Dutch explorer who first set foot on the land in 1606. He and others explored the land but did not make any settlements for over a hundred years.
No, they only settled just for the convicts for them to be put to work.Correction:As far as the indigenous people of Australia are concerned, the British did invade Australia. British settlement forced the Aboriginal people off their land, took over their hunting grounds and destroyed their fishing traps. When James Cook claimed the eastern half for great Britain in 1770, he declared the land terra nullius, or "no man's land", which in effect meant that the British did not recognise aboriginal ownership of the land.