The History of Sydney is the story of the peoples of the land that has become modern Sydney. Aboriginal Australians have inhabited the Sydney region for at least 30,000 years, and Aboriginal engravings and cultural sites are common in the Sydney area. The traditional owners of the land on which modern Sydney stands are the Darug, Dharawal and Eora people.The modern history of the city began with the arrival of a First Fleet of British ships in 1788 and the foundation of a penal colony by Great Britain.