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.
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Who actually discovered Australia?
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.
Who discovered Australia before Cook?
The book “Beyond Capricorn” says the map, which accurately marks geographical sites along Australia’s east coast in Portuguese, proves that Portuguese seafarer Christopher de Mendonca lead a fleet of four ships into Botany Bay in 1522 — almost 250 years before Britain’s Captain James Cook.
Did Cook discover Australia?
After observing the transit of Venus in Tahiti and mapping the North and South Islands of New Zealand, the Endeavour sailed west. The crew first sighted the mainland of Australia on 19 April 1770. James Cook and some of his crew landed at Kamay Botany Bay on 29 April 1770.
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.
Was Australia or New Zealand discovered first?
Australia and New Zealand had quite separate indigenous histories, settled at different times by very different peoples – Australia from Indonesia or New Guinea around 50,000 years ago, New Zealand from islands in the tropical Pacific around 1250–1300 CE.
Did China discover Australia first?
There is no tangible evidence that Chinese explorers (or traders or any other Chinese for that matter) did land in Australia before the European exploration of the continent began.
What did the Spanish call Australia?
The investigation indicates that it was not until 1531, when the French cartographer Oronce Fine established in his maps an imaginary continent that he called Terra Australis, which in Latin means “land of the south” or “land of the southern winds.”
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.
Who found New Zealand?
explorer Abel Tasman
The dutch explorer Abel Tasman is officially recognised as the first European to ‘discover’ New Zealand in 1642. His men were the first Europeans to have a confirmed encounter with Māori.
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 is Australia Day on the 26th?
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Jackson in New South Wales.
When did the British claim 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.
What do aboriginals call Australia?
The Aboriginal English words ‘blackfella’ and ‘whitefella’ are used by Indigenous Australian people all over the country — some communities also use ‘yellafella’ and ‘coloured’.
Why are Aborigines called?
‘Aborigine’ comes from the Latin words ‘ab’ meaning from and ‘origine’ meaning beginning or origin. It expresses that Aboriginal people have been there from the beginning of time.
Where did Australia name come from?
Latin australis
The name Australia (pronounced /əˈstreɪliə/ in Australian English) is derived from the Latin australis, meaning “southern”, and specifically from the hypothetical Terra Australis postulated in pre-modern geography.
Who were the first peoples in Australia called?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the first peoples of Australia, meaning they were here for thousands of years prior to colonisation.
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.
Who were the first settlers in Australia?
The first settlement, at Sydney, consisted of about 850 convicts and their Marine guards and officers, led by Governor Arthur Phillip. They arrived at Botany Bay in the “First Fleet” of 9 transport ships accompanied by 2 small warships, in January, 1788.
Why did Britain claim Australia?
The reasons that led the British to invade Australia were simple. The prisons in Britain had become unbearably overcrowded, a situation worsened by the refusal of America to take any more convicts after the American War of Independence in 1783.
Who discovered Tasmania?
Named for Anthony van Diemen, governor general of the Dutch East Indies, the island was first encountered by Europeans in 1642 and named by Abel J. Tasman, a celebrated navigator under van Diemen’s command. The first British settlers in the early 19th century retained the name.
