The first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent occurred in early 1606. In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for the British Dominion. With the loss of its American colonies in 1783, the Dominion sent a fleet of ships to establish a new penal colony in New South Wales. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration of other regions.
The British settlers began to expand inland finding the wildlife to be harmless and the ground fertile for planting. In 1803, the settlers first encountered the native population, the Aranda. The Aranda were a peaceful hunter-gatherer culture, with a complex oral tradition and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the Dream Circle.
At first the Aranda tried to interact with the settlers, helping them understand the land and establishing boundaries they were not to cross. As pressure to expand the territory grew, the settlers did not view the Aranda as equals and ignored the boundaries of their territory. In 1832, an Aranda village was massacred by a local militia. The Aranda were outraged and their Dream Walkers laid a curse upon the settlers and the land.
Overnight Australia became a land of great danger. Serpents that had been non venomous could kill with a single bite, entire villages were overrun with spider infestations, and small fishing boats were destroyed by huge sharks. It was as if the land itself was wreaking its vengeance on behalf of the Aranda.
The Aranda remain in control of the vast majority of the continent and are rarely seen by the settlements. When they are, they are treated with fear and respect.
Eventually the British Dominion gave up the idea of further colonization. There remain a number of coastal cities and settlements, and several European countries use Australia as a dumping ground for criminals and political dissidents.
The Aranda have no wish to leave their homeland, and the convict population is rarely afforded the opportunity to escape their far removed exile.
