Discovery
Australia is one of the oldest landmasses on earth, originally breaking away from the super continent 'Gondwana' and settling in its current position about fifteen million years ago. The continent is also one of the most stable of all landmasses and has been free of mountain-building forces for 100 million years. The earliest European explorers who knew about the mysterious 'Terra Australis', were the Portuguese, namely Luis Vaes de Torres who sailed the narrow strait between the tip of Cape York and New Guinea in the 16th century, followed by Dutch navigators Dirk Hartog, Van Diemen and Abel Tasman who mapped much of the coastline but didn't show interest in settling a hostile and barren continent. It was not until 1770 that the fertile east coast was sighted by Captain James Cook of the British Royal Navy, in command of his ship the 'Endeavour', who landed in Botany Bay, south of Sydney. On the ship there were several scientists and a botanist who during their forays ashore made amazing discoveries of plants and animals, never seen before. After Captain Cook left Botany Bay he travelled north and charted the coastline reporting that the east coast was fertile and suitable for settlement. He named the land New South Wales and claimed it for the British Crown in the name of King George III. During a stop in Queensland where his ship needed repair, Cook made contact with the local Aborigines and was quite impressed with the apparent happiness they lived in. Aboriginal History
It is generally thought that Aborigines have been living on the continent for the last 50 000 years, originally migrating from Indonesia. The oldest skeleton found in Australia was at Lake Mungo in south-west New South Wales, believed to be 38 000 years old and bears traces of ceremonial ochre. This is thought to be the oldest sign of ochre use ever discovered. Unlike most other races, Aborigines were not cultivators, relying instead on a form of controlled burning of vegetation known as "fire-stick farming". They did not develop a sense of land ownership, although Aboriginal children were taught from an early age that they belonged to the land and must respect tribal boundaries. Tribes returned to particular sites to bury their dead. Some areas were designated sacred sites because of their association with the Dreamtime, the time when the earth was formed and cycles of life and nature were initiated.