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On 26 February 1606, Willem Jansz/Janszoon became the first recorded European to step foot on Australia's shores at the Pennefather River, near where the Queensland town of Weipa now stands, on the western shore of Cape York Peninsula.
Willem Jansz/Janszoon did not name Australia, although he was the first known European to land on the Australian continent. He believed that Cape York Peninsula, where he landed, was part of New Guinea. However, he named the location where he had a skirmish with the indigenous Australians, resulting in the deaths of several of his crew, "Cape Keerweer", which is Dutch for "turnabout".
Willem Janszoon explored in search of new trade routes and territories for the Dutch East India Company. He is known for being the first European to map part of Australia's coastline in 1606. Janszoon's explorations helped pave the way for future Dutch and European exploration of the region.
Willem Jansz, or Janszoon was a Dutchman who was seeking new trade routes and trade associates. Commanding the Duyfken,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 he did not record Australia as being a separate, new continent.
Willem Jansz/Janszoon was a Dutchman who was seeking new trade routes and trade associates. Commanding the Duyfken, 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 he did not record Australia as being a separate, new continent.
The southern continent not discovered by the Tudors is Australia. The Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon made the first recorded European landing on the Australian continent in 1606, approximately 70 years after the end of the Tudor period in England.
Willem Janzsoon, also known as Willem Jansz, was the first European explorer to note the presence of the continent now known as Australia, although at the time he believed it to be part of New Guinea.Jansz was a Dutch trader. He departed on his third trip to the East Indies in December 1603, commanding the "Duyfken". His task was to seek new trade possibilities. After reaching western New Guinea in November 1605, he crossed the Arafura Sea into the Gulf of Carpentaria. Where he landed, near the Pennefather River on Cape York, he believed to be part of New Guinea, and Dutch maps showed the two land masses as one for many years.
This honour really goes to Willem Jansz/Janszoon, a Dutchman who was seeking new trade routes and trade associates. Commanding the Duyfken, 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 he did not record Australia as being a separate, new continent.
Willem Jansz/Janszoon was the first recorded white person to actually "discover" Australia. He was a Dutchman who was seeking new trade routes and trade associates. Commanding the Duyfken, 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 he did not record Australia as being a separate, new continent.
There is some contention regarding this, as Portuguese traders were believed to have been the first to discover Australia, but records were lost. Willem Jansz/Janszoon was 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 he did not record Australia as being a separate, new continent. Cook did not chart the eastern coast until 1770.
The first known white man to land on the Western coast of Australia was Dutch sea-captain Dirk Hartog. In 1616, Hartog accidentally landed on the coast after he sailed too far whilst trying out Henderik Brouwer's recently discovered route from the Cape of Good Hope to Batavia, via the Roaring Forties. He landed at Cape Inscription in Shark Bay on 25 October 1616. His is the first known record of a European visiting Western Australia's shores, but he was not the first European to step foot on Australian soil.
The first recorded European to touch Australian soil was Willem Jansz (or Janszoon). Jansz was a Dutchman who was seeking new trade routes and trade associates. Commanding the Duyfken, 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 he did not record Australia as being a separate, new continent.