In general the Dutch didn't colonise, not in the way the British and the French did. The Netherlands had a much smaller population and they were more interested in setting up trading stations than in actual colonies. They had trading stations up and down the African Coast, the West Indies, Indonesia, India etc. Repeated Dutch explorations of the Australian coast showed no signs of spices, precious metals or other interesting trading commodities, and not even trading stations were established.
Abel Janszoon Tasman's Journal.
PDF Warning.
Chapter XI deals with Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania.
