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.
Parap, Northern Territory
The London-Australia Air Race was actually a means of returning Australian Flying Corps pilots and crews to Australia after the cessation of hostilities – they were required to fly their aircraft home, with a £10,000 prize as the incentive for the first aircraft manned by Australians to reach Australia in less than 30 days before the end of 1919. Having departed Hounslow Heath Aerodrome near London on 12 November, Ross and Keith Smith landed their Vickers FB27 Vimy G-EAOU 40 at Darwin aerodrome at 3.05 pm on Friday 10 December 1919 and were met by the Acting Administrator, Staniforth Smith. They had accomplished the first ever flight from Europe to Australia, a distance of 18,500 kilometres, in 27 days and 20 hours. The following day, the Acting Administrator entertained the heroes at Government House, where they were joined by Lieutenant Hudson Fysh DFC, another veteran of the Light Horse and No.1 Squadron AFC, who had been responsible for clearing the airstrip at Fannie Bay. The aerodrome in Darwin at which they landed was in the suburb of Parap, near the site of the present pool.