Dutch

1602

Formation of the United Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie—VOC).

Dutch

1606

William Jansz — first European discoverer of Australia on the west coast of Cape York Peninsula, Gulf of Carpentaria.

Dutch

1610

Hendrik Brouwer’s route to the East Indies established.

Dutch

1616

Dirk Hartog discovers the west coast of Australia. Visits Shark Bay and becomes the first European to set foot on Western Australian soil when he lands on what is now known as Dirk Hartog Island at the entrance to Shark Bay. He leaves behind an inscribed pewter plate and continues north along the coast of what becomes known ‘Eendrachtsland’ — or as marked on Van Keulen’s chart ‘Het Land van de Eendraght’.

Dutch

1618

Captain Haevik Claeszoon van Hillegom and Upper Merchant Pieter Dirkszoon sighted the coast in the area of North-West Cape.

Dutch

1618

Willem Jansz (of the Duyfken) and skipper Lenaert Jacobsz on the west coast of Australia in the area of Exmouth (latitude 22°S).

Dutch

1619

Frederik de Houtman and Jakob Dedel discover and name the Houtman Abrolhos and d’Edelsland.

British

1620

Three British ships sight the west coast at Point Cloates.

Royal Exchange et al.

Dutch

1622

The VOC ship Leeuwin explores the south-west coast and is almost shipwrecked at what is now known as Cape Leeuwin.

Dutch

1622

The VOC ship Wapen van Hoorn is almost shipwrecked on the west coast.

British

1622

The English East India Company (EEIC) ship Trial (Captain John Brookes) becomes Australia’s first recorded shipwreck when it runs onto reefs near the Montebello Islands. Brookes and 45 members of his crew managed to sail two longboats to Batavia (Indonesia) leaving behind 93 crewmembers who possibly reached the nearby islands.

Dutch

1623

Captain Jan Carstenszoon and Captain Willem van Coolsteerd explore the western side of Cape York Peninsula. Carstenszoon charts the Gulf of Carpentaria, naming it in honour of Pieter Carpentier, the Governor-General in Batavia (Indonesia). Van Coolsteerd charted Arnhem Land.

Dutch

1623

Captain Klaas Hermanszoon charts more of Western Australia, south of Shark Bay.

Dutch

1624

Rediscovered that part of the Houtman Abrolhos to which the ship’s name was given—now Turtle Dove Island.

Dutch

1626

Captain Daniël Jansz. de Kok sighted the ‘Zuydtland’.

Dutch

1627

Captain François Thijssen and Peter Nuyts, Councillor of the Indies, charted 1800 km of coastline between Cape Leeuwin and Nuyts Archipelago. They named the area ‘Nuyt’s Land’. Until now, no-one had any knowledge of the south coast. The newly discovered coast is shown by Hessel Gerritsz as contiguous to the section discovered by the Leeuwin, the most easterly point of which was at Point D’Entrecasteaux or Point Nuyts between longitude 116° and 1178 E. The accurate representation of the Recherche Archipelago, the Great Australian Bight and the Nuyts Archipelago indicate the ship must have sailed within sight of the coast.

Dutch

1628

Gerrit Frederikszoon de Witt ran aground on the north-west coast of Australia in about latitude 21° S , possibly near what is now Port Hedland. By offloading cargo he succeeded in freeing the ship. He then followed the coast south-westwards as far as the Montebello Islands, Barrow Island and the coastal reefs to the south. His sighting of the coast to the east of the Montebello Islands was a new discovery. Hessel Gerritsz’ map of 1628 shows the discovery under the name ‘G.F. de Wits Landt’.

Dutch

1629

VOC retourschip Batavia wrecked on Morning Reef, Wallabi Group, Houtman Abrolhos, c. 60 km off the coast of Geraldton. Commander Francisco Pelsaert decided to sail to Batavia (Djakarta) to seek water and a rescue ship. Meanwhile, Under Merchant Jeronimus Cornelisz and his followers massacre many of the shipwreck survivors.

Dutch

1629

Pelsaert sailed north along the coast searching for fresh water with little success. A party landed on an offshore island where they found evidence of human habitation: Aborigines they encountered fled immediately.

Dutch

1629

Dutch

1631

The VOC ship Grooten Broeck sails along the west coast from Cape Leeuwin to Dirk Hartog Island en route to Batavia.

Dutch

1635

The VOC ship Amsterdam, under the command of Woolebrand Geleynszoon de Jongh, charts the west coast around the latitude of Shark Bay.

Dutch

1636

Commander Gerrit Thomasz Pool and merchant Pieter Pieterszoon charted the northern coast of the Southland, with instructions to search for the two men marooned by Pelsaert.

Dutch

1642

Abel Janszoon Tasman reached the western coast of Tasmania. This land is the first land in the South Sea that is met by us, and is still known to no European peoples, so we have given this land the name of Anthoonij van Diemens Land in honour of the Hon. Governor-General our high superior who has sent us out to do this discovering. After several landings on the southern coast he sailed eastwards and sighted the South Island of New Zealand that he named ‘Staten Island’.

Dutch

1644

Abel Tasman commands a second expedition with three VOC ships and explores and charts the northern and western coast from Cape York to Point Cloates . He calls the western part of the new continent ‘New Holland’. Dutch VOC cartographers are able to map all known chartings of most of the continent except the eastern part which still remains a mystery.

Dutch

1656

The VOC jacht Vergulde Draeck (Gilt Dragon), Captain Pieter Albertsz., runs onto a reef 5 km off the coast on 28 April 1656, about 75 km north of the present site of Perth. The ship’s boat with seven survivors sails to Batavia to get help. Other survivors land.

Dutch

1656

Two rescue ships, the Goede Hoop and Witte Valk are dispatched from Batavia to search for the survivors of the Vergulde Draeck. The Witte Valk cannot approach land because of rough seas. The Goede Hoop finally manages to land search parties but finds no survivors and loses 11 men in the process.

Dutch

1657

The Vink sails from the Cape to Batavia with orders to call at New Holland and search for the survivors. Once again there is no success.

Dutch

1658

Two more ships Waeckende Boei commanded by Samuel Volkersen and Emeloort skippered by Aucke Pieters Jonck sailed in search of the lost Vergulde Draeck. On February 23 skipper Volkersen sighted land; it turned out to be the island Rottnest. From this point they sailed northward. Although the expedition did not succeed in finding the wreck and the survivors, they conducted a very detailed survey of the dangerous west coast of Australia. As well as a description of the coast four maps with land sightings were produced. In the maps various observations are drawn. On one of the illustrations of coast sightings three Aboriginal huts are shown.

Dutch

1658

The region north of Cape Leeuwin was explored by Captain Jacob Pieterszoon Peereboom. A landing party finds a group of Aborigines who flee on their arrival.

Dutch

1678

Captain Jan van der Wall explored and charted the north-west coast of New Holland from present-day Dampier to the Exmouth Gulf.

Britain

1681

Captain Daniel came across dangerous rocks off the coast of New Holland in latitudes 28°24’ to 28°36’ south—the area of the Houtman Abrolhos, and charted these. Details were published in Thornton’s The English Pilot (1703) and Daniel’s chart republished by Dalrymple in 1782.

France

1687

M. Duquesne-Guitton Abraham sighted the west coast in latitude 32° S in the vicinity of Swan River, en route to Siam (Thailand).

Britain

1688

William Dampier arrives in a privateer.

Dutch

1694

The VOC ship Ridderschap van Holland is believed to be shipwrecked on the west coast.

Dutch

1697

An expedition under the command of Willem de Vlamingh and Captains Gerrit Collaert and Cornelis de Vlamingh is dispatched to look for the Ridderschap van Holland and explore New Holland. The fleet explores Rottnest Island, the mainland around the Swan River (present site of Perth) and several points along the coast going north. They land on Dirk Hartog Island where de Vlamingh retrieves Hartog’s plate and leaves his own behind, before heading for Batavia.

Britain

1699

English contact with Australia. William Dampier returns, names Shark Bay. Makes a natural science collection.

HM ship Roebuck