What Is The Name Of The First European Ship That Landed In Western Australia?

The first European ship to visit Western Australia was the Dutch trading the Eendracht was a Dutch explorer, Dirk Hartog literally bumped into Western Australia on the 26th October 1616. The area he found is now called Dirk Hartog Island. It was much longer before other Europeans (the late 17th Century) began to investigate the Western coast of Australia. The British mainly explored to find places to post military bases in an attempt to prevent the French from getting a foothold in Western Australia.

Indiginous people have lived in Western Australia for between forty and sixty thousand years. However, as was the empire building mechanism, they were savaged, murdered, poisoned, enslaved and imprisoned in order for the Europeans to write their own history of discovery.

Of course, it was the British explorer Captain James Cook who 'discovered' Australia (although it was definitely there before he 'found it'). It is entirely possible that several Portugese explorers came within sight of Australia but never ventured onto land.

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