Map, Carte Reduite Des Terres Australes, Bellin Jacques Nicolas, c1753, Hand Coloured Reproduction

The map records the Dutch discoveries made of the Australian coastline which culminated in those of Tasman on his first and second voyages 1642-4. The earlier Dutch discoveries, include those on the west coast of the Cape York Peninsula made by; Cartensz 1623, Hartog 1616, Houtman 1619, the van Leeuwin 1622, de Wit 1628, Nuyts 1627, and Vlamingh 1697. The map also records William Dampier’s visit to Shark Bay 1699. As the Dutch were unsuccessful in establishing a trading relationship with the Australian aborigines and with their good knowledge of the western coastline which was their main hazard for their sea route to Batavia, they had no need for further exploration or charting of the continent. Their voyages after Tasman’s second voyage were purely commercial trading voyages of spices from the East Indies using the Brouwer route. Tasman’s map of the Australian continent was to remain unchanged for nearly two hundred years until the discovery of the east coast by James Cook 1769-70 made on his first voyage of discovery.