Who was Willem Janszoon?
Willem Janszoon was a Dutch navigator who led the first recorded European landing in Australia in 1606, when his ship, the Duyfken, reached the western coast of Cape York Peninsula.
Janszoon sailed for the Dutch East India Company from Bantam in Java, looking for trade opportunities in New Guinea. Instead, he charted about 300 kilometres of the coast of Cape York, believing it was part of New Guinea.
His crew landed near the Pennefather River, close to modern Weipa. Encounters with local Aboriginal people turned violent, and several crew members were killed.
Early Dutch voyages
Janszoon's voyage was followed by other Dutch explorers, including Dirk Hartog in 1616 and Abel Tasman in 1642, who mapped parts of what they called New Holland.
A full-size replica of the Duyfken was built in Fremantle and launched in 1999. In 2000 it sailed to the Gulf of Carpentaria to re-enact the voyage, and it later visited the Netherlands.
Janszoon later served as an admiral and governor in the Dutch East Indies. His voyage is sometimes overlooked in favour of James Cook's, but it came 164 years earlier. In 2006, Australia marked the 400th anniversary of the landing with events in Weipa and elsewhere.
Did You Know?
Duyfken means little dove in Dutch.