Final answer:
Aboriginal people in Australia had ancient migratory contacts before the British settlement, while Europeans were not the first to reach many Pacific and Indian Ocean islands. The Maori in New Zealand had also established themselves well before European arrival. Contact with European settlers brought significant changes to these indigenous populations.
Step-by-step explanation:
Aboriginal Contact Before British Settlement
Before British settlement, the Aboriginal people of Australia had experienced contact with various other groups. These contacts predated European colonialism and can be dated back to around 40,000 years ago when Aboriginal ancestors migrated from Southeast Asia. In terms of trans-oceanic exploration, European explorers were not the first to make contact with indigenous populations, as many islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans had human contact starting about 5,000 years ago. In the case of New Zealand, the Polynesian group known as the Maori established themselves centuries before Europeans arrived and had their distinct cultural encounters.
In both Australia and New Zealand, native populations such as the Aborigines and the Maori met and interacted with European settlers during the era of colonialism. The first extensive contacts with Europeans led to profound changes for these indigenous communities, often including loss of land and serious decline in population. In the context of Australia, the large landmass allowed some Aboriginal groups to retreat for a while, but environmental and other factors eventually increased interactions with European settlers and their descendants.