Australia Australia , sometimes colloquially called " Oz " , ( PROSE : " Invasion of the Cat - People " ) was both a continent and a nation located on Earth . It was part of Australasia . ( AUDIO : " The Transit of Venus " ) History . Early history . Circa 40 , 000 BC , five Euterpian s stranded on Earth visited Australia and taught the Aborigine s to sing . ( PROSE : " Invasion of the Cat - People " ) Circa 35 , 500 BC , Monarch travelled to Earth in his ship . Australia was the site of his first visit . He abducted several Aborigines , including their leader Kurkutji , and gave them android bodies . He promised Kurkutji rulership of his people when Monarch made his final visit to conquer the planet . ( TV : " Four to Doomsday " ) In 1590 , when Tom looked up at Earth from the surface of the Moon , he found that Australia was entirely missing . ( PROSE : " Minions of the Moon " ) The Dutch explorer Tasman charted the north and west coasts of Australia and he called the land New Holland . In later years , the south coast was charted by Captain James Cook of the " Endeavour " and , on 28 April 1770 , his nephew Isaac became the first Englishman to step foot on the east coast . The British Empire claimed the land of Australia and used it as a prison colony to ship convicts to . The idea was recommended to the British government by Joseph Banks after he was confronted by Ian Chesterton who accidentally gave Banks the idea . ( AUDIO : " The Transit of Venus " ) In 1658 , Polsbroek described Australia as " an inhospitable , desolate island " . ( AUDIO : " The Waters of Amsterdam " ) In 1863 , the Third Doctor dropped off Charlie Fisher in Australia to give him a new life . ( COMIC : " Backtime " ) In 1881 , the Flying Dutchman appeared off the coast of Australia . It was watched by the Twelfth Doctor from a nearby ship which was transporting Prince George . ( COMIC : " Ghosts of the Seas " ) In the 1890s , it was an idyllic tourist destination for those wealthy enough to afford the trip . Three separate adverts for trips to Australia from London or Plymouth appeared in an 1890s copy of " The Times " . ( TV : " Deep Breath " ) 20th century . Tegan Jovanka ' s paternal grandfather emigrated from Yugoslavia to Australia . He always referred to Australia as " the New World . " ( PROSE : " Cold Fusion " ) In the 1920s , the Doctor met Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba and learned her party trick of shattering glass with a high - pitched note . ( TV : " The Power of Kroll " ) In 1932 , the Doctor met Australian cricket champion Donald Bradman and took five wickets for New South Wales . ( TV : " Four to Doomsday " ) In the 1960s , ' s younger brother Gareth moved to Australia . He was bit on the backside by a large spider and died there . ( PROSE : " " ) In the 1970s , the Third Doctor , in an attempt to escape his exile , got the TARDIS to materialise in the Australian desert , where , with the aid of Murray Stevens and some Aborigines , he thwarted Rudolph Steiner ' s Gemini Plan . ( COMIC : " Gemini Plan " ) Some time later , a group of Dalek s based underneath Antarctica used captured nuclear submarine the USS " Jefferson " to attack Sydney . Their plan to use the city as a base from which to convert humans into Daleks and conquer Earth was defeated by the Doctor with the aid of Lt Davis . ( COMIC : " * Sub Zero " ) Later still , the Doctor and Sir Humphrey Picton visited an Australian radio telescope base to observe the test run of Dr Louis French ' s new radio wave accelerator . The Doctor realised that its use would cause disaster , and tried in vain to prevent it . The accelerated radio waves disrupted Earth ' s atmosphere , creating a huge storm that heavily damaged the research station and resulted in French ' s death . ( COMIC : " Is Anyone There ? " ) In 1979 , the remains of Skylab fell over Australia . One piece endangered Paul Forbes , who was in the Gibson Desert , but he was saved when the Seventh Doctor advised him to take three steps to the left . ( PROSE : " Three Steps to the Left " ) In the 1980s , Bruce and Angela Healy resided in Australia , where they had a veterinary practice . ( COMIC : " Yonder . . . The Yeti " ) Also in the 1980s , Ace ' s friend Midge once went to Australia on holiday . He sent her a postcard saying how lonely he felt so far from home . ( PROSE : " " ) On 14 July 1993 , the Seventh Doctor met with the 37 - year - old Dorothée in a café in Glebe , Sydney . ( PROSE : " Set Piece " ) In 1995 , the Doctor , Ace and Bernice Summerfield visited the interdimensional café in Glebe . ( PROSE : " Set Piece " ) At the same time , Kathy Chambers set up her Chambers Pharmaceuticals company in Brisbane as cover for experiments with Cybermen technology . ( AUDIO : " The Gathering " ) In 1996 , the Doctor , Chris Cwej and Roz Forrester visited Sydney for a week . ( PROSE : " Return of the Living Dad " ) 21st century . On 22 September 2006 , Brisbane ' s phone network was hit by an electronic attack to cover for the creation of System . Tegan Jovanka was running a small animal feed company in the city at the time , having taken it over from her father . ( AUDIO : " The Gathering " ) In 2007 , Australian soldiers were involved in a war in Indonesia . ( PROSE : " " ) In 2008 , UNIT Australia fought off an advance party of Ice Warrior s . ( COMIC : " The Age of Ice " ) In the same year , Australia ' s national science agency CSIRO was part of a teleconference on the Atraxi crisis . ( TV : " The Eleventh Hour " ) In 2009 , after Earth was returned from the Medusa Cascade , Sydney was one of the cities celebrating . ( TV : " Journey ' s End " ) Later that year , Australia was among the nations which agreed to let John Frobisher speak on their behalf to the 456 . ( TV : " " ) John O ' Brian and his parents visited Australia in 2009 for three weeks . ( AUDIO : " The Ghost House " ) In 2010 , a Chronal wave hit Sydney as part of a major Skith assault . ( COMIC : " The Age of Ice " ) In the 2010s , Australia was among the places where newly - hatched Zygon s were settled across the world as part of Operation Double . ( TV : " The Zygon Invasion " ) At some other point in the 2010s , the Twelfth Doctor , Nardole and Bill Potts visited Sydney to escape from a sentient oil creature that had been in a puddle . ( TV : " The Pilot " ) In 2018 , Australia was part of the Australasian Zone and the malevolent Ramón Salamander had set up a research facility there back in 2013 : here , he had tricked scientists into causing " natural " disasters . An anti - Salamander group under Giles Kent was based near the facility . The Second Doctor and his companions Jamie McCrimmon and Victoria Waterfield arrived on an Australian beach and were drawn into Kent and Salamander ' s machinations . ( TV : " The Enemy of the World " ) In 2020 , Amy Pond discussed the Australian outback as a possible place for the Silurian s to live , when considering the prospect of both races living together openly . ( TV : " Cold Blood " ) In the 2040s , Ed Gold pushed for Australia to get involved in the space race . Sometime after 2044 , Australia had built a space elevator off its western coast . ( TV : " The Waters of Mars " ) In 2058 , Australia would be part of the Bowie Base One mission on Mars . ( TV : " The Waters of Mars " ) In 2096 , Australia was the most stable nation on Earth after the Myloki conflict of the 2060s , due to a dispersed population and comparative wealth . ( PROSE : " The Indestructible Man " ) However , soon afterwards Australia fell victim to the massive economic and social upheavals caused by widespread use of the Interstitial Mass Transit System , becoming destitute and starving . Many Australians fled , most of them ending up at the Achebe Gorge refugee camp . ( PROSE : " Transit " ) During the 22nd century Dalek occupation of Earth , a human resistance movement was formed in Australia , but was crushed by the Daleks within days . ( AUDIO : " Masters of Earth " ) Far future . In the 51st century , Australia was either part of or occupied by the Supreme Alliance . Magnus Greel became known as " the Butcher of Brisbane " for his horrific experiments carried out there . ( TV : " The Talons of Weng - Chiang " ; AUDIO : " The Butcher of Brisbane " ) By this time , Brisbane was known as " the Brisbane Death Zone . " ( AUDIO : " The Butcher of Brisbane " ) In 200100 , Australia and its neighbours collectively formed Australasia . When the Dalek s attacked Earth , Australasia was referred to as " just . . . gone " after a bombing run . ( TV : " The Parting of the Ways " ) Languages . The primary language in Australia was English ( TV : " A Christmas Carol " ) , for Australia was settled by the British . However , there were also many languages spoken by the Aborigine s ( PROSE : " Invasion of the Cat - People " ) , both prior to European settlement ( TV : " Four to Doomsday " ) and afterwards . Other facts . One of the Fourth and Fifth Doctor ' s companions , Tegan Jovanka , was a native of Australia , having grown up on her father ' s farm near Brisbane . ( TV : " Logopolis " ) Her aunt Vanessa was also from Australia ( TV : " Logopolis " ) , as was her cousin Colin Frazer ( TV : " Arc of Infinity " ) and her maternal grandfather Andrew Verney ( TV : " The Awakening " ) . Tegan , who described herself as " downright Bolshie , " was a supporter of Australian republicanism . ( AUDIO : " The Children of Seth " ) The redback spider inhabited Australia . ( PROSE : " Invasion of the Cat - People " ) The Third Doctor bought a beach - house in Sydney while his house in Kent was being painted . ( PROSE : " Sleepy " ) Eugene Jones planned to take his friend and co - worker Linda to Australia before his death in 2007 . ( TV : " Random Shoes " ) In 2008 , Martha Jones told Plummer that she had been to Australia . ( TV : " Reset " ) The Eleventh Doctor visited Australia with Kazran Sardick and Abigail Pettigrew , visiting Uluru and the Sydney Opera House . ( TV : " A Christmas Carol " ) When Gavin left Earth to rule his planet in 2010 , Sarah Jane Smith had Mr Smith covered it up by saying that he had moved to Australia . ( TV : " The Empty Planet " ) Turlough once jokingly told Tegan that " stubbornness is one of Australia ' s greatest exports . " ( AUDIO : " The Emerald Tiger " )