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Early voyages to Terra Australis, now called Australia
Early voyages to Terra Australis now called Australia Author:Richard Henry Major Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: EXTRACT FROM THE BOOK OF DISPATCHES FROM BATAVIA; COMMENCING JANUARY THE 15iH, 1644, AND ENDING NOVEMBER THE 29iH FOLLOWING. TO BE FOTTND FOLIO 39. Instruc... more »tions for the commodore, Captain Abel Jansz Tas- man, the skipper chief-pilot, Franz Jacobsz Visser, and the counsel of the yachts Limmen and Zeemeuw, and the tender de Srak, destined for a nearer discovery of Nova Guinea, and the unknown coasts of the discovered east and south lands, together with the channels and the islands supposed to be situated between and near them. The several successive administrations of India, in order to enlarge and extend the trade of the Dutch East India Company, have zealously endeavoured to make an early discovery of the great land of Nova Guinea, and other unknown east and southerly countries, as you know by several discourses, and maps, journals, and papers communicated to you. But hitherto with little success, although several voyages have been undertaken. 1st. By order of the president, John Williamsson Ver- schoor, who at that time directed the company's trade at Bantam, which was in the year 1606, with the yacht the Duyfhen, who in their passage sailed by the islands Key and Aroum, and discovered the south and west coast of Nova Guinea, for about 220 miles (880) from 5 to 13| south latitude: and found this extensive country, for thegreatest part desert, but in some places inhabited by wild, cruel, black savages, by whom some of the crew were murdered ; for which reason they could not learn anything of the land or waters, as had been desired of them, and, by want of provisions and other necessaries, they were obliged to leave the discovery unfinished: the furthest point of the land was called in their map Cape Keer-Weer,1 situated in 13f S. The second voyage was undertaken wit...« less