In a book titled 1421: The Year China Discovered the World Gavin Menzies claims that in the 1420’s several fleets of Chinese ships sailed around the world, making contact with many countries before Europeans explored them, including Australia. Much of his evidence relies on interpreting old maps.
Contents
Who really discovered Australia first?
explorer Willem Janszoon
While Indigenous Australians have inhabited the continent for tens of thousands of years, and traded with nearby islanders, the first documented landing on Australia by a European was in 1606. The Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon landed on the western side of Cape York Peninsula and charted about 300 km of coastline.
When did the Chinese first visit Australia?
Earliest Chinese contact with Australia: pre-1848
The first recorded link between China and Australia occurred during the establishment of the Colony of New South Wales.
Who found Australia and when?
On January 26, 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip guides a fleet of 11 British ships carrying convicts to the colony of New South Wales, effectively founding Australia.
Who was the first white person to discover Australia?
navigator Willem Janszoon
The first known landing in Australia by Europeans was in 1606 by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon. Later that year, Spanish explorer Luís Vaz de Torres sailed through, and navigated, what is now called Torres Strait and associated islands.
What was Australia called before it was called Australia?
Terra Australis
Change of name
After British colonisation, the name New Holland was retained for several decades and the south polar continent continued to be called Terra Australis, sometimes shortened to Australia.
Why did Chinese come to Australia?
By the early 1850s, news of a gold rush in Australia had reached southern China, sparking an influx in Chinese migration to Australia. It is thought that approximately 7000 Chinese people came to work at the Araluen gold fields in southern NSW.
Why were the Chinese miners disliked?
Chinese miners in Australia were generally peaceful and industrious but other miners distrusted their different customs and traditions, and their habits of opium smoking and gambling. Animosity (hate), fuelled by resentment (fear and anger) and wild rumours, led to riots against the Chinese miners.
Did Christopher Columbus discover Australia?
Christopher Columbus never discovered Australia. In fact, Christopher Columbus never sailed beyond the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the…
Who was king when Australia was discovered?
King George III
The development of a distinctly Australian monarchy came about through a complex set of incremental events, beginning in 1770, when Captain James Cook, in the name of, and under instruction from, King George III, claimed the east coast of Australia.
What date did Australia get invaded?
January 26, 1788
January 26, 1788, is the day Captain Arthur Phillip landed on Australian soil with the First Fleet of British ships. He raised the British flag at Sydney Cove to claim New South Wales as a British Colony. This day marks the beginning of a long and brutal colonisation of people and land.
When was Australia first called Australia?
The name Australia was specifically applied to the continent for the first time in 1794, with the botanists George Shaw and Sir James Smith writing of “the vast island, or rather continent, of Australia, Australasia or New Holland” in their 1793 Zoology and Botany of New Holland, and James Wilson including it on a 1799
Who named Australia?
It was the English explorer Matthew Flinders who made the suggestion of the name we use today. He was the first to circumnavigate the continent in 1803, and used the name ‘Australia’ to describe the continent on a hand drawn map in 1804. The National Library holds a reproduction.
What country colonized Australia?
British empire
The rise of the British empire in Australia
Britain’s first contact with Australia came with Captain Cook’s voyage in the ship Endeavour. He landed in Australia in 1770 and claimed it as a British territory. The process of colonisation began in 1788.
Did the Spanish discovered Australia?
In about October 1606, Spaniard Luis Vaez de Torres sailed through the strait that now bears his name, between the northern tip of Cape York and New Guinea. He probably sighted the Australian mainland, but there is no evidence that he landed.
Why is Australia called Oceania?
Most of Australia and Oceania is under the Pacific, a vast body of water that is larger than all the Earth’s continental landmasses and islands combined. The name “Oceania” justly establishes the Pacific Ocean as the defining characteristic of the continent.
Why is Australia called Oz?
When Aus or Aussie, the short form for an Australian, is pronounced for fun with a hissing sound at the end, it sounds as though the word being pronounced has the spelling Oz.Hence Australia in informal language is referred to as Oz.
Who ruled Australia before the British?
Aboriginal peoples lived in Australia for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. They suffered greatly as a result of the arrival of the British in Australia. When Captain Cook visited in the late 1700s it is estimated that there were about 750,000 Aborigines.
What percentage of Australian population is Chinese?
As a whole, Australian residents identifying themselves as having Chinese ancestry made up 5.6% of those nominating their ancestry at the 2016 census and numbered 1,213,903.
Why is trade with China important to Australia?
Today, China is Australia’s largest trading partner in terms of both imports and exports.Few other countries had Australia’s huge supplies of iron ore, which were close to the sea and easily developed, and proximity to China for shipping minerals (of which transport costs are up to 10% of the value).
How many Chinese are in Australia today?
More than 1.2 million people of Chinese heritage live in Australia today. Their experiences are as diverse as their views: many were born in Australia, with lineages that span generations of Australian history.
