Early History
The Aboriginal people of the Larrakia language group lived in the greater Darwin Region before European settlement. They had trading routes with Southeast Asia (see Macassan contact with Australia), and imported goods from as far as South Australia and Western Australia. Established songlines penetrated throughout the country, allowing stories and histories to be told and retold along the routes.
The Dutch visited Australia's northern coastline in the 17th century, and created the first European maps of the area, hence the Dutch names in the area, such as Arnhem Land and Groote Eylandt, which still bears the original old Dutch spelling for "large island".
Read more about this topic: History Of Darwin
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