The Dutch in Sydney

Dutch colonial ambitions and trading interests in the East Indies led to the first European visits to the Australian coast. Between 1606 and 1642, the Dutch charted most of the continent's northern, western and southern coasts. The Netherlands did not colonise Australia, but Dutch people in small numbers were present from 1788 onwards. Cornelius Du Heg, a seaman on the First Fleet transport Friendship, was possibly the first Dutchman to visit Port Jackson.