Why did they name Australia Australia?

Answer 1

The name "Australia" comes from the Latin term Terra Australis meaning "land of the south". Often known as Terra Australis Incognita, i.e. "the unknown land of the South", it was the name given to the unknown continent believed to exist south of the equator. This unknown land was included on European maps from the 15th to the 18th century.

The Australian continent was variously known as Locac or Lucach, India meridional (South India), Java le Grande and Terra Australis by Mercator (and others) in the latter half of the 1500s.

Portuguese sailor Pedro Fernández de Quirós (in Portuguese Fernandes de Queirós), searched for this new land in 1606 while serving in the spanish navy, and called it Austrialia del Espíritu Santo or 'Great South Land of the Holy Spirit'. The word "Austrialia", slightly different from the current "Australia", was a mixture formed by "Austria" (the country of origin of the Habsburg dinasty) and "Austral" ("Southern"). In those times the current nations of Spain and Portugal were under the rule of the same crown. The word Austrialia was intended to be an homage to the ruling monarchs. Different variations on the name were used in many languages.

The first use of the word "Australia" in English was in 1625-the words "A note of Australia del Espiritu Santo, written by Master Hakluyt.

Matthew Flinders, who was the first known European explorer to circumnavigate the Australian continent in 1802, is credited with assigning the name 'Australia' to this continent although it did not immediately receive universal approval. He first proposed the name "Terra Australis" be adopted instead of "New Holland", the name by which the Dutch knew Australia, or "New South Wales", which Cook had named the eastern half when he claimed it for England. In 1814 when Flinders published his work 'A Voyage to Terra Australis', he used the term 'Australia' within the book. Around 1818, Governor Lachlan Macquarie, arguably the most influential man in Australia at the time, also requested that the name "Australia" be officially ascribed.

The name 'Australia' was formally adopted in 1824.

Answer 2

He did not. He named the part he found "New South Wales".

The name "Australia" was used occasionally before Cook's time, and popularised by Matthew Flinders from 1814, was recommended by the governor of New South Wales (Lachlan Macquarie) in 1817, and was adopted for use on (British) Admiralty charts in 1824.

Answer 3

The name "Australia" comes from the Latin term Terra Australis meaning "land of the south". Often known as Terra Australis Incognita, i.e. "the unknown land of the South", it was the name given to the unknown continent believed to exist south of the equator. This unknown land was included on European maps from the 15th to the 18th century.

The Australian continent was variously known as Locac or Lucach, India meridional (South India), Java le Grande and Terra Australis by Mercator (and others) in the latter half of the 1500s.

Portuguese sailor Pedro Fernández de Quirós (in portuguese Fernandes de Queirós), searched for this new land in 1606 while serving in the spanish navy, and called it Austrialia del Espíritu Santo or 'Great South Land of the Holy Spirit'. The word "Austrialia", slightly different from the current "Australia", was a mixture formed by "Austria" (the country of origin of the Habsburg dinasty) and "Austral" ("Southern"). In those times the current nations of Spain and Portugal were under the rule of the same crown. The word Austrialia was intended to be an homage to the ruling monarchs. Different variations on the name were used in many languages.

The first use of the word "Australia" in English was in 1625-the words "A note of Australia del Espiritu Santo, written by Master Hakluyt.

Matthew Flinders, who was the first known European explorer to circumnavigate the Australian continent in 1802, is credited with assigning the name 'Australia' to this continent although it did not immediately receive universal approval. He first proposed the name "Terra Australis" be adopted instead of "New Holland", the name by which the Dutch knew Australia, or "New South Wales", which Cook had named the eastern half when he claimed it for England. In 1814 when Flinders published his work 'A Voyage to Terra Australis', he used the term 'Australia' within the book. Around 1818, Governor Lachlan Macquarie, arguably the most influential man in Australia at the time, also requested that the name "Australia" be officially ascribed.

The name 'Australia' was formally adopted in 1824.

Answer 4

Matthew Flinders did not actually name the continent Austalia, but he was the one who suggested that it be named that.

Flinders first proposed the name "Terra Australis" be adopted instead of "New Holland", the name by which the Dutch knew Australia, or "New South Wales", which Cook had named the eastern seaboard when he claimed it for England. In 1814 when Flinders published his work 'A Voyage to Terra Australis', he used the term 'Australia' within the book. Around 1818, Governor Lachlan Macquarie, arguably the most influential man in Australia at the time, also requested that the name "Australia" be officially ascribed, and the name was formally adopted in 1824.

There is, however, a lot of history behind the name "Australia".

The name "Australia" comes from the Latin term Terra Australis meaning "land of the south". Often known as Terra Australis Incognita, i.e. "the unknown land of the South", it was the name given to the unknown continent believed to exist south of the equator. This unknown land was included on European maps from the 15th to the 18th century.

Portuguese sailor Pedro Fernández de Quirós searched for this new land in 1606 while serving in the spanish navy, and called it Austrialia del Espíritu Santo or 'Great South Land of the Holy Spirit'. The word "Austrialia", slightly different from the current "Australia", was a mixture formed by "Austria" (the country of origin of the Habsburg dynasty) and "Austral" ("Southern"). In those times the current nations of Spain and Portugal were under the rule of the same crown. The word Austrialiawas intended to be an homage to the ruling monarchs. Different variations on the name were used in many languages. There was even a German document dating back to 1545 describing a southern land mass as Australia.MThe first use of the word "Australia" in English was in 1625-the words "A note of Australia del Espiritu Santo, written by Master Hakluyt.

In essence, Flinders was honouring a centuries-old tradition when he suggested that the name Australia be adopted.