The European maritime exploration of Australia consisted of several waves of European sailors who sailed around the shores of the Australian continent. Dutch navigators were the first known Europeans to explore and map the Australian coast. The first documented encounter was that of the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon, in 1606, aboard the Duyfken.

The most famous expedition took place with the Captain of the English Royal Navy, James Cook, 164 years after the sighting of Janszoon. After completing a mission to make observations of the transit of Venus in 1769, Cook followed instructions from his superiors to explore the South Pacific in search of the previously reported Terra Australis and on April 19, 1770 he sighted the southeast coast of Australia, marking This is officially the discovery.

The theory of the Portuguese discovery of Australia, widely publicized and studied to this day by Australians, states that Portuguese navigators were the first Europeans to sight Australia between 1521 and 1524, long before the arrival of other Europeans. Let's get to know the Portuguese Cristóvão de Mendonça and those who named him as the discoverer of Australia and its history.

Text, narration and editing by Paulo Elias Martins based on Wikipedia articles