The first camels came to Australia from the Canary Islands in 1840. Nine camels were brought for the purpose of aiding the exploration of John Horrocks. None of these initial â¦ camels survived, although the first one lived for six years-long enough to shoot Horrocks.hese were the predecessors of today's wild camels. Camels continued to be brought over by later explorers. It was not uncommon for the explorers and/or the Afghan cameleers to release their camels, or for the camels to escape.
The expedition arrived in San Diego on May 14, 1769, the first overland party to reach Alta California. The next day, on May 15, Gaspar de Portola and Father Junipero Serra set out across the rugged, arid land of Baja California with a contingent of soldiers and Baja mission Indians.
His first building of a mission was in Baja in 1768. He was then transferred to California in 1773, basing his service out of San Diego. De Lasuen became President of the Missions in 1785 and built substantially on the work of his predecessor, Father Junipero Serra. He founded nine of California's 21 missions: Santa Barbara (1786), La Purisima Concepcion (1787), Santa Cruz (1791), Nuestra Senora De La Soledad (1791), San Jose (1797), San Juan Bautista (1797), San Miguel Arcangel (1797), San Fernando Re De Espana (1797), and San Luis Rey De Franca (1798).