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He didn't. Contrary to popular belief, Captain James Cook did not discover Australia.
The first non-Aboriginal people to visit Australia were the Malay and Indian traders, from the Indonesian islands. They collected sea slugs from the Australian coast to trade with China, where the slugs were a prized delicacy.
The Portuguese are believed to have discovered Australia in the 1500s, but all records of their visit/s have been lost.
Willem Jansz/Janszoon was a Dutchman who was seeking new trade routes and trade associates. He became the first recorded European to step foot on Australia's shores on the western shore of Cape York Peninsula, on 26 February 1606. However, he believed the Cape to be part of New Guinea, from whence he crossed the Arafura Sea, so Australia was not charted as a separate continent at that stage.
In 1616, Dutch sea-captain Dirk Hartog sailed too far whilst trying out Henderik Brouwer's recently discovered route from the Cape of Good Hope to Batavia, via the Roaring Forties. Reaching the western coast of Australia, he landed at Cape Inscription on 25 October 1616. His is the first known record of a European visiting Western Australia's shores.
The first Englishman to visit Australia was William Dampier, in 1688.
James Cook (not a captain at this stage) charted the eastern coast and claimed it in the name of the British in 1770, and for this reason, Cook is often wrongly credited with discovering Australia. Captain Cook was on a scientific expedition to observe the transit of Venus from Tahiti when he continued west, coming across New Zealand and then continuing on until he reached the Australian mainland and charted the Eastern coast. Cook was the first European to sight and chart the eastern coast of Australia, which he did between April and August 1770, naming the land New South Wales. He explored much of the eastern Australian coast on behalf of Britain, which was looking to found new colonies given the looming probable independence of the American colonies.
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∙ 12y ago
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∙ 13y agoCaptain Cook did not discover Australia.
His mission was to observe the transit of Venus from Tahiti, and then to continue on to see if Terra Australis Incognitaexisted and, if so, to find out more about the great unknown southern land.
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∙ 12y agoJames Cook, who was not yet a captain when he reached Australia, did not discover Australia. He was the first known European to sight the eastern coast, and he did so in April 1770, first sighting the southeast corner which he named Point Hicks.
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∙ 11y agoContrary to popular opinion, James Cook (who was not a Captain at this stage, but a Lieutenant) was not the first to find either New Zealand or Australia. Abel Tasman discovered NewZealand in 1642, and the Australian continent had been known by the Dutch since the early 1600s.
However, James Cook came across both following his scientific observation of the transit of Venus in 1769. He was under secret, sealed orders to sail west from Tahiti, where he observed the transit of Venus, and to explore any "unclaimed" lands he found, and to report back to the British authorities on his observations.
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∙ 13y agoCaptain James Cook did not find Australia.
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How old was Captain Cook when he discovered Australia?
James Cook did not discover Australia. He was the first to chart the eastern coast, doing so in 1770, when he was 41 years old, but Australia was first "discovered" by Dutch explorer Willem Jansz in 1606.
What ship did Captian Cook sail to Australia?
Contrary to popular belief, Captain James Cook did not discover Australia.When he first visited Australia's shores, he was in the HM Bark Endeavour.
Where in Australia did Captain Cook think would make a good settlement?
Lieutenant James Cook (not yet a captain) chose Botany Bay as the most promising site for a new settlement.it is interesting to note that, when the First Fleet arrived eighteen years later, Captain Arthur Phillip did not find Botany Bay to be at all as Cook had described. He was forced to reconnoitre north in order to find a more suitable prospect.
How many islands did Captain Cook go to?
Captain James Cook did not actually find any countries. He was the first to chart the eastern coast of Australia, and he was the first to circumnavigate New Zealand. However, he did not find either of these countries. He was the first European to come across Hawaii, which he called the Sandwich Islands, but they do not constitute a "country".
Did Captain James Cook find what he was looking for?
Yes and no. Cook was instructed to search for the great southern continent. He found the east coast of Australia, although the western half of the continent had already been found, but the continent was not the huge land mass he was expecting to find.
What was the name of Captain Cook's ship when he found Australia?
James Cook (not a captain a this stage, but a Lieutenant) explored the eastern coast of Australia in the HMS Bark Endeavour. He did not 'find' or discover Australia, as the Dutch had already discovered the land over 150 years before Cook arrived.
How old was Captain Cook when he discovered Australia?
James Cook did not discover Australia. He was the first to chart the eastern coast, doing so in 1770, when he was 41 years old, but Australia was first "discovered" by Dutch explorer Willem Jansz in 1606.
Why do you learn about captain James Cook in school?
Because he was the first person to find Australia and anyway's it's also history.
What ship did Captian Cook sail to Australia?
Contrary to popular belief, Captain James Cook did not discover Australia.When he first visited Australia's shores, he was in the HM Bark Endeavour.
What did Captain Cook find in Australia when he landed here?
When James Cook (not yet a captain) first landed in Australia, he found a potentially fertile land which was populated by the indigenous people and no-one else. There was thick bushland and unusual fauna and flora, the likes of which he had never before seen.
What was Captain James Cook most known for?
The English sea captain Captain James Cook was most known for being the first European to find the eastern coast of Australia, as well as eliminating the rumor of a great southern continent among with other things.
Captain cook journey on the eandever?
The first voyage of Captain James Cook on the HMS Endeavor was a south Pacific Ocean expedition to observe the 1769 transit of Venus across the Sun. A dual purpose was to find evidence of an unknown southern land.
What did Captain Cook do to help find Australia?
With all due respect to some people's understanding of history, James Cook did not do anything to "help find Australia". European explorers had discovered and even landed on Australia's shores well over 150 years before Cook ever charted the east coast. Refer to the related question below.
Did captain cook send a letter to say he found Australia?
No. To begin with, Cook did not "find" Australia. the continent had been discovered over 150 years before Cook sailed. Also, there was no way to send a letter from an unsettled region. England only heard of Cook's charting of the east coast once Cook returned to England.
First person to find Hawaii?
That was Captain James Cook on his second voyage to the Pacific Ocean.
Where in Australia did Captain Cook think would make a good settlement?
Lieutenant James Cook (not yet a captain) chose Botany Bay as the most promising site for a new settlement.it is interesting to note that, when the First Fleet arrived eighteen years later, Captain Arthur Phillip did not find Botany Bay to be at all as Cook had described. He was forced to reconnoitre north in order to find a more suitable prospect.
What place did captain cook find?
he found hawwii
