<P> It is estimated that around 70% of the population is of European ancestry and descent . Unlike other Anglosphere countries, but like France, Australia does not collect data on race or ethnicity in its censuses . </P> <P> The earliest accepted timeline for the first arrivals of indigenous Australians to the continent of Australia places this human migration to at least 40,000 years ago . </P> <P> These first inhabitants of Australia were originally hunter - gatherers, who over the course of many succeeding generations diversified widely throughout the continent and its nearby islands . Although their technical culture remained static--depending on wood, bone, and stone tools and weapons--their spiritual and social life was highly complex . Most spoke several languages, and confederacies sometimes linked widely scattered tribal groups . Aboriginal population density ranged from approximately one person per 3 km (1 sq mi) along the coasts to one person per 90 km (35 sq mi) in the arid interior . Food procurement was usually a matter for the nuclear family, requiring an estimated 3 days of work per week . There was little large game, and outside of some communities in the more fertile south - east, they had no agriculture . </P> <P> Dutch navigators landed on the coasts of modern Western Australia and Queensland several times during the 17th century . Captain James Cook claimed the east coast for Great Britain in 1770, the west coast was later settled by Britain also . At that time, the indigenous population was estimated to have been between 315,000 and 750,000, divided into many tribes speaking many different languages . In the 2011 census, 495,757 respondents declared they were Aboriginal, 31,407 declared they were Torres Strait Islander, and a further 21,206 declared they were both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders . </P>

Why is the east coast of australia most populated