Discovery and exploration of Australia. Did James Cook discover Australia? James Cook and his contribution to the study of Australia

Some researchers suggest that the Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach the shores of Australia back in the 20s of the 16th century.

As the main evidence, supporters of this theory cite the following points:

• maps of Dieppe, published in France in the mid-16th century. They depict a large area of ​​land between Indonesia and Antarctica, called Java la Grande, and the symbols and explanations are in French and Portuguese;
• the presence of Portuguese colonies in Southeast Asia at the beginning of the 16th century. In particular, the island of Timor is located only 650 km from the Australian coast;
• Various finds discovered on the Australian coastline have been attributed to early Portuguese explorers.

In addition, the French navigator Binot Polmier de Gonneville claimed to have landed on certain lands east of the Cape of Good Hope in 1504, after the ship was blown off course by the wind. For some time he was credited with the discovery of Australia, but it was later discovered that the lands he visited were part of the coast of Brazil.

Discovery of Australia by the Dutch

The first indisputable discovery of Australia was documented at the end of February 1606. The expedition of the Dutch East India Company, led by Willem Jansson, landed on board the ship "Duifken" ("Dove") on the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Jansson and his comrades explored the shores of New Guinea. Sailing from the island of Java to the southern coast of New Guinea and moving along it, after some time the Dutch reached the shores of the Cape York Peninsula in northern Australia, believing that they were still observing the shores of New Guinea.

Apparently, for some reason, the expedition did not notice the Torres Strait, which separates the coasts of New Guinea and Australia. On February 26, the team landed near the place where the city of Weipa is located today and was immediately attacked by the aborigines.

Subsequently, Jansson and his people sailed along the coast of Australia for about 350 km, making landings from time to time, but everywhere they came across hostile natives, as a result of which several sailors died. The captain decided to return back, without realizing that he had discovered a new continent.

Since Jansson described the coast he explored as deserted and swampy, the new discovery did not arouse any interest. The East India Company equipped its ships in search of new lands rich in spices and jewelry, and not for the sake of geographical discoveries as such.

In the same year, Luis Vaez de Torres sailed through the same strait, which, apparently, was not noticed by Jansson’s expedition and was later named Torres. It is possible that Torres and his comrades visited the northern coast of the continent, but no written evidence of this has survived.

In 1616, another ship of the Dutch East India Company, led by Dirk Hartog, reached the shores of Western Australia, in the Shark Bay area (Shark Bay) at approximately 25 degrees south latitude. The navigators spent three days exploring the coast and nearby islands. Having found nothing of interest, Hartog continued sailing north along the previously unexplored coastline to 22 degrees S, after which he set course for Batavia.

In 1619, Frederic de Houtman and Jacob d'Herdel explored the Australian coast at 32 degrees south in two ships. w. moving gradually north, where at 28 degrees S. latitude. discovered a strip of reefs called Houtman Rocks.

In subsequent years, Dutch sailors continued to sail along the coast of Australia, calling this land New Holland, without bothering to explore the coast properly, since they did not see any commercial benefit in it. The extensive coastline may have aroused their curiosity, but it did not encourage them to explore the country's resources. Exploring the western and northern coasts, they formed the impression of the newly discovered lands as swampy and barren. At that time, the Dutch had never seen the southern and eastern shores, which were much more attractive in appearance.

On July 4, 1629, the Dutch East India Company ship Batavia was shipwrecked off the Houtman Rocks. After a mutiny soon followed, some of the crew built a small fort for their protection - it was the first European structure in Australia.

By some estimates, between 1606 and 1770, more than 50 European ships visited the shores of Australia. Most of them belonged to the Dutch East India Company, including the ships of Abel Tasman. In 1642, Tasman, trying to go around the so-called New Holland from the south, discovered an island which he called Van Diemen's Land (this island was later renamed Tasmania). Moving further east, after some time the ships reached New Zealand. However, on his first voyage, Tasman never came close to Australia. Only in 1644 did he manage to explore in detail its northwestern coast and prove that all the territories previously discovered during Dutch expeditions, with the exception of Van Diemen's Land, are parts of a single continent.

English Studies

Almost until the end of the 80s of the 17th century, practically nothing was known in England about the lands discovered by the Dutch. In 1688, a pirate ship carrying the Englishman William Dampier dropped anchor on the northwest coast, near Lake Melville. There was not much to plunder, and after several weeks of repairs the ship left the inhospitable shores. However, this voyage had some consequences: upon returning to England, Dampier published a story about his journey, which interested the English Admiralty.

In 1699, he set off on a second voyage to the shores of Australia, on the ship "Roebuck" provided to him. As on the previous occasion, he visited the barren northwestern coast and, after 4 months of exploration, was forced to return without finding anything worthy of attention. Since Dampier was unable to report any facts that could interest the Admiralty, interest in the new lands faded for almost three-quarters of a century.

In 1770, an expedition led by Lieutenant James Cook sailed to the South Pacific Ocean on the sailing ship Endeavor. The navigators were expected to make astronomical observations, but Cook had secret orders from the British Admiralty to search for the southern continent of Terra Australis Incognita, which geographers of the time believed extended around the pole. Cook reasoned that since the so-called New Holland has a western coast, it must also have an eastern one.

The expedition landed on the east coast of Australia at the end of April 1770. The landing site, originally named Stingray Bay, was later renamed Botany Bay due to the strange and unusual plants growing there.

Cook named the open lands New Wales, and subsequently New South Wales. He had no idea of ​​the scale of his discovery, or that this island was an entire continent, 32 times larger than Britain itself. Among other things, Cook was the first European to visit the Great Barrier Reef. The ship that chanced upon it spent the next seven weeks undergoing repairs.

The British returned in 1778 to colonize new lands.

British colonies

It was decided to begin colonizing the lands discovered by James Cook, using convicts as the first colonists. The first fleet, led by Captain Arthur Philip, consisting of 11 ships carrying a total of about 1,350 people, arrived at Botany Bay on the 20th of January 1788. However, the area was considered unsuitable for settlement and they moved north to Port Jackson.

Governor Philip issued orders establishing the first British colony in Australia. The soil around Sydney Harbor was poor. The young colony relied both on the development of farms along the Parramatta River, 25 kilometers upstream to the west, and on purchasing food from the indigenous people.

The Second Fleet in 1790 delivered desperately needed supplies and various materials; however, among the newly arrived prisoners there were a large number of sick people, many of them were close to death and useless for the colony. The Second Fleet became known as the "Deadly Fleet" - 278 convicts and crew died on this voyage, compared to just 48 deaths on the first.

The colony experienced many other difficulties, including a significant numerical superiority of men - about four men per woman, which was a problem in the settlement for many years.

Several other British colonies were also created.

Van Diemen's Land

The first British settlement on the island was established at Risdon in 1803, when Lieutenant John Bowen landed with about 50 settlers, crew, soldiers and convicts. In February 1804, Lieutenant David Collins founded a settlement in Hobart. The colony of Van Diemen's Land was created in 1825, and in 1856 it officially became known as Tasmania.

Western Australia

In 1827, Major Edmund Lockyer built a small British settlement at King Georges Sound (Albany). Captain James Stirling became its first governor. The colony was created specifically for convicts, and the first prisoners arrived in 1850.

South Australia

The British province of South Australia was founded in 1836 and became a Crown colony in 1842. Although South Australia was not created for convicts, a number of former prisoners subsequently moved there from other colonies. About 38,000 immigrants arrived and settled in the area by 1850.

Victoria

In 1834 the Henty brothers arrived in Portland Bay and John Batman settled in what would become Melbourne. The first immigrant ships arrived in Port Phillip in 1839. In 1851, Victoria (Port Phillip area) separated from New South Wales.

Queensland

In 1824, a colony known as the settlement of Moreton Bay was established at Redcliffe by Lieutenant John Oxley, which later became known as Brisbane. About 19 hundred people were sent to the settlement between 1824 and 1839. The first free European settlers moved into the area in 1838. In 1859, Queensland separated from New South Wales.

Northern Territory

In 1825, the land now occupied by the Northern Territory was part of New South Wales. In 1863, control of the area was given to South Australia. The capital Darwin was founded in 1869 and was originally known as Palmerston. On 1 January 1911, the Northern Territory separated from South Australia and became part of the Commonwealth of Australia.

After the colonization of the coast, a period of active exploration began. However, until 1813, not a single expedition was able to overcome the high mountain range located along the eastern coast. After the passage was discovered, Governor Macquarie crossed the Blue Mountains in 1815 and founded the city of Bathurst on the other side. Many explorers rushed deeper into the continent.

John Oxley was the first serious explorer to explore the beds of the Lochlan, Macquarie and several other rivers. Charles Sturt, in search of the mythical inland sea, discovers the Darling River, explores the Lochlan and Marumbidgee river system. John McDouall Stewart explores the territories north of Adelaide, Friedrich Leichhardt crosses Cleveland and the Northern Territories, along the way discovering many small rivers and lands suitable for agriculture, and in 1858-60 Robert Burke crosses the mainland for the first time from north to south. Nathaniel Buchanan finds vast pastures on the Barkly Plateau, which later became the center of sheep farming in Northern Australia.

In addition to those listed, many other researchers continued to study the mainland, discovering new lands and contributing to the further development of Australia.

The material presented in the article is aimed at forming an idea of ​​who is the discoverer of the continent. The article contains reliable historical information. The information will help you obtain true information from the history of the discovery of Australia by sailors and travelers.

Who discovered Australia?

Every educated person today knows that the discovery of Australia by James Cook occurred when he visited the east coast of the mainland in 1770. However, these lands were known in Europe long before the famous English navigator appeared there.

Rice. 1. James Cook.

The ancestors of the indigenous population of the mainland appeared on the continent approximately 40-60 thousand years ago. This historical segment dates back to ancient archaeological finds that were discovered by scientists in the upper reaches of the Swan River at the western tip of the mainland.

Rice. 2. Swan River.

It is known that people ended up on the continent thanks to sea routes. This fact also indicates that it was these pioneers who became the earliest sea travelers. It is generally accepted that at that time at least three heterogeneous groups settled in Australia.

Explorers of Australia

There is an assumption that the discoverers of Australia were the ancient Egyptians.

TOP 2 articleswho are reading along with this

From history we know that Australia was discovered several times by different people:

• Egyptians;
• Dutch admiral Willem Janszoon;
• James Cook.

The latter is recognized as the official discoverer of the continent for humanity. All these versions are still controversial and contradictory. There is no clear point of view on this issue.

During research carried out on the Australian mainland, images of insects similar in appearance to scarabs were found. And during archaeological research in Egypt, researchers discovered mummies that were embalmed using eucalyptus oil.

Despite such clear evidence, many historians express reasonable doubts about this version, since the continent became famous in Europe much later.

Attempts to discover Australia were made by the world's navigators back in the 16th century. Many Australian researchers assume that the first Europeans to set foot on the continent were the Portuguese.

It is known that in 1509, sailors from Portugal visited the Moluccas, after which in 1522 they moved to the northwest of the mainland.

At the beginning of the 20th century, naval guns that were created back in the 16th century were found in this area.

The unofficial version of the discovery of Australia is the one that states that the discoverer of the continent is the Dutch admiral Willem Janszoon. He was never able to understand that he had become the discoverer of new lands, because he believed that he was getting closer to the lands of New Guinea.

Rice. 3. Willem Janszoon.

However, the main history of Australian exploration is attributed to James Cook. It was after his travels to unknown lands that the active conquest of the mainland by Europeans began.

It is known for certain that Cook went on a voyage around the world and ended up in “distant lands.” In 1770, his expedition reached the coast of the mainland. Officially, this date of the discovery of Australia is recognized as historically accurate. Total ratings received: 107.

History of discovery. Man appeared in Australia 40 thousand years ago. These were newcomers from South and Southeast Asia, the predecessors of modern aborigines. Having settled in the eastern part of Australia, people also entered Tasmania. The fact that Tasmanians are descendants of ancient Australians is confirmed by recent archaeological finds on Hunter Island in Bass Strait.

Assumptions about the existence of the mysterious Terra incognita Australis - “Unknown Southern Land” south of the equator were expressed by ancient geographers. A vast area of ​​land in the southern hemisphere was depicted on maps in the 15th century, although its outline did not resemble Australia in any way. The Portuguese had some information regarding the northern coasts of Australia back in the 16th century; they came from the inhabitants of the Malay Islands, who visited the coastal waters of the mainland to catch sea cucumbers. However, until the 17th century, no Europeans managed to see Australia with their own eyes.

The discovery of Australia has long been associated with the name of the English navigator James Cook. In fact, the first Europeans to visit the coast of this continent and meet scattered Aboriginal tribes here were the Dutch: Willem Janszoon in 1605 and Abel Tasman in 1642. Janszon crossed the Torres Strait and sailed along the coast of the Cape York Peninsula, while Tasman discovered the southwestern part of Tasmania, which he considered part of the mainland. And the Spaniard Torres in 1606 sailed through the strait that separates the island of New Guinea from the mainland.

However, the Spaniards and Dutch kept their discoveries secret. James Cook sailed to the east coast of Australia only one hundred and fifty years later, in 1770, and immediately declared it an English possession. A royal “penal colony” was created here for criminals, and later for exiled participants in the Chartist movement in England. Representatives of the English authorities, who sailed to the shores of Australia with the “first fleet” in 1788, founded the city of Sydney, which was subsequently proclaimed the administrative center of the British colony of New South Wales, created in 1824. With the arrival of the “second fleet,” the first free migrants appeared. The development, or rather the seizure of the mainland, begins, accompanied by the most brutal extermination of the indigenous population. A hunt was organized for the aborigines, and bonuses were given for those killed. Often the colonists staged real raids on the indigenous people of Australia, killing them without distinction of gender or age, scattering poisoned food, after which people died in terrible agony. It is not surprising that after a hundred years most of the indigenous population was exterminated. The remaining aborigines were driven from the land of their ancestors and pushed into the interior desert regions. In 1827, England announced the establishment of its sovereignty over the entire continent.

The end of the 18th and the entire 19th century for Australia was a time of geographical discoveries. In 1797, the talented English hydrographer M. Flinders began exploring the coasts of the continent, whose work is rated as highly by Australian geographers as Cook's discoveries. He confirmed the existence of the Bass Strait, examined the coasts of Tasmania and South Australia, the entire eastern and northern coast of the mainland, and mapped the Great Barrier Reef. Flinders proposed giving the continent the name “Australia”, replacing the previously accepted designation on maps “New Holland”, which was finally superseded in 1824.

By the 19th century, the outlines of the mainland were largely mapped, but the interior remained a blank spot. The first attempt to penetrate into the interior of Australia was made in 1813 by an expedition of English colonists who discovered a passage through the Blue Mountains and discovered magnificent grazing lands to the west of the Great Dividing Range. A “land fever” began: a stream of free settlers poured into Australia, seizing huge areas where they organized sheep farms of many thousands. This land grab is called “squatterism.”

The prospecting parties moved further and further to the west, south and north, crossing the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers. In 1840, P. Strzelecki discovered the highest peak of the continent in the Australian Alps, which he named Mount Kosciuszko in honor of the national hero of Poland.

More than a dozen large expeditions were equipped to explore the Australian Interior, and attempts were made to cross the continent. Significant discoveries in the interior of the continent belong to Charles Sturt, who first discovered the Darling River and the Simpson Desert. Significant discoveries in the southeast were made by D. Mitchell, in the west by D. Gray; W. Leichgard traveled from the Darling Range to the northern coast, but three years later, while trying to cross the continent from east to west, his expedition went missing in the endless deserts of Central Australia.

For the first time, R. Burke managed to cross the continent from south to north, leading a well-equipped expedition in 1860–1861. Burke walked from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria, but on the way back he died along with his companion W. Wills. D. Stewart managed to cross the continent twice, passing through the hottest places in the central deserts.

By the end of the 19th century, the exploration of inland Australia was completed.

At the very beginning of the 19th century, a convict colony was founded in Tasmania; free settlers appeared on the island later, only in the 20s of the 19th century, and then extermination campaigns against the Tasmanian aborigines began. Just a decade later, most of the Tasmanians were exterminated. The last Tasmanian woman died in 1876.

The period of discovery in Tasmania lasted until 1843. By this time, not only the coasts, but also the central regions had been surveyed, work began on a continuous large-scale survey of the territory, and in the 70s large deposits of tin, gold and rare metals were discovered on the island.

The first settlers who arrived in Australia did not find anything similar to the landscapes of England. They perceived neither the beauty of the malga (acacia bushes) nor the splendor of the eucalyptus forests. The colonists did everything to ensure that the landscapes they found themselves in became as similar as possible to the parks and pastures of England.

Until the mid-19th century, the development of Australian territories was slow. The exiles who arrived on the first ships brought with them seeds and plant seedlings, which they began to grow in the poor sandy soils around the first settlement on the site of modern Sydney. Agriculture was slash-and-burn; organic fertilizers were not used, since there were no livestock. During the year, two crops were harvested - wheat and corn; when the harvests fell, the plot was abandoned.

Gradually, farmers began to move from the areas of initial development on the southeast coast, following pastoralists inland, north to the tropical coast, changing old crops and introducing new ones. From 1850 to 1914, Australian farmers developed the best land on the continent. The most fertile soils were almost completely occupied by wheat, and sugar cane began to be grown further north, on the alluvial plains near the Tropic of Capricorn.

At the same time, cattle breeding began to move into the interior of Australia, first to the relatively water-logged areas of open forest in the southeast, and then to the arid regions of Central Australia.

An important milestone in the development of the country was the middle of the last century, when gold was found in several places at once - first in the states of Victoria and New Wales, and then in Western Australia. At this time, a stream of settlers, mainly English and Irish, rushed to Australian soil.

The “Gold Rush”, as well as the spread of extensive sheep farming over large areas of land, led to rapid economic development, population growth and administrative registration of the colonies. In the 70s, there were already six separate colonies in Australia: New South Wales, Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland, which fought for self-government. Between 1873 and 1883, negotiations were held between the colonies to create a federation, which culminated in 1889 with the development of a draft constitution.

Abel Tasman- Dutch navigator, explorer and merchant. He received worldwide recognition for the sea voyages he led in 1642-1644. He was the first among famous European explorers to reach the shores of New Zealand, Tonga and Fiji. The data collected during his expeditions helped prove the fact that Australia is a separate continent.

Abel Janszoon Tasman was born in 1603 in the village of Luttegast near Groningen (now the municipality of Grotegast in the province of Groningen) in the Netherlands. The exact date of his birth is unknown. The first documentary mention of him dates back to 1631, when he, already widowed by that time, married again. As follows from the surviving church record, his wife was illiterate and came from a poor family, which indirectly confirmed the validity of the assumptions of researchers of his biography about his low social status at that time.

Presumably at the same time, Abel Tasman entered the service of the Dutch East India Company as a simple sailor, but already in the records of 1634 he appears as the skipper (captain) of one of the company's ships. The main occupation of the company's sailors at that time was servicing the transportation of spices and spices, which were expensive and valuable goods for the European market.

In 1638, Tasman, commanding a ship, sailed to India.

In 1639, Tasman led one of two ships (together with M. Quast) equipped by the East India Company to explore shipping areas in the region of Japan and trade opportunities with the local population. In general, this expedition was not successful and after 6 months spent at sea, Tasman's ship, having lost almost 40 of the 90 crew members, returned to the Dutch fort Zealand on the island of Formosa (Taiwan). During this voyage he discovered the island of Bonin.

In 1640, Tasman again led one of 11 Dutch ships heading to the shores of Japan. This time he spent about three months in the Japanese port of Hirado.

In 1642, Tasman was appointed commander of a detachment of two ships of the East India Company, sent to explore the southern and eastern waters of the Pacific Ocean. According to the hypotheses of geographers and navigators of that era, it was these waters that should have washed the shores of the mythical Unknown Southern Land, the possible wealth of which was told for several generations. During this voyage, on November 24, 1642, Tasman discovered a large island (Tasmania) off the coast of Australia and named it Van Diemen's Land in honor of the governor of the Netherlands East Indies. Having followed several dozen miles along the coast of the island, Tasman turned east and on December 13 saw the outlines of another unfamiliar land. This was the South Island belonging to New Zealand. While staying near this island, Europeans first met the Maori, the indigenous inhabitants of New Zealand. The meeting ended tragically: the Maori attacked the landing Dutch, killed several sailors and disappeared. Annoyed by this incident, Tasman named this place Killer Bay (now Golden Bay).

Continuing along the western coast of the North Tasman Island, he reached its tip and turned northeast. On January 21, 1643, the expedition reached the Tonga archipelago, discovering several previously unknown islands here. Having replenished Tonga's supplies of water and food, on February 6 Tasman's ships approached the islands of the Fiji archipelago. Further, leaving the Fiji islands to the south, Tasman walked along the northern coast of New Guinea and on June 15, after almost a ten-month journey, arrived in Batavia.

In 1643, Tasman led a detachment of three ships of the East India Company that sailed along the western coast of New Guinea and the northern coast of Australia. As a result, much of the coast of northern Australia was mapped for the first time.

From the point of view of the leadership of the East India Company, the voyages of detachments of ships under the command of Tasman in 1642-1644 ended in complete failure - new trading areas were never discovered and no new sea passages were found for navigation. Until the travels of the British navigator James Cook almost 100 years later, Europeans had not begun to explore New Zealand, and visits to Australia were sporadic and most often caused by shipwrecks. After the expedition returned to Batavia, Tasman was given the rank of commander and his salary was raised, and he himself was appointed a member of the Legal Council of Batavia. In 1647, he was sent as a representative to the King of Siam, and in 1648 he led a detachment of 8 ships that opposed the ships of the Spanish fleet

Around 1651, Abel Tasman retired and began trading in Batavia.

Relief. Australia is the flattest continent. Most of it is a plain, the edges of which are raised, especially in the east. Mountains occupy only 5% of the continent's territory. The average height of the continent is 340-350 m above sea level. In the structure of its surface, three areas are clearly expressed: the Western Australian Plateau with a height of 400-500 m, the Central Lowland, where the lowest point of the continent is located in the area of ​​Lake Eyre (-12 m below sea level), and the medium-altitude Great Dividing Range in the east with the highest point of the continent (Mount Kosciuszko, 2228 m).

The geological structure of Australia is the simplest in comparison with other continents. The continent consists of ancient Precambrian and young

Epihercynian platforms, occupying the western and central territory, and a much smaller folded belt of Liznoproterozoic and Paleozoic age in the east.

The Australian platform is one of the largest on Earth. A distinctive feature of its structure is the alternation of protrusions of the ancient foundation and depressions. Protrusions of metamorphosed and volcanic rocks of the folded basement form three shields - Zahidno-Australian, Pivnichno-Australian and Shvdenno-Australian. Within the first of them, the oldest rocks were found, formed more than 3 billion years ago.

“The eastern part of the continent from the Cape York Peninsula in the north to the island of Tasmania in the south has the Shidno-Australian folded region.

Geological structures determined the differences in surface shapes of the western and eastern parts of the continent.

The Central Lowland is located in the zone of the meridional trough of the Australian Platform. Here the relief is dominated by lowlands, confined to areas of greatest subsidence of the platform foundation - the Lake Eyre basin, the Murray basin and the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Mountainous types of relief are almost not common in Australia. In the southeast, the Western Australian Plateau is bordered by the low (700 - 900 m) blocky mountains of Flinders and Mount Lofty. Flat-topped rises are broken by grabens, which go under water and form the Gulfs of Spencer and St. Vincent. There are mountains in the center of Australia - McDonnelly and Musgrave,

The mountain belt of Eastern Australia is formed by the Great Dividing Range and the mountains of Tasmania. These low folded-block mountain structures were formed as a result of Neogene tectonic movements. The eastern slopes of the mountains are steep, the western slopes are gentle. A feature of the Great Dividing Range is the displacement of the main watershed from the higher eastern

ridges to flat-topped low-mountain plateaus in the west.

Australia is rich in mineral resources. The crystalline rocks of the platform's foundation contain iron, copper, lead-zinc, uranium ores, and gold. Minerals of sedimentary origin include deposits of phosphorites, rock salt, hard and brown coal, oil, and natural gas. Many deposits lie at shallow depths, so they are mined by open-pit mining. Australia ranks among the first in the world in terms of reserves of iron ores, non-ferrous metal ores (bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel) and uranium.

Climate. Australia is the driest continent on Earth; three quarters of its surface has insufficient moisture. The climatic conditions on the continent are determined by its position near the equator, on both sides of the tropics. It was the hot tropical sun that caused the formation of extensive deserts on the continent.

Compared to South Africa and South America, south of the equator, Australia is more “stretched” from west to east. With a weakly dissected coastline, this causes constantly high temperatures in the interior and gives the right to consider it the hottest part of the land in the southern hemisphere.

The main territory of Australia is located in three climatic zones - from the subequatorial in the north, in the tropical for the main part, in the subtropical in the south, and climatologists classify the island of Tasmania as a temperate zone.

From December to February (summer in the southern hemisphere), the continent warms up greatly, especially its central parts; This is the hot season of the year. In the Alice Springs area (center of Australia) and in the adjacent deserts, average daytime air temperatures are about 35-36 degrees, and on some days even above +40. In winter, daytime temperatures here are almost two times lower - about +20 degrees, in the Great Victoria Desert - up to +10 degrees, and in some years night frosts are possible.

In inland areas, the influx of moist air from the north leads in summer to rare rains, which, in general, are of little effect. South 19-20o S. w. precipitation falls no more than 300 mm, and semi-deserts and deserts dominate.

On the West Coast - in Perth, the climate is somewhat milder due to the influence of the ocean - in summer there is usually thirty-degree heat, in winter the air cools to +18...+20 degrees during the day and +6...+8 at night.

The most inhabited region of Australia, the southeast coast, has a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and rainy, mild winters. So, in Melbourne in summer, on typical January days, the thermometer usually stays around +25..+27 degrees, and in winter it drops to +10...+12, at night to +5.

In the coolest part of the country - on the island of Tasmania - a typical British climate reigns - in summer the daytime temperature is +20...+22, in winter it is ten degrees cooler. In winter, night frosts occur, but a stable snow cover does not form here - throughout the region, snow falls steadily only on the tops of the mountains.

During the Middle Ages, the most incredible legends were made about the wild lands of Australia, calling them the Green Continent Terra Australis Incognita, which translates to “unknown southern land.”

Back in school, we were told that humanity owes the discovery of this picturesque, one-of-a-kind continent to a captain and navigator from England James Cook. It is believed that the first inhabitants of the mainland, and specifically Cook, first set foot on the shores of Australia in 1770.

It turns out that Europeans had visited Australia before it was discovered by researcher J. Cook. Who, in this case, actually discovered the continent, and in what period of time? a grand affair happened?

The first people appeared in Australia approximately 40–60 thousand years ago. They are the ancestors of the current indigenous Australian population.

Archaeological finds conducted on the Green Continent in the western part of the continent in the upper reaches of the Swan River prove that it was during this period that people began to live in this territory.

To this day, it has not been established exactly where the aborigines came to the Australian continent from. But it is known that at that time people immediately settled in Australia several heterogeneous populations. Historians claim that people arrived on the mainland by sea, thus becoming the earliest seafarers in the world.

Who was in Australia before the Europeans

According to some assumptions of historians and archaeologists, there is an opinion that the discoverers of Australia were the ancient Egyptians, who brought from these lands the most valuable eucalyptus oil in those days.

During research carried out in Australia, it was possible to discover rock carvings of insects that are similar in appearance to a scarab. In addition, archaeological excavations in Egypt helped to find out that the mummies were embalmed with eucalyptus oil, which grew in Australia.

Even such amazing historical discoveries and the seemingly indisputable evidence raises doubts among many historians and researchers, because in Europe they began to talk about Australia much later than the heyday of Egypt.

The first Europeans to visit the Green Continent

Willem Janszoon

More in the 16th century Europeans repeatedly tried to discover Australia, but the sailors of that time were not able to get to the mainland due to the dangerous coastlines in some regions of the Green Continent.

A number of scientists believe that the first inhabitants of Europe to set foot on the shores of Australia were the Portuguese.

According to some historical data, it is generally accepted that they did this V 1509, visiting the Moluccas Islands.

Having lived on these Australian landmass for some time, in 1522 they moved to the northwest of the mainland. Found cannons dating back to the 16th century prove the presence of Portuguese navigators. It is assumed that these weapons belonged to sailors from Portugal.

To date, this version is not official. Australians claim that the first European to set foot on the Green Continent was a Dutch admiral Willem Janszoon. This fact is indisputable today.

On his ship called "Dyfken" in November 1605 he left the city of Bantam in Indonesia and headed to New Guinea. After three months of his journey, he landed on the Cape York Peninsula, on the northwest coast of Australia.

It is important to know! Janszon explored more than 320 km of the Australian coast, compiling a detailed map of it.

Interesting that Admiral Willem Janszoon never realized that he had actually discovered Australia. He mistook the lands he found for part of New Guinea and named this territory “New Holland.”

Another navigator from Holland also visited Australia after Janszoon - Abel Tasman. It was he who discovered the islands of New Zealand, and also included the western coast of Australia on his detailed map.

It was thanks to the research of Dutch navigators that by the middle of the 17th century Australia began to take shape.

The official history of the discovery of Australia

James Cook

A number of scientists continue to insist that James Cook- a true pioneer of Australia.

And all because as soon as he visited this continent, Europeans immediately began to come here.

Officially considered that the purpose of Cook's voyage was to study the passage of the planet Venus through the solar disk.

But this world-famous navigator, and then a desperate young lieutenant, wanted to find that very Terra Australis Incognita.

Thus, the starting point of Cook’s trip around the world was the city of Plymouth (England). In April 1769 On the ship Endeavor, the captain and his crew reached the shores of Tahiti, and a year later he approached the eastern Australian shores. After his discovery, he went to this continent with an expedition two more times.

It is important to know! James Cook discovered Australia as part of his voyage around the world in 1768 with the goal of discovering the "unknown southern land".

So, during the third Cook expedition in 1778 The Hawaiian Islands were discovered and became the site of his tragic death. James Cook failed to improve relations with the Hawaiians. When the navigator attempted to capture a local leader, he was allegedly killed in the battle with a spear blow to the back of the head.

Australia has always been an attractive territory for Europeans. The mysterious southern lands excited the minds of famous sailors. Of course, this one the mainland is incredibly beautiful and mysterious.

And although there are official versions of the discovery of the Green Continent, a number of researchers found evidence that Europeans visited these lands long before James Cook.

26.03.2016

The Australian continent became known to Europeans only in the 18th century. Earlier voyages in the southern waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans also took place, but no documentary evidence of the discovery of new lands has been preserved.

A sharp leap in research occurred in the 15th century, when the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries began. As ships improved technically and navigation developed, Europeans sailed further and further from their native continent. The sea route to India was finally opened, and the question became urgent for researchers and politicians: are there any inhabited lands further south that can be colonized?

The first ships, presumably Portuguese, headed towards Australia back in the 16th century. However, direct evidence of this has not survived. The earliest reliably known visit by Europeans to the Australian coast is considered to be the expedition of the Dutchman Willem Janszoon in 1605. He reached the coast of Australia and even explored it, however, he mistakenly believed that it was part of New Guinea.

“They didn’t notice” the mainland and the Spaniard Torres, who passed through the strait between it and the island of New Guinea in the same year, and another Dutchman, Abel Tasman, who discovered Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) in 1642, visited New Zealand and the waters of Western Australia coast.

Correct calculations, the tenacity of the commander, luck and a combination of other important factors led to the fact that the honor of discovering the continent and its subsequent colonization went to Britain. The English navigator and scientist James Cook became the first European who, having explored the shores of Australia, declared it the possessions of his country. This happened during his first circumnavigation of the world (1768-1771).

The main stated purpose of the expedition sent by the British Admiralty was astronomical observations, with the help of which it was supposed to calculate the distance from the Sun to Venus and other planets. Under such cover, the British, secretly from their competitors, made their attempt to find the Unknown Southern Land (Terra Australis Incognita), described in the works of ancient geographers.

Having successfully completed the first part of the program, the expedition moved further east. In addition to Cook, the team included other scientists: the astronomer Green and two botanists (Joseph Banks and Karl Solander), as well as two artists (Buchan and Parkinson). First they explored New Zealand, establishing that it was divided by a strait into two islands, and significantly refining the map of its coast.

The expedition then headed further east in search of new lands. At that time, it was known about the existence of Tasmania in the south and New Holland (part of Australia) in the northwest. In May 1770, Cook's ship Endeavor reached the coast of Australia. He stayed in the bay found there for 8 days. Scientists were amazed by the variety of new plant species (after which the bay was named Botanical) and the local aborigines, whom they could not classify as either blacks or Polynesians.

The next bay described in detail was Port Jackson, located several kilometers to the north. Its characterization as an ideal place for ships to dock led to the city of Sydney being subsequently founded here. Moving on, the expedition managed to travel the entire eastern coast, although the ship was damaged by coral reefs.

Having reached New Holland and discovered a strait between it and New Guinea, Cook entered the Gulf of Carpentaria. Finding himself in familiar waters, on August 22, 1770, he, on behalf of King George III, announced that all the lands he had explored now belonged to the British Empire. Upon returning to his homeland, James Cook received fame as the discoverer of the new continent.

In subsequent years, the Admiralty sent Cook twice more on expeditions in search of the Southern Continent and the passage connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. He made many more discoveries, although he never reached Antarctica (another part of the “Unknown Southern Land” in the works of ancient scientists). In 1779, Cook was killed by natives in the Hawaiian Islands. And Australia, since 1778, began to be used as a place for exile for criminals.