Were The Dutch The First To Discover Australia?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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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.

Who was the first Australian to discover Australia?


Captain James Cook

arrived in the Pacific 250 years ago, triggering British colonisation of the region. We're asking researchers to reflect on what happened and how it shapes us today. You can see other stories in the series here, and an interactive here.

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.

Did the Dutch colonize Australia?

Between 1606 and 1642, the Dutch charted most of the continent's northern, western and southern coasts.

The Netherlands did not colonise Australia

, but Dutch people in small numbers were present from 1788 onwards.

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.

What did the Dutch name Australia?

After Dutch navigators charted the northern, western and southern coasts of Australia during the 17th Century this newly found continent became known as ‘

New Holland

‘. It was the English explorer Matthew Flinders who made the suggestion of the name we use today.

Was Australia settled or invaded?

In respect to the Aboriginal community, [“invasion”] is something that is very important and needs to be used.

Australia was not settled by the common law

but by the rules and disciplines of war.

Did the Portuguese discover Australia?

SYDNEY (Reuters) – A 16th century maritime map in a Los Angeles library vault proves that Portuguese adventurers, not British or Dutch, were the

first Europeans

to discover Australia, says a new book which details the secret discovery of Australia.

Who was the first white person born in Australia?

On 25th January 1788 a child was recorded to have been born to a “Mrs. Whittle” between Botany Bay and Port Jackson, becoming the first European to be born in Australia. However the only person similarly named as part of the fleet's company was a man,

Edward Whitton

.

What was Australia first called?


New Holland (Dutch: Nieuw-Holland)

is a historical European name for mainland Australia. The name was first applied to Australia in 1644 by the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman.

What did the Dutch do in Australia?

Dutch sailors were amongst the

first Europeans to reach Australia

. In 1606 the Duyfken became the first ship to chart part of Australia's coastline, and other Dutch explorers soon followed. In the early 19th century a few Netherlands-born convicts were transported to Australia.

Why is Australia not Dutch?

In a documentary I saw last week, they said: “the Dutch had been exploring the West Coast of Australia for close to 200 years, landed there a couple of times, but because that part is desert with almost no water, they

deemed it unworthy for colonizing

and also never claimed it.”

Who were the first settlers in Australia and where did they come from?

The

First Fleet of British ships arrived

at Botany Bay in January 1788 to establish a penal colony, the first colony on the Australian mainland. In the century that followed, the British established other colonies on the continent, and European explorers ventured into its interior.

Why did the Dutch Colonise Australia?

Seeking riches in the great ‘Southland'

The Dutch were looking for anything that

could make them a profit

, not just back home but also between ports in Asia. They also needed bases where they could refresh their supplies and workforce from Europe, across the Indian Ocean, to Batavia (modern-day Jakarta).

Did the Maori make it to Australia?

The first Māori known to have visited Australia travelled to Sydney (then known as Port Jackson, or Poihākena in te reo Māori)

in 1793

. … There were at least 700 Māori visitors to Sydney prior to 1840, with some of the more notable being the chiefs Te Pahi, Ruatara, Hongi Hika, Taonui, Patuone, Rewa and Te Wharerahi.

Where did the Maori come from?

Māori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, they settled here over 700 years ago. They came from

Polynesia by waka (canoe)

. New Zealand has a shorter human history than any other country.

Did the Chinese discover New Zealand First?

English explorer Captain

James Cook

reportedly “discovered” New Zealand's East Coast on October 7, 1769, hundreds of years after it had been settled by Maori. But two visits early this year have convinced Cedric Bell that Chinese ships were visiting New Zealand 2000 years ago.

How many Dutch are there in Australia?

The latest Census in 2016 recorded

70,172 Netherlands-born

people in Australia, a decrease of 7.7 per cent from the 2011 Census.

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'.

Did the Dutch found New Zealand?

In

1642

, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European known to have officially charted the location of New Zealand. … According to a new study, it seems that the Dutch did try to follow up on Tasman's discovery, after all.

Who lived in Australia before the British arrived?


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. By the 1920s this number had fallen by around 90%.

When did Australia Day change to 26th January?

Victoria adopted 26 January as Australia Day in

1931

, and by 1935, all states of Australia were celebrating 26 January as Australia Day (although it was still known as Anniversary Day in New South Wales). The name “Foundation Day” persisted in local usage.

Which country conquered Australia?

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.

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

.

Has all of Australia been explored?

CANBERRA (Reuters) – More than 40 percent of Australia, an area the size of India, remains untouched by humans, making the country as critical to the world's environment as the Amazon rainforests, a study said on Wednesday.

When did the British First Sight 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.

Who was the first one to be born?

Originally Answered: Who was first born on this Earth? According to the Bible, it was “

Cain,”

the firstborn human baby, from Adam & Eve. Genesis 4:1, (NWT) confirms this, it reads: [“Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant.

What would have happened if the Dutch Colonised Australia?

The result would have been

an influx of mainly Indonesians into West Australia

, followed by white settlers from South Africa taking with them a few black people. A kind of mixed people but not too many. But most of the would have moved to the North and East.

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 is the first child born on earth?


Virginia Dare
Born Virginia Dare August 18, 1587 Roanoke Colony (present-day North Carolina) Died Unknown Known for first English child born in the New World Parents Ananias Dare (father) Eleanor White (mother)

Why population of Australia is low?

Australia has an average population density of 3.4 persons per square kilometre of total land area, which makes it one of the most

sparsely populated

countries in the world. This is generally attributed to the semi-arid and desert geography of much of the interior of the country.

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

.

When was the first gold actually discovered in Australia?

On

February 12, 1851

, a prospector discovered flecks of gold in a waterhole near Bathurst, New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Soon, even more gold was discovered in what would become the neighboring state of Victoria.

How did Australians get their accent?

According to Richards, the beginning of our Australian accent emerged

following the arrival of European settlers in 1788

. “It emerged from a process called levelling down because you had all these people who came here on 11 ships from different dialect areas, regional dialect areas across England,” he said.

Did Abel Tasman discover Australia?

Seafarer, explorer and merchant Abel Janszoon Tasman was

the first European to discover Tasmania

and confirm Australia as an island continent. Born in the Netherlands around 1602, he was raised and educated in Lutjegast, Gronigen.

Timothy Chehowski
Author
Timothy Chehowski
Timothy Chehowski is a travel writer and photographer with over 10 years of experience exploring the world. He has visited over 50 countries and has a passion for discovering off-the-beaten-path destinations and hidden gems. Juan's writing and photography have been featured in various travel publications.