Willem Janszoon (C. 1570 - 1630), Dutch navigator and colonial governor, is the first European known to have seen the coast of the Australia.
One often finds in the writings the shortened form of his name Willem Jansz. or simply Willem Jansz . Willem Janszoon was probably born with Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. Nothing is known on its youth. It enters to the service of the Oude company , one of the companies which preceded the Compagnie Dutchwoman by the Eastern Indies, the VOC, as lieutenant on board the Hollandia , one of the ships of the second fleet sent to the the Eastern Indies Dutchwomen in 1598.
It sails again of the Netherlands towards the Eastern Indies in December 1603 as captain of the Duyfken (or Duijfken , which means " Small pigeon"), boat of a fleet of twelve ships. Once arrived at the Indies, Willem Janszoon is sent in the search of other places to trade, particularly in the " large ground of New Guinea and other Eastern grounds and méridionales."
The November 18th 1605, the Duyfken sails of Bantam, with the Western point of Java towards the Western coast of New Guinea. It crosses then in the extreme is Mer of Arafura, without seeing the Détroit of Torres, in the Golfe of Carpentarie and accosts with the Pennefather river on the Western coast of the Cape York in the Queensland, close to the current city of Weipa. It is the first accosting indexed of an European on the Australian ground. Willem Janszoon then charted some 320 km of coasts, of which he thought that they were a southernmost extension of New Guinea.
Finding the inhospitable ground marshy and populations (10 of its men were killed during various forwardings on the coasts), in Cape Keerweer (" Turnabout"), in the south of Bay Albatross, Willem Janszoon made half-turn and returned on Bantam in June 1606. It called the grounds which it had just discovered " Nieu Zelandt " according to the Dutch province of Zealand but this name was not retained and was taken again later by Abel Tasman to name current the New Zealand.
The Duyfken was in the strait of Torres in March 1606, a few weeks before Torres does not cross it. Willem Janszoon went back to the Netherlands with the belief that the south of the coast of New Guinea joined the grounds which he had discovered. The Dutch charts will reproduce this error during several years. Even if it were supposed that navigators of China, France or Portugal could discover earlier of the parts of Australia, the Duyfken is the first known European ship to have made it.
Willem Janszoon served in the the Eastern Indies Dutchwomen over several periods (1603 - 11, 1612 - 16, of which a time as governor of Strong Henricus on Solor, and 1618 - 28, like admiral of the Dutch fleet and governor of Bandaged 1623 - 27). Willem Janszoon was decorated with the Chain of honor in 1619 for its participation in the capture of 4 ships of the English Compagnie of the Eastern Indies which had helped the Javanese in their defense of the town of Djakarta against the Dutchmen. It turned over to Batavia in June 1627 and a little later like admiral, to the head of a fleet of 8 ships, left on mission diplomatic to India. In December 1628, it sailed towards Holland and the July 16th 1629 submitted a report/ratio on the situation of the Eastern Indies to the authorities of $the Hague. It was to probably have an about sixty years and wished to be withdrawn. Nothing is known on the end of its life.
Chart of Duyfken
The newspaper and the notes written during the voyage from 1606 of Willem Janszoon were lost. The chart of Duyfken, which shows the position of the first accosting in Australia, knew a better fate. It still existed in Amsterdam when Hessel Gerritsz drew its chart of the Pacific in 1622 and on which it took again the elements of the chart of Duyfken, thus providing the first completed chart of Australia. The chart of Duyfken always existed in the neighborhoods of 1670, when a copy was made which, thereafter, left for the imperial library Vienna, where it remained forgotten during 200 years. This chart belongs to the Atlas Blaeu Van der Hem , brought to Vienna in 1730 by the Prince Eugene of Savoy.
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