Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-1317922-20131001224734/@comment-4656717-20131003094120

I accept your point about the Portuguese, but it should be noted that I said they never made any certified landings.

They only did so because they were spooked by the French expedition. If D'Urville (or, for that matter, any French expedition from 1816-1826) had arrived with a small garrison/some settlers/convicts and reaffirmed Saint-Allouarn's 1772 claim to the Western Coast, the Brits would either have had to accept the reality of another European power on the continent, or go to war with France. I doubt the Brits would have been stupid enough to do the latter (especially over Western Australia).

What would you give as an alternative POD?