Australia was colonised by the British starting in 1788, with the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove, which established the penal colony of New South Wales. The first fleet, commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip, landed at what is now Sydney on January 26, 1788, a date now commemorated as Australia Day. This marked the beginning of white settlement and the colonial takeover of Aboriginal lands, treated as terra nullius, meaning land belonging to no one, despite being inhabited by Indigenous peoples.
The colonisation led to significant impacts on Indigenous populations, including dispossession, population decline due to diseases such as smallpox, and violent conflicts. British settlement expanded over the following decades, eventually establishing several colonies across the continent.
