European exploration of Australia - Wikipedia European exploration of Australia The European exploration of Australia began at least as early as 1605 - 1606, when seafarers first explored and mapped the Australian coastline. The first documented encounter was that of Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon, in 1606. Dutch seafarers also visited the west and north coasts of the continent, as did French explorers. The most famous expedition was that of Royal Navy Lieutenant ( later Captain ) James Cook 164 years after Janszoon 's sighting, who after an assignment to make observations of the 1769 Venus Transit, followed Admiralty instructions to explore the south Pacific for the reported Terra Australis and on 19 April 1770 sighted the south - eastern coast of Australia and became the first recorded European to explore the eastern coastline. Explorers by land and sea continued to survey the continent for some years after settlement. These efforts consisted of : European maritime exploration of Australia, and European land exploration of Australia This article includes a list of related items that share the same name ( or similar names ). If an internal link incorrectly led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=European_exploration_of_Australia&oldid=836292511 '' Categories : Set indices Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from April 2018 Use Australian English from April 2018 All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English All set index articles Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 13 April 2018, at 21 : 26. About Wikipedia

Question: who was thought to be the first european to discover australia
Answer: Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon, in 1606