Why do you acknowledge Captain Cook as Australia's discoverer?

Answer 1

James Cook, who was not even a captain when he charted Australia's eastern coast, was given the credit (incorrectly) for discovering Australia because it was upon his recommendation that Australia was actually settled by the British. Cook charted the eastern coast of Australia, and he was the one who claimed it in the name of Great Britain in 1770, calling it New South Wales. He charted the east coast between April and August of that year. For these reasons, Cook is often wrongly credited with discovering Australia.

There were several Dutch and French explorers who landed on Australia's shores long before Cook even set sail, and Cook was not even the first Englishman to sight Australia, with that honour going to William Dampier. The Dutch did not make any formal claim to the continent, and the French claim was not substantiated. Because Australia had been settled by the British, and there was a continuing loyalty to the British, for years Australian schoolchildren were taught that Captain Cook discovered Australia.