Reduced map of the seas between Asia and America.

The Australian continent was first sighted in 1606 when Willem Janszoon sailed through the Gulf of Carpentaria aboard the "Duyfken." Later on, the navigator Luis Váez de Torres was the first person to cross the Torres Strait between the Australian continent and the island of New Guinea.

At the start of the 17th century, the entire west and north coasts of "New Holland" had been sailed and mapped by the Dutch. However, the east coast of Australia was only navigated and mapped out in 1770, by James Cook on his "HMS Endeavour" expedition.

In fact, mapping of the Australian continent continued to develop until the 19th century was well underway.