For many years Europeans had considered the presence of a land somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere.  They thought that without such a land, the Earth would be out of balance, and although its location was not known, it was generally referred to as "The Great South Land", and sometimes by the Latin term "Terra Australis". (from which Australia got its present name)

During the 17th century, the Dutch, British and French were great sea faring nations, and the Dutch had Colonies which they called the "Spice Islands" (Now Indonesia).  A regular trade route to carry spices from those islands back to Europe began.

The earliest recorded European sighting and landing on any Australian soil was in 1616 by Dutch sailor Dirk Hartog, who landed on an island off the Western Australian coast.  He is thought to have spent three days on the island, and the only official record is a pewter plate which he nailed to a tree, inscribed with the date of his arrival.   That pewter plate is now on display in the Western Australian Museum, and is an important part of Australia's history.  The island on which he landed still bears his name and is known as Dirk Hartog Island.

Following Dirk Hartog's voyage, came one of the worst records of early Australian history, when the Dutch ship "Batavia" ran aground on the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, off the coast of Western Australia in 1629.  The Commander of the "Batavia" was a man called "Pelshaert".  Prior to running aground, a mutiny had been planned aboard the "Batavia" by another man called "Cornelius", but because of they had run aground, the planned mutiny had never come to fruition.  However "Pelshaert" had become aware of the proposed mutiny, and had decided to hang one of the planned mutineers when they reached "The Great South Land".  On June 4th 1629 most of the passengers and crew were offloaded onto an island, which they called "Traitor's Island" because they felt betrayed.  That island still bears that name today.  "Pelshaert" and about 30 others went ashore onto a smaller island, together with most of the food and water supplies.  It wasn't long before "Pelshaert" realized that the party were in a dire predicament, and together with one other person set sail for the capital of the Spice Islands, (Ironically also named Batavia ~ now Jakarta) in one of the "Batavia's" small boats to seek help for the stranded passengers and crew.  He left all other survivors behind.  The person who had planned the original mutiny "Cornelius" took charge, and together with a band of willing assistants, began a reign of terror and murder against the other survivors. On September 16th 1629 the yacht "Sardan" was sighted and on September 17th September 1629, a battle occurred between the mutineers and the crew of the "Sardan".  A number of mutineers were killed in this battle.  The Commander of the "Sardan" was none other than "Pelshaert", who had succeeded in reaching Batavia (Jakarta), and was returning to help the stranded survivors.   All mutineers were put on trial, and some were hanged on the island.  Two were marooned on the coast of Western Australia, the first known Europeans to have to live on the Australian mainland.  There is no record of what happened to them, or how long they lived.  All other mutineers were taken to Batavia (Jakarta), where most were executed.  During his few months of terror "Cornelius" had murdered over 120 men, women and children.

There were a number of other sightings by Dutch sea farers, and that led to the name of "New Holland" being given to what is now the Western part of Australia.

In 1688 Englishman, William Dampier landed at King Sound, in Western Australia, and again in 1699, he landed on the North West coast of Australia.  When he returned to England, he wrote a series of books about his journeys, and had very little good to say about "The Great South Land" or "New Holland".  He described it as a worthless place and the natives as being the most backward people on Earth.

From the late 17th century until the mid 18th century there was much discussion about the existence of "The Great South Land", but other than the sightings off the Western Australian coast, Europeans were not aware of the size of the land mass, nor if "Terra Australis", "The Great South Land" and "New Holland" were all one and the same land.

In June 1769 Lieutenant James Cook was given command of the British Barque "Endeavour".  His mission was to sail to the Pacific island of Tahiti, in order to view the astronomical phenomenon that is known as "The Transit Of Venus".  Before his departure he was also given sealed secret orders that were to be opened after his scientific mission to Tahiti was completed.  Following the viewing of "The Transit Of Venus", Cook opened the orders, which told him to search for "The Great South Land".  After circumnavigating both islands of New Zealand, Cook sailed North West, until land was spotted on April 20th 1770.  The place spotted by Cook was later to be called Point Hicks (Victoria).  Cook continued to sail North, and on April 28th 1770, he went ashore and claimed the Eastern half of "The Great South Land" in the name of King George III.  The botanist aboard, Sir Joseph Banks was so impressed by the variety of botanical specimens he suggested that the area be named "Botany Bay", a name it retains to this day.  Cook remained long enough to replenish his water supplies, and allow Banks to take a number of specimens, although he was regularly attacked by the native people with spears.

Cook then sailed North again, stopping again to replenish water supplies at a place that is now called "Town Of 1770" (probably the only town in the world that is named after a date), on the Queensland coast.  Further North, Cook was manoeuvring his way through the waters of the Great Barrier Reef, when the "Endeavour" ran aground.   However by unloading all unnecessary weight, including a number of cannon, (much of the unloaded equipment has been recovered and is on display in various museums) Cook and his crew were able to refloat the "Endeavour".  They then sailed the barque into the secluded waters of what is now the mouth of the Endeavour River at the location of current day Cooktown (formerly Cooks Town), arriving there on July 11th 1770.  After a period of about seven weeks, during which his crew carried out repairs, Cook left and sailed North again, then East, through the Torres Strait, and onto Batavia (Jakarta).  Cook finally returned to England on July 10th 1771.

Cooks stay of about seven weeks was basically the first time any Europeans had remained on the Australian mainland for any extended period, and as Cook mapped the whole East coast, he also claimed it for the British Crown.  Cook was to make two more voyages into the Pacific Ocean, and was speared to death by the local natives in Tahiti on February 14th 1779.   Many of the records made of his travels were burned by his widow after his death.

The reports of both Lieutenant James Cook and Sir Joseph Banks, of that journey in 1770, led the British government to begin consideration towards establishment of a Colony at Botany Bay.  That was still to be about six and a half years into the future.

Addendum : The location where Cook carried out his repairs became the town of Cooktown, which was to have a further claim in Australia's history later in the 19th century, although it was relatively short lived.  Following discovery of gold on the Palmer River in the mid 1800's, Cooktown became the principal port and supply centre for the Palmer River goldfields.  At one time Cooktown had a population of over 30,000 people, and in 1865 it boasted 65 hotels, a number of schools, a large variety of shops, a tent city, its own Chinatown and all that a booming town could offer.  By about 1885 it was basically over, but the value of gold taken from the Palmer River goldfields was about five and a half million English Pounds. (Today's value  ~ Approximately 8.8 Billion US Dollars).  The original anchor and one of the cannon from the "Endeavour" are displayed at the Cooktown Museum.  The last permanent resident of the Palmer River goldfields main town of Maytown (formerly Edwardstown) was Sam Elliot, who died in 1986, over 100 years after the major gold rush.  For more on Cooktown and the Palmer River see the Australian Towns section.