 On two occasions, one in 1789 and the other 1791, the earliest contact with the Dharug of the Hawkesbury area was made by Governor Phillip and his party.By 1794 the first European settlers had established themselves in the area, carving out farms on the same rich soils that had sustained the Aboriginal population for thousands of years.First interactions between the Dharug and European settlers were cordial, but soon deteriorated as land was cleared for farming, trees were cut down for fuel and firewood, and the Dharug were denied access to their traditional hunting, fishing and gathering areas along the Hawkesbury River and other watercourses by European settlers.