The Aboriginal people inhabited Australia for 60,000 years prior to the arrival of Abel Tasman, a Dutch Navigator, in 1642. More Europeans followed, and they brought diseases with them which eventually decimated the Aborigines. Today only about 2% of the Australian population is of Aboriginal descent.
In 1768, Capt. Cook set off from England in the Endeavour. By April 1770, King George III formally claimed possession of the Australian east coast. Later, due to the overcrowding of the jails and the loss of the American Colonies in the War of Independence, Britain decided to establish a penal colony in the new land. Thus, the First Fleet, consisting of 2 war ships and nine transports, arrived in Sydney Cove in 1788. The initial settlement was 750 convicts, 210 marines and 40 women and children. Tents were erected on the rocky shoreline and the first “village” was founded, forevermore to be known as “The Rocks.”
The Rocks along with Circular Quay are the oldest part of inner Sydney. The City Centre is the central business district and to its west lies Darling Harbour. These are the areas we revisited on this voyage.