50,000-16,000 BC

Humans first arrived in Australia sometime between 60,000 and 40,000 years ago, probably around 50,000 years ago. They came from Asia at a time when the sea level was lower than today, and there was a land connection linking Australia to the present day islands of New Guinea and Tasmania. By 30,000 years ago most regions of the continent were settled. There were probably successive waves of immigrants over a period of thousands of years.

The Australian climate dried gradually for millions of years – the continent was much wetter and greener than it is today, with more forests and more diverse animal life. A number of very large animals, known as 'megafauna' shared the continent with Indigenous Australians. These animals became extinct by about 20,000 years ago, probably as a result of climate change and the spread of human settlement. Indigenous Australians lived by hunting, gathering and fishing. In this wetter environment they probably stayed near the shores of estuaries, lakes and rivers, and settled the country by following the course of rivers inland. They widely used fire to clear dense forest undergrowth and to drive game. As a result, fire-tolerant species of plant became dominant, such as the eucalyptus and acacia trees.