Who were the first settlers to find their way across the Blue Mountains?

In 1813 Gregory Blaxland, William Charles Wentworth and William Lawson became the first European settlers to successfully navigate a path across the Blue Mountains.

Who lived in the Blue Mountains first?

Back before the Europeans invaded the region, the Blue Mountains were inhabited by two major indigenous tribes; the Gundungurra and Darug Tribes. As well as the Burra Burra tribe, which inhabited the nearby Jenolan Caves.

Who settled in the Blue Mountains?

Crossing The Blue Mountains

In 1813, Gregory Blaxland, William Charles Wentworth, and Lieutenant Lawson, along with four servants, four pack horses and five dogs, set off on an exploration which was to create history.

Who landed in Australia first?

explorer Willem Janszoon
While Indigenous Australians have inhabited the continent for tens of thousands of years, and traded with nearby islanders, the first documented landing on Australia by a European was in 1606. The Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon landed on the western side of Cape York Peninsula and charted about 300 km of coastline.

Why did people settle in the Blue Mountains?

Aboriginal peoples passed through the Blue Mountains on ancient access routes, which provided passage for trade, ceremony and travel. Aboriginal peoples hunted and gathered food, made tools and socialised across these lands.

What is the Aboriginal name for the Blue Mountains?

Part of the Great Dividing Range west of Sydney, reaching a height of 1100 metres. In 1829 the name for the area used by the local Aboriginal people was recorded as being Colomatta .

Who was the first white man to set foot on Australia?

navigator Willem Janszoon
The first European record of setting foot in Australia was Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1606 — his was the first of 29 Dutch voyages to Australia in the 17th century.

Did China discover Australia first?

In a book titled 1421: The Year China Discovered the World Gavin Menzies claims that in the 1420’s several fleets of Chinese ships sailed around the world, making contact with many countries before Europeans explored them, including Australia.

What was Australia first called?

New Holland
New Holland (Dutch: Nieuw-Holland) is a historical European name for mainland Australia. The name was first applied to Australia in 1644 by the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman.

Who Mapped Australia first?

Two hundred years ago, in the romantic age of exploration, Matthew Flinders became the first to circumnavigate and chart the treacherous Terra Australis coastline. Literally, he is the man who put Australia on the map.

Was Australia or New Zealand discovered first?

Australia and New Zealand had quite separate indigenous histories, settled at different times by very different peoples – Australia from Indonesia or New Guinea around 50,000 years ago, New Zealand from islands in the tropical Pacific around 1250–1300 CE.

When was Australia first inhabited?

Molecular clock estimates, genetic studies and archaeological data all suggest the initial colonisation of Sahul and Australia by modern humans occurred around 48,000–50,000 years ago. Over the last few decades, a significant number of archaeological sites dated at more than 30,000 years old have been discovered.

Who discovered Western Australia?

Dirk Hartog
The first European to sight Western Australia was the Dutch explorer, Dirk Hartog, the first European to suggest to have found a continent there, who on 26 October 1616 landed at what is now known as Cape Inscription, Dirk Hartog Island.

How did 1770 get its name?

Some 6 kilometres north of Agnes Water is the town of 1770, so named after the visit of Lieut James Cook in May 1770. Cook’s second landfall in Australia, the first in Queensland, gives rise to the area’s claim to be the birthplace of Queensland.

How did aboriginals get to Australia?

Aboriginal origins

Humans are thought to have migrated to Northern Australia from Asia using primitive boats. A current theory holds that those early migrants themselves came out of Africa about 70,000 years ago, which would make Aboriginal Australians the oldest population of humans living outside Africa.

Who is Hobart named after?

Robert Hobart, 4th earl of Buckinghamshire
It was named Hobart Town after Robert Hobart, 4th earl of Buckinghamshire, then secretary of state for the colonies. In 1804 the settlement was moved to the city’s present site, Sullivans Cove.

Why is it called Perth?

It was named after the county of Perth in Scotland, birthplace of Sir George Murray, then secretary of state for the colonies, and was proclaimed a city in 1856.

Who were the first settlers in Western Australia?

In October 1616 Dirk Hartog, in the Eendracht, a Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, or VOC) ship, became the first European to set foot on the western shores of Australia. For more than two centuries afterwards Dutch, English and French navigators explored and mapped the west coast.

Why is Victoria called Victoria?

Victoria, like Queensland, was named after Queen Victoria, who had been on the British throne for 14 years when the colony was established in 1851.

What was the Aboriginal name for Tasmania?

However, he also recorded it as a name for Cape Barren Island. In the 20th century, some writers used it as an Aboriginal name for Tasmania, spelled “Trowenna” or “Trowunna”. It is now believed that the name is more properly applied to Cape Barren Island, which has had an official dual name of “Truwana” since 2014.

When was Hobart first settled?

1804
Hobart was founded in 1804, when Lt-Governor Collins moved the main southern settlement from Risdon to Sullivan’s Cove. This was an excellent site, with a good port, good fresh water, and the shelter of Mount Wellington.

Why is South Australia not called Southern Australia?

The name was too vague for many people overseas, particularly as two other states could claim to be further south. “(It) means to everybody from overseas the whole of the south of Australia. And the initials SA mean South Africa to most other people in the world,” Mr Vaughan said.