Overview
In 1606 Willem Janszoon of the Dutch East India Company landed on the Cape York Peninsula in the north, the first recorded European arrival. Dutch navigators went on to chart the west and north coasts and called the land New Holland.
Key developments
In 1642 Abel Tasman reached Tasmania, then named Van Diemen’s Land. The Dutch saw little commercial value in the arid coasts, and the interior and east remained unknown to Europeans.
End and transition
In 1770 Britain’s James Cook charted the east coast, landed at Botany Bay, and claimed the eastern part for Britain. This led directly to colonisation in 1788.