An anthology of the discovery of Australia

Great changes have occurred along Australia's coast since Dutch captains first landed in the West at the beginning of the Seventeenth Century. Many people, especially students, environmentalists, yachtsmen and tourists, may wish to know what the first visitors saw and why they attached names to coastal features. These pages present quotes, with comments in italics, from their diaries, especially from Matthew Flinders'

A VOYAGE TO TERRA AUSTRALIS

London, G. and W. Nicol, Pall-Mall,1814,

. They are based on my book

CAPES AND CAPTAINS

Surrey Beatty & Sons Pty. Ltd, Rickard Road, Chipping Norton, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA,1990,

which used material in the Barr Smith Library of Adelaide University. The maps were drawn by Md. Esan Ullah and the illustrations during Flinders' voyage by William Westall, Robert Brown and Ferdinand Bauer, and by Phillip Parker King.

On other pages click for more details!

1. South Coast
2. East Coast
3. North Coast
4. North-West Coast
5. West Coast
6. Tasmania
7. Kangaroo Island

First update: 13.09.1997. If you find mistakes, want to add to the information or have other suggestions, please contact

Last Updated 15th February, 1999 .