 The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland , and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent , are attributed to the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon . He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606 , and made landfall on 26 February at the Pennefather River near the modern town of Weipa on Cape York . The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent " New Holland " during the 17th century , but made no attempt at settlement . William Dampier , an English explorer and privateer , landed on the north @-@ west coast of New Holland in 1688 and again in 1699 on a return trip . In 1770 , James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast , which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain . With the loss of its American colonies in 1783 , the British Government sent a fleet of ships , the " First Fleet " , under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip , to establish a new penal colony in New South Wales . A camp was set up and the flag raised at Sydney Cove , Port Jackson , on 26 January 1788 , a date which became Australia 's national day , Australia Day , although the British Crown Colony of New South Wales was not formally promulgated until 7 February 1788 . The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney , and the exploration and settlement of other regions . 
