The great discoveries that were made by the
Dutch in these southern countries were subsequent to the famous voyage of Jaques
le Maire, who in 1616 passed the straits called by his name; in 1618, that part
of Terra Australia was discovered which the Dutch called Concordia. The next
year, the Land of Edels was found, and received its name from its discoverer. In
1620, Batavia was built on the ruins of the old city of Jacatra; but the seat of
government was not immediately removed from Amboyna. In 1622, that part of New
Holland which is called Lewin’s Land was first found; and in 1627, Peter Nuyts
discovered between New Holland and New Guinea a country which bears his name.
There were also some other voyages made, of which, however, we have no sort of
account, except that the Dutch were continually beaten in all their attempts to
land upon this coast. On their settlement, however, at Batavia, the then general
and council of the Indies thought it requisite to have a more perfect survey
made of the new-found countries, that the memory of them at least might be
preserved, in case no further attempts were made to settle them; and it was very
probably a foresight of few ships going that route any more, which induced such
as had then the direction of the Company’s affairs to wish that some such survey
and description might be made by an able seaman, who was well acquainted with
those coasts, and who might be able to add to the discoveries already made, as
well as furnish a more accurate description, even of them, than had been
hitherto given.
This was faithfully performed by Captain Tasman; and from the lights afforded by
his journal, a very exact and curious map was made of all these new countries.
But his voyage was never published entire; and it is very probable that the East
India Company never intended it should be published at all. However, Dirk
Rembrantz, moved by the excellency and accuracy of the work, published in Low
Dutch an extract of Captain Tasman’s Journal, which has been ever since
considered as a very great curiosity; and, as such, has been translated into
many languages, particularly into our own, by the care of the learned Professor
of Gresham College, Doctor Hook, an abridgment of which translation found a
place in Doctor Harris’s Collection of Voyages. But we have made no use of
either of these pieces, the following being a new translation, made with all the
care and diligence that is possible.
Early Australian Voyages, 1886, John Pinkerton |
