First Fleet
The First Fleet was commanded by Commodore Arthur Phillip, who was given instructions authorising him to make regulations and land grants in the colony. The ships arrived at Botany Bay between 18 and 20 January 1788; HMS "Supply" arrived on 18 January, "Alexander", "Scarborough" and "Friendship" arrived on 19 January, and the remaining ships on 20 January.
History of Darwin
Lieutenant John Lort Stokes of HMS "Beagle" was the first British person to spot Darwin harbour on 9 September 1839, 69 years after the first European settlement of Australia. The ship's captain, Commander John Clements Wickham, named the port after Charles Darwin, the English naturalist who had sailed with them both on the earlier second expedition of the "Beagle". It was not until 1869 that a permanent European settlement was established by the South Australian Government who had control of the Territory at that time.