The first definite sighting of Australia by European explorers was in 1606. This date may be taken as a convenient starting point for the written history of Australia. Although humans had lived in Australia for approximately 40-45,000 years (possibly a lot more) before 1606, this era is referred to as prehistory rather than history because there are no written records of human events in Australia. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The history of Australia began when people first migrated to the Australian continent from the north, at least 40,000-45,000 years ago. ... The prehistory of Australia is the period between the first human habitation of the Australian continent and the first definitive sighting of Australia by Europeans in 1606, which may be taken as the beginning of the recent history of Australia. ... // Following the loss of the American Colonies, Britain needed to find alternative destinations that could take the population of its overcrowded prisons. ... The history of Australia from 1851 - 1900 continues Australias colonial history, the discovery of gold in 1851 which led to increased economic and political independence from Britain and a great debate about federation. ... The history of Australia from 1901 - 1945 begins with the federation of the colonies to create the Commonwealth of Australia. ... The history of Australia since 1945 has seen a move away from Britain in political, social and cultural terms to engagement with the United States and Asia. ... This is a timeline of Australian history. ... Events January 27 - The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins ending in their execution on January 31 May 17 - Supporters of Vasili Shusky invade the Kremlin and kill Premier Dmitri December 26 - Shakespeares King Lear performed in court Storm buries a village of St Ismails near... The prehistory of Australia is the period between the first human habitation of the Australian continent and the first definitive sighting of Australia by Europeans in 1606, which may be taken as the beginning of the recent history of Australia. ... This article is about the study of time in human terms. ...

Theories of European discovery

In about 1300, Marco Polo made reference to the reputed existence of a vast southern continent, although there is no evidence that he had specific knowledge of Australia. Some writers have suggested that maps compiled in Europe from the late 1400s show parts of the Australian coastline^{[citation needed]}. Events February 22 - Jubilee of Pope Boniface VIII. March 10 - Wardrobe accounts of King Edward I of Englanddo (aka Edward Longshanks) include a reference to a game called creag being played at the town of Newenden in Kent. ... Marco Polo (September 15, 1254[1] – January 9, 1324 at earliest but no later than June 1325[2]) was a Venetian trader and explorer who gained fame for his worldwide travels, recorded in the book Il Milione (The Million or The Travels of Marco Polo). ...

The French navigator Binot Paulmier de Gonneville ^[1] claimed to have landed at a land east of the Cape of Good Hope in 1504, after being blown off course. For some time it had been thought he discovered Australia, but nowadays the land where he landed has been shown to be Brazil.^[2] Binot Paulmyer, sieur de Gonneville, French navigator of the early 16th century, who was widely believed in 17th and 18th century France to have been the true discoverer of Australia. ... The Cape of Good Hope; looking towards the west, from the coastal cliffs above Cape Point. ... 1504 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

A Spanish expedition commanded by the Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandez de Quiros and piloted by Luis Vaez de Torres set out for Terra Australis in 1605. When de Quiros landed on the New Hebrides, he named the island group "Austrialia del Espiritu Santo", translated as "South Land of the Holy Spirit". After Quiros had left the expedition, Torres sailed from east to west along the southern coast of Papua, and sighted the islands of Torres Strait.^[2][3] Pedro Fernández de Quirós (1565 - 1614), was a Portuguese seaman and explorer. ... Luiz Váez de Torres, Portuguese seaman, remembered chiefly because the Torres Strait separating Australia from Papua New Guinea is named for him. ... Terra Australis is the large continent on the bottom of the map Terra Australis (also: Terra Australis Incognita, Latin for the unknown land of the South) was an imaginary continent, appearing on European maps from the 15th to the 18th century. ... 1605 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... The New Hebrides are an island group in the South Pacific that now form the nation of Vanuatu. ...

Portuguese sightings

Some believe in the theory that the Portuguese were the first Europeans to sight Australia, that the continent was sighted by a Portuguese expedition led by Cristóvão de Mendonça in about 1522. A number of relics and remains have been interpreted as evidence that the Portuguese reached Australia in the early to mid 1500s, 200 years before Cook. These clues include the Mahogany Ship, an alleged Portuguese caravel that was shipwrecked six miles west of Warrnambool, Victoria (although its remains have never been found); the so-called Dieppe maps, secret maps drawn by the Portuguese; a cannon and five keys found near Geelong. Most historians do not accept these relics as proof that the Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach Australia. Jave La Grandes east coast: from Nicholas Vallards atlas, 1547. ... Cristóvão de Mendonça was a Portuguese explorer and statesman living around 1500. ... Events January 9 - Adrian Dedens becomes Pope Adrian VI. February 26 - Execution by hanging of Cuauhtémoc, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan under orders of conquistador Hernán Cortés. ... The Mahogany Ship refers to a supposed wrecked Portuguese caravel or Chinese junk that is purported to lie beneath the sand approximately six miles west of Warrnambool in southwest Victoria, Australia. ... Caravela Latina / Latin Caravel Caravela Redonda / Square-rigged Caravel A caravel is a small, highly maneuverable, two or three-masted ship used by the Portuguese and Spanish for long voyages of exploration beginning in the 15th century. ... Warrnambool is a regional city of around 32,000 people on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia, located in the municipality City of Warrnambool. ... The Dieppe maps are a set of maps produced in Dieppe, France in the 16th century, thought to provide clues towards Portuguese exploration of Australia two hundred years before Captain Cook. ... This article is about the Victorian city; the name may also refer to City of Geelong or Geelong city centre. ...

Chinese sightings

There is a theory known as the 1421 hypothesis that the great Chinese explorer Zheng He charted the west coast of Australia in 1421.^[4] His maps may be the source of the 15th century European maps showing Australia. This Chinese map, produced in 1763 and claimed by the unidentified author to be based on a 1418 Chinese map, has produced much controversy as to how much knowledge Medieval China had of the Americas and Antarctica. ... A modern illustration of Zheng He, by an unidentified artist. ...

An early map of the known world, made in 1603 by Father Matteo Ricci, an Italian Jesuit who spent a long time in China, noted in a blank space where Australia lies: No one has ever been to this land in the south, hence we know nothing about it. In smaller characters he brushed the Chinese characters Fire Land and Land of Parrots^[5] suggesting the Chinese were aware of and had perhaps visited Australia. Matteo Ricci. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Technical note: Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ...

Dutch sightings

The first undisputed sighting of Australia by a European was made in 1606. The Dutch vessel Duyfken, captained by Willem Jansz, followed the coast of New Guinea, missed Torres Strait, and explored perhaps 350 km of western side of Cape York, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, believing the land was still part of New Guinea. ^[3] The Dutch made one landing, but were promptly attacked by Aborigines and subsequently abandoned further exploration. Events January 27 - The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins ending in their execution on January 31 May 17 - Supporters of Vasili Shusky invade the Kremlin and kill Premier Dmitri December 26 - Shakespeares King Lear performed in court Storm buries a village of St Ismails near... Willem Jansz (c. ... Torres Strait and islands The Torres Strait - Cape York Peninsula is at the bottom; several of the Torres Strait Islands can be seen strung out towards Papua New Guinea to the north. ... Categories: Australia geography stubs | Peninsulas | Headlands ... The Gulf of Carpentaria from a 1859 Dutch map The Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and Indonesia). ...

The discovery that sailing east from the Cape of Good Hope until land was sighted, and then sailing north along the west coast of Australia was a much quicker route than around the coast of the Indian Ocean made Dutch landfalls on the west coast inevitable. Most of these landfalls were unplanned. The first such landfall was in 1616, when Dirk Hartog landed on what is now called Dirk Hartog Island, off the coast of Western Australia, and left behind an inscription on a pewter plate. (This plate may now be seen in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.) The most famous and bloodiest result was the mutiny and murder that followed the wreck of the Batavia. The Cape of Good Hope; looking towards the west, from the coastal cliffs above Cape Point. ... Year 1616 (MDCXVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Dirk Hartog (1580—1621) was a 17th century Dutch sea captain and explorer, whose expedition was the second European group to land on Australian soil. ... Dirk Hartogs plate in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Dirk Hartog Island, an island off the coast of Western Australia, was discovered in October 1616 by the Dutch sea captain Dirk Hartog, who was blown off course while sailing from Cape Town to Batavia (Jakarta). ... Slogan or Nickname: Wildflower State or the Golden State Other Australian states and territories Capital Perth Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Ken Michael Premier Alan Carpenter (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 15  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2005-06)  - Product ($m)  $107,910 (4th)  - Product per capita  $53,134/person... Pewter plate Pewter is a metal alloy, traditionally between 85 and 99 percent tin, with the remainder consisting of 1-15 percent copper, acting as a hardener, with the addition of lead for the lower grades of pewter, which have a bluish tint. ... The Rijksmuseum Rembrandt van Rijn: The Night Watch 1642 Johannes Vermeer: Milkmaid 1658-1660 Frans Hals: Portrait of a Young Couple The Rijksmuseum (IPA: ; Dutch for National Museum) is a national museum of the Netherlands, located in Amsterdam on the Museumplein. ... For other uses, see Amsterdam (disambiguation). ... For other meanings of Batavia see Batavia The Batavia was a ship of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), built in 1628 in Amsterdam, which was struck by mutiny and shipwreck during her maiden voyage. ...

Hollandia Nova, 1659 map prepared by Joan Blaeu based on voyages by Abel Tasman and Willem Jansz, this image shows a French edition of 1663

Further voyages by Dutch ships explored the north coast of Australia between 1623 and 1636, giving Arnhem Land its present-day name. In 1642, Abel Tasman sailed on a famous voyage from Batavia (now Jakarta), to Papua New Guinea, Fiji, New Zealand and, on November 24, sighted Tasmania. He named it Van Diemen's Land, after Anthony van Diemen, the Dutch East India Company's Governor General at Batavia, who had commissioned his voyage. Tasman claimed Van Diemen's Land for the Netherlands. In 1644 he made a second voyage, on which he mapped the north coast of Australia from Cape York westward. Other notable Dutch explorers of the Australian coast include François Thyssen (with Pieter Nuyts on board) who discovered much of the south coast in 1627 and Willem de Vlamingh who mapped the west coast in 1696-1697.^[3][2] Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2916x2310, 3744 KB) Summary Melchisedech Thevenot (1620?-1692): Hollandia Nova detecta 1644; Terre Australe decouuerte lan 1644, Paris: De limprimerie de Iaqves Langlois, 1663 Based on a map by the dutch cartographer Joan Blaeu. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2916x2310, 3744 KB) Summary Melchisedech Thevenot (1620?-1692): Hollandia Nova detecta 1644; Terre Australe decouuerte lan 1644, Paris: De limprimerie de Iaqves Langlois, 1663 Based on a map by the dutch cartographer Joan Blaeu. ... // Events May 25 - Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth. ... Joan Blaeu (1596 in Alkmaar - 1673 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch cartographer. ... Portrait of Tasman Abel Janszoon Tasman (1603 - October 10, 1659), was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant. ... Willem Jansz (c. ... Year 1623 (MDCXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1636 (MDCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Arnhem Land is an area of 97,000 km² in the north-eastern corner of the Northern Territory, Australia. ... Events January 4 - Charles I attempts to arrest five leading members of the Long Parliament, but they escape. ... Portrait of Tasman Abel Janszoon Tasman (1603 - October 10, 1659), was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant. ... Jakarta (also DKI Jakarta), formerly known as Sunda Kalapa, Jayakarta, Batavia and Djakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. ... is the 328th day of the year (329th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Slogan or Nickname: Island of Inspiration; The Apple Isle; Holiday Isle Motto(s): Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Constitutional monarchy Governor William Cox Premier Paul Lennon (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 5  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product... 1663 map of Van Diemens Land, showing the parts discovered by Tasman, including Storm Bay, Maria Island and Schouten Island. ... Anthony van Diemen Anthony van Diemen (Culemborg, 1593– Batavia, 19 April 1645), or Antonius, Dutch colonial governor, was born in Culemborg in the Netherlands, the son of Bartholomeus van Diemen and Elisabeth Hoevenaar. ... This article is about the trading company. ... Categories: Australia geography stubs | Peninsulas | Headlands ... François Thijssen was a Dutch explorer who is famous because of his travel along the South coast of Australia. ... Pieter Nuyts (1598 - December 11, 1655) was a Dutch explorer. ... Events A Dutch ship makes the first recorded sighting of the coast of South Australia. ... Willem de Vlamingh (born 28 November 1640, died ?) was a Dutch sailor who explored the southwest coast of Australia (then New Holland) in the late 17th Century. ...

William Dampier was the first Englishman to see Australia. He explored the north-west coast of Australia in 1688, in the Cygnet, a small trading vessel. He made another voyage in 1699, before returning to England. He described some of the flora and fauna of Australia, and was the first European to report Australia's peculiar large hopping animals. William Dampier, pirate, navigator and explorer William Dampier (baptised 5 September 1651 – died March 1715) was an English buccaneer, sea captain, author and scientific observer. ... // Events A high-powered conspiracy of notables, the Immortal Seven, invite William and Mary to depose James II of England. ... Events January 26 - Treaty of Karlowitz signed March 30 - the tenth Sikh Master, Guru Gobind Singh created the Khalsa. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article is about the animal. ...

Captain Cook

Captain Cook has often been incorrectly credited as being the person who 'discovered' Australia. Cook had been sent to chart the transit of Venus from Tahiti, but he also charted much of the Australian and New Zealand coastlines. He reached New Zealand in October 1769, and mapped its coast. He then sailed across to south-east Australia, which he first sighted on April 20, 1770 at a point between Orbost and Mallacoota on the south east coast of what is now Victoria. He then sailed all the way up the east coast. He claimed the east coast, which he named New South Wales, for Great Britain on August 22, 1770. Cook's expedition identified Botany Bay as an appropriate place for settlement. British explorer James Cook is most noted for having discovered Australia and Hawaii. ... The 2004 transit of Venus A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, obscuring a small portion of the Suns disk. ... Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of the French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. ... 1769 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... is the 110th day of the year (111th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the village in Queensland, see 1770, Queensland. ... Orbost () is a town of approximately 2000 inhabitants (2001 census) in the East Gippsland Shire, Victoria, Australia, located 375km east of Melbourne where the Princes Highway crosses the Snowy River. ... Mallacoota Camping Park Mallacoota Mallacoota () is a small town in the East Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. ... VIC redirects here. ... “NSW” redirects here. ... is the 234th day of the year (235th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the village in Queensland, see 1770, Queensland. ... For other Botany Bays see Botany Bay (disambiguation) Bicentennial Monument at Botany Bay Botany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, a few kilometers south of the central business district. ...

Bass and Flinders

The last great naval explorer was Matthew Flinders, who was responsible for filling in the gaps in the map left by other explorers. In 1796 (after settlement), with George Bass, he took a 2.5 metre long open boat, the Tom Thumb, and explored some of the coastline south of Sydney. He suspected from this voyage that Tasmania was an island, and in 1798 Bass and he led an expedition to circumnavigate it and hence prove his theory. The sea between mainland Australia and Tasmania was named Bass Strait. One of the two major islands in Bass Strait was named Flinders Island. Flinders returned to his homeland of England, but was soon sent back to Sydney with a much more ambitious task—to circumnavigate Australia. He did this in 1802-03, sailing first along the south coast to Sydney, then completing the circumnavigation back to Sydney. At the same time of Flinders's expedition, the Australian coast was also mapped by Frenchman Nicolas Baudin.^[2] Captain Matthew Flinders RN (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was one of the most accomplished navigators and cartographers of his age. ... Year 1796 (MDCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... George Bass George Bass, British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia (1771 – unknown, post 1803), was born at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford Lincolnshire and was educated at Boston Grammar School. ... This article is about the unit of length. ... This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. ... Year 1798 (MDCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... “Round the world” redirects here. ... Map of Australia with Bass Strait marked in light blue Bass Strait (IPA: ) is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland (Victoria in particular). ... Municipality of Flinders, Tasmania Flinders Island is an island in the Bass Strait, located 20 km from the north-eastern tip of Tasmania, Australia. ... --69. ... 1803 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Nicolas Baudin Nicolas-Thomas Baudin (February 17, 1754 - September 16, 1803) was a French explorer. ...

References

1. ^ http://www.cosmovisions.com/Paulmier.htm, http://www.bresilbresils.org/decouverte_bresil/index.php?page=relation/palmier, http://www.passocean.com/HistoiresdeHonfleur/gonneville/gonneville.html, http://www.lazareff.com/Le-disque-est-en-crise.html, etc. (all in French)
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Eric Newby: The Rand Mc.Nally World Atlas of Exploration, 1975. London: Mitchell Beazley. ISBN 0-528-83015-5.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Raymond John Howgego: Encyclopedia of Exploration to 1800, 2003. Potts Point NSW: Hordern House. ISBN 1-875567-36-4.
4. ^ Professor Zhiqiang Zhang, translation by Juntao Li (2003-08-28). Zheng He reached Australia. Gavin Menzies. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
5. ^ Rolls, Eric, Sojourners, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane 1992, ISBN 0-7022-2478-2, p11.

Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 240th day of the year (241st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Gavin Menzies Gavin Menzies (b. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 196th day of the year (197th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• The Australian Discovery page at Project Gutenberg of Australia