Rabbits, like most other pest species, were introduced when Europeans first settled in Australia. Rabbits were introduced from two main sources; the domesticated rabbit which provided early settlers with a ready source of meat, and the wild rabbit introduced later for hunting.
Thomas Austin is credited with releasing 24 wild rabbits at his Barwon Park property near Geelong in Victoria in 1859. This small population exploded to cover Victoria and New South Wales by 1886. By 1900, rabbits had reached the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
In some other areas, feral domesticated rabbits also established populations. Typically, these rabbits have different colourings compared to the wild rabbits released by Thomas Austin.