There are many individuals who think that the continent of Australia was largely unsettled before its “discovery” by European colonists. Contrary to this belief, the Australian continent was populated by the Aborigines peoples as well as Torres Straight Islanders before these explorers arrived. The Australian continent was made up of many different cultures and languages, and still is. The peoples of Australia had different religions, but shared a common and profound connection with the land on which they lived. They also shared a complex social structure. The Aborigines peoples and the Torres Straight Islanders had minimal outside contact with the rest of the world, but largely flourished in their isolated land. The Aborigines and the Torres Straight Islanders lived on the Australian continent for thousands of years, and the Asian and Oceanic peoples had regular contact with these groups for thousands of mosquito repellent years before the arrival of explorers from Europe. The first white people to arrive were Dutch explorers, who carted the area along the northern and western coasts of the continent. They reached Tasmania, which lies about 240 kilometers south of Australia, before turning back. The Dutch were followed by the English, in the form of explorer William Dampier, who landed on the northwestern coast in 1688. His compatriot, Captain James Cook, was the first to claim the southeastern part of the continent for the British two years later, naming it the Colony of New South Wales and eventually settling it with approximately 1,500 convicts, mostly accused of minor crimes. Along with foreign explorers, the Aborigines and the Torres Straight Islanders of Australia were also introduced to European animals that had never been seen on the continent before. To this day, the population of Australian feral cats thrives.