The British were not the first Europeans to discover Australia

In the early 17th century, the Dutch East India Company, or "Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie" (VOC), was at the peak of its power.

A major player in the burgeoning Age of Exploration, the VOC sought lucrative spice trade routes, dispatching numerous vessels to chart and claim unfamiliar territories.

One of these mariners, Willem Janszoon, made the first recorded European contact with Australia.

In 1606, Janszoon, commanding the Duyfken ("Little Dove"), journeyed from the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia) southwards.

He charted about 320 km of what we now know as the western coast of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, erroneously believing it was part of New Guinea.

The encounter was mostly overlooked in Europe due to his failure to recognize the economic potential of the new land.

Subsequently, several Dutch voyages visited the continent. The most significant of these was led by Abel Tasman in 1642.

Tasman skirted the southern coastline of Australia and discovered the island later named after him, Tasmania (then named Van Diemen's Land), and New Zealand.

However, despite these exploratory ventures, the Dutch showed little interest in colonizing the continent, largely due to the arid and inhospitable landscape they encountered.

Meanwhile, the Spanish and Portuguese navigators also had inklings of the existence of the great southern continent, Terra Australis Incognita.

However, solid evidence supporting their encounters remains elusive and speculative.

Most notable are the theories surrounding the Dieppe Maps, a series of world maps produced in Dieppe, France, in the 1540s, 50 years prior to Janszoon's voyage.

These maps show a large landmass, Jave la Grande, interpreted by some as an early depiction of Australia's coastline.

Despite the ambiguity surrounding the Spanish and Portuguese encounters, there is no doubt that the Dutch were the first to document their discovery, establishing the initial European contact with Australia.

The British, who arrived significantly later, are remembered largely due to their role in colonization, changing the course of the continent’s history and leaving indelible impacts on its Indigenous peoples.

In the historical narrative, the first European discovery of Australia by the Dutch often takes a backseat to the British narrative.

However, in recent years, there has been a growing recognition of these early Dutch explorations, a reminder that history is rarely a single, straightforward journey but rather a complex intertwining of paths and encounters.

By revisiting these overlooked chapters, we can better appreciate the intricate tapestry of Australia's past, one where the British, while significant, were not the first Europeans to set eyes on its shores.

Instead, the story begins with Dutch ships plying unfamiliar waters, driven by a sense of curiosity and the lure of uncharted territories, shaping the early European understanding of Australia and its place in the wider world.