What is the history of Australia? Briefly consider those events that are associated with its discovery. Some researchers have suggested that the Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach the shores of Australia in the early seventeenth century.
Interesting Facts
What is the story of Australia's discovery and exploration? This information is briefly presented in encyclopedias, but there are no interesting points in them that confirm the interest of travelers in this territory. Among the evidence that it was the Portuguese who became the discoverers of Australia, the following arguments can be made:
- Maps of Dieppe, which were published in the middle of the XVI century in France, contain an image of a large piece of land between Antarctica and Indonesia, called Java-la-Grande. All explanations and symbols on the map are made in Portuguese and French.
- At the beginning of the sixteenth century, Portuguese colonies were located in Southeast Asia. For example, the island of Timor, which is located 650 kilometers from the Australian coast, was attributed to Portuguese travelers.
French footprint
What other interesting facts does the history of the discovery of Australia and Oceania contain? We will also briefly tell that the French navigator Binot Polmier de Gonneville spoke about the fact that it was he who landed on unknown lands near the Cape of Good Hope in 1504. This happened after his ship blew the winds off course. Thanks to this statement, it was for this traveler that they attributed the discovery of Australia for a long time. After some time, it was found out that he was on the coast of Brazil.
Discovery of Australia by the Dutch
We continue the discussion about the history of the discovery of Australia and Oceania. Let us briefly dwell on the first indisputable fact documented in the winter of 1606. The expedition of the Dutch East India Company, led by Willem Janson, managed to land along with his comrades on the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria from the board of the Golubok ship. After sailing from the island of Java, they went to the southern part of New Guinea, moving along it, the Dutch expedition managed after some time to reach the shores of the Cape York Peninsula, located in northern Australia. Team members were confident that they were still off the coast of New Guinea.
It is the history of the development of Australia that is briefly considered in a school course in geography. The expedition did not see the Torres Strait, which separates the coast of Australia and New Guinea. On February 26, team members landed close to where Weipa is currently located. The Dutch were immediately attacked by the natives. Later, Janson and his people explored about 350 kilometers of the coast of Australia, sometimes making landings. His team constantly came across hostile natives, so several Dutch sailors were killed during fierce battles with the natives. The captain decided to return. He did not understand that he and his team managed to open a new mainland. Since Janson described him as a marshy and deserted place in his description of his exploration of the coast, no one attached much importance to his new discovery. The East India Company sent expeditions in the hope of enrichment with jewels and spices, and not at all for serious geographical discoveries.
Luis Vaes de Torres
Describing briefly the history of Australia's research, one can say about how this traveler advanced through the same strait along which Janson’s team first traveled. Geographers have speculated that Torres and his comrades were able to visit the northern coast of the continent, but no written confirmation of this hypothesis was found. After some time, the strait began to be called Torresov in honor of Luis Vaes de Torres.
Famous Expeditions
Of interest is the history of discovery and exploration of Australia, which briefly tells about the journey of the next ship of the Dutch East India Company, which was operated by Dirk Hartog. In 1616, the ship managed to reach the western coast of Australia, near the Shark Bay. For three days, sailors explored the coast, and also explored the islands located nearby. The Dutch did not find anything interesting, so Hartog decided to continue sailing, heading north along the coastline, which had not been explored before. Then the team headed for Batavia.
Where is the story of Australia's discovery described? Briefly 7th grade studies information about expeditions here from Europe in the 16-17th centuries. For example, educators talk about how, in 1619, Jacob d'Erdel and Frederic de Hautman went on two ships to explore the Australian coast. As they headed north, they discovered a strip of reef called Hautman's Rock.
Continued research
After this expedition, other Dutch sailors repeatedly found themselves on these shores, calling the land New Holland. They did not even try to explore the coast, since they did not find any commercial interest here.
The beautiful coastline, even if they woke their curiosity, clearly did not stimulate them to study what useful resources Australia has. The history of the country briefly tells about the study of the northern and western coasts. The Dutch concluded that infertility and unsuitability for the use of northern lands. The sailors did not see the eastern and southern shores at that time, so Australia was undeservedly recognized as uninteresting for use.
First buildings
In the summer of 1629, a ship from the East India Company Batavia turned out to be at the cliffs of Hautman due to a shipwreck. A rebellion soon occurred, as a result of which a small fort was built by part of the crew for protection. It became the first European building in Australia. Geographers suggest that at the turn of the 16-17 centuries, about fifty European ships reached Australia.
The history of the development and settlement of Australia briefly tells of the discoveries made by the ships of Abel Tasman. In 1642, he tried to circumnavigate New Holland from the south, while he discovered an island called Van Diemen's Land. After some time, it was renamed to Tasmania. With the subsequent eastward advance, after some time, the ships ended up at New Zealand. Tasman's first journey was not successful; travelers were not able to get close to Australia.
The history of Australia briefly tells that Tasman only in 1644 was able to study the northwest coast in detail, to prove that all the lands that were discovered and analyzed in earlier expeditions are components of one continent.
English studies
The history of Australia briefly notes the English contribution to its study. Until the second half of the seventeenth century, in England there was practically no information about the lands that were discovered by Dutch travelers. In 1688, a pirate ship aboard the Englishman William Dampier appeared on the northwest coast, not far from Lake Melville. This fact has preserved the history of Australia. Briefly in the surviving records it says that after the repair the ship returned to England. Here Dampier published a story about the journey, which caused genuine interest in the English Admiralty.
In 1699, Dampier embarked on a second voyage to the Australian coast on a Roebuck ship. But as part of this trip, he did not find anything interesting, so the Admiralty decided to stop funding the expedition.
Cook Expedition
Talking about the history of the discovery of Australia, one cannot disregard the expedition of 1170, led by Lieutenant James Cook. On the attempt boat Sailing, his team set off for the South Pacific. The official purpose of the expedition was to make astronomical observations, but in fact Cook received from the Admiralty tasks to study the southern part of the continent. Cook believed that since New Holland has a west coast, therefore, there should be an east coast.
At the end of April 1770, an English expedition landed on the east coast of Australia. The landing site was first called Stingray Bay, then it was renamed Botany Bay because of the unusual plants that were discovered there.
Open lands were called Cook New Wales, and then New South Wales. The Englishman did not even imagine how large-scale the discovery made by him.
British colonies
The lands that Cook discovered decided to colonize, using them as the first colonies for convicts. The fleet, headed by Captain Arthur Philip, included 11 ships. He arrived in Australia in January 1788, but, recognizing the region as inconvenient for settlement, they moved north. Governor Philip issued an order according to which the first British colony in Australia was created. The soil around Sydney Harbor was not suitable for farming, so farms were founded near the Parramatta River.
The second fleet, which arrived in Australia in 1790, brought here various materials and supplies. During the journey, 278 convicts and team members died, so in history it is called the “Death Fleet”.
In 1827, Major Edmund Lockier built a small British settlement at King Georges Sound. He became the first governor of a colony created for convicts.
South Australia was founded in 1836. It was not intended for convicts, but part of the former prisoners moved here from other colonies.
Conclusion
Native Australia was mastered almost fifty thousand years before its official discovery by European travelers. For centuries, people living in the waterless deserts and tropical jungles of the continent have a distinctive culture and religion. After the colonization of the Australian coast, a period of active exploration of the territory began. Among the first serious researchers who managed to study the Macquarie, Loklan rivers, geographers called John Oxley. Robert Burke was the first Englishman to cross the mainland from north to south. The discovery of Australia was the result of the centuries-old search for the Dutch, Portuguese, English of the southern country.
In 2006, archaeologists discovered ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs in Australia. This fact led to the hypothesis of the opening of the contingent by the Egyptians.
Scientists agreed that the most probable time of the discovery of Australia can be considered 1606. It was then that the famous Dutchman W. Janszon explored the north-eastern part - the Cape York Peninsula.
The history of the settlement of Australia is summarized in this material. Until now, it is associated with numerous puzzles, which scientists still have to solve. For example, cannons discovered during archaeological excavations give reason to believe that the Portuguese visited this territory in the fifteenth century. Scientists managed to draw up a complete map of the British colony, which was Australia, only at the beginning of the last century.