Approximately when did the Europeans come to Australia?

The first known European settlers in Australia were the member of the First Fleet, comprising convicts from England, together with officers and marines.

The First Fleet arrived in Port Jackson, the location of Sydney, Australia on 26 January 1788, after leaving Portsmouth, England, in May 1787.

Originally, the First Fleet arrived at botany Bay on 18 January 1788. Governor Arthur Phillip declared this area unsuitable for settlement for four reasons:

• lack of fresh water
• lack of suitable timber for building
• a harbour that was not suitably sheltered or deep enough
• poor quality soil

The fleet then moved north along the coast, arriving at Port Jackson on 26 January 1788, the day now celebrated as Australia Day.

There is some evidence that the first European settlers were people who survived Dutch shipwrecks off the Western coast of the continent, but these people were not 'officially' European settlers - they were there by accident, and their names are not recorded.