Who was the first Englishman to come to Australia?
Captain Cook was not the first Englishman to discover Australia. William Dampier visited in 1699, while John Brooke sighted the Western Australian coast in 1622.
When did Captain Cook discover Australia? Well, the quick answer is that he didn’t.
The myth that Captain Cook discovered Australia is surprisingly adhesive. And it’s not true on several levels.
Firstly, James Cook was a Lieutenant when saw Point Hicks, then charted Australia’s east coast on the Endeavour in 1770. Secondly, the continent was not known as Australia at the time. Thirdly, and most importantly, Aboriginal Australians have been in Australia for at least 40,000 years – as proved by the rock art galleries of Kakadu National Park.
Discovery of Australia: Willem Jansz on the Duyfken
But James Cook wasn’t the first European to visit Australia. Dutchman Willem Jansz on the Duyfken made the first reported visit, in 1606. The Dutch then crashed into the Western Australian coast several times during the 17th century. The WA Shipwrecks Museum in Fremantle does an excellent job of telling the Dutch exploration history of Australia.
Cook wasn’t even the first Englishman to set foot on what is now known as Australia. That honour, based on available evidence goes to William Dampier in 1699.
First Englishman in Australia? William Dampier in Western Australia
Basically a pirate, Dampier charted much of the Western Australian coast, stopping off at Dirk Hartog Island to collect Australian plant species. These specimens can be seen at Cambridge University.
The Dampier Peninsula and Dampier Archipelago are named after him, and he gave the currently used names to several spots in Western Australia. These include Shark Bay, now a hugely important historic site.
Dampier may have discovered more of Australia, but his ship – the Roebuck – was in such bad condition that he had to turn back just before breaking through the Torres Strait.
First Englishman in Australia? John Brooke and the Tryal Rocks
However, William Dampier was not the first Englishman to sight Australia. That dubious honour goes to John Brooke in 1622. His ship the Trial smashed into the Tryal Rocks, which are just over 100km off the coast of the Pilbara, near the Montebello Islands.
We know Brooke saw the Australian mainland, however, from his journal. He makes reference to an “island” that was later discovered to be the North-West Cape. This is the peninsula that the Ningaloo Reef – modern day home of whale shark-swimming cruises – runs alongside.
There’s a chance that John Brooke wasn’t the first Englishman to discover Australia, however. And we know that from Brooke’s own journal.
Before Captain Cook: Fitzherbert on the Royal Exchange
Brooke makes reference to the journal of another Englishman, Captain Humphrey Fitzherbert. He passed by the area in 1620 aboard the Royal Exchange. Fitzherbert made no reference to seeing land. But by Brooke’s admittedly dodgy calculations, Fitzherbert would passed 10 leagues south of the ‘island’.
Given the North-West Cape isn’t an island, that’s not possible. Fitzherbert may have been the first Englishman to discover Australia, and he simply forgot to mention it.
More detail can be found in The First Sighting of Australia by the English by Ida Lee.