Of an estimated 200 place names the Dutch bestowed on Australian localities in the 17th century as a result of the Dutch voyages of exploration along the western, northern and southern Australian coasts, only about 35 can still be found on current maps. Five out of six names were either renamed or forgotten or their locations were lost. Other places were named after the early Dutch explorers by later British explorers or colonists, for instance the Australian state of Tasmania is named after Abel Tasman. Australia itself was called New Holland by the English and Nieuw Holland by the Dutch.
Places named by the Dutch
Queensland
The Dutch charted the western side of Cape York Peninsula and the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Willem Janszoon made the first recorded European landfall in Australia during the Janszoon voyage of 1605-6.
Renamed
| Dutch name | Current name | Date | Reason for naming | Coords | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riv. met het Bosch | Pennefather River | 1606 | For being a river in the bush | 12°13′S 141°44′E / 12.217°S 141.733°E / -12.217; 141.733 (Cape York Peninsula) | Australia's first recorded place name, possibly named after the emblematic "bush". The Dutch word bosch, current spelling bos, did at the time cover meanings from shrub via bush to forest. |
| Carpentaria | Cape York Peninsula | 1623 ? | Pieter de Carpentier | 14°S 140°E / 14°S 140°E / -14; 140 (Cape York Peninsula) | |
| Van Speult Rivier | Jardine River | Dutch local governor, Herman van Speult | 10°55′S 142°12′E / 10.917°S 142.200°E / -10.917; 142.200 (Jardine River) | ||
| Batavia Rivier | Wenlock River | Batavia | 12°03′S 141°55′E / 12.050°S 141.917°E / -12.050; 141.917 (Wenlock River) |
Northern Territory
| Dutch name | English translation | Date | Reason for naming | Coords | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaap Arnhem | Cape Arnhem and Arnhem Land | 1623 | The ship Arnhem which explored the area. | 12°21′S 136°58′E / 12.350°S 136.967°E / -12.350; 136.967 (Arnhem Land) | The ship was itself named after the city of Arnhem, Gelderland. |
| Groote Eylandt | "Big island" | sighted 1623, named 1644 | 14°00′S 136°35′E / 14.000°S 136.583°E / -14.000; 136.583 (Groote Eylandt) | ||
| Wesel Eilanden | Wessel Islands | 1636 | The ship Klein Wesel or just Wezel, which explored the area. | 11°30′S 136°25′E / 11.500°S 136.417°E / -11.500; 136.417 (Van Diemen Gulf) | The ship was itself named after the city of Wesel, Duchy of Cleves. |
| Crocodils Eijlandt | Crocodile Islands | 1644 | Saltwater crocodiles | 11°53′S 135°05′E / 11.883°S 135.083°E / -11.883; 135.083 (Crocodile Islands) | |
| Kaap Van der Lijn | Cape Vanderlin | 1644 | Cornelis van der Lijn, member of the Council of India | 15°35′S 136°59′E / 15.583°S 136.983°E / -15.583; 136.983 (Cape Vanderlin) | Actually the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands, the cape name is used for the northern tip of Vanderlin Island |
| Kaap Maria | Maria Island | 1644 | Maria Van Aelst, wife of Anthony van Diemen | 14°52′S 135°44′E / 14.867°S 135.733°E / -14.867; 135.733 (Maria Island) | An island, not a cape, in the Limmen Bight, now called Maria Island |
| Limmen Bocht | Limmen Bight | 1644 | The ship Limmen, one of the three ships in Tasman's 1644 expedition. | 14°50′S 135°34′E / 14.833°S 135.567°E / -14.833; 135.567 (Limmen Bight) | The ship was itself named after the town of Limmen, Holland. |
| Van Diemen Baai | Van Diemen Gulf | 1644 | Anthony van Diemen | 12°S 132°E / 12°S 132°E / -12; 132 (Van Diemen Gulf) |
Western Australia
South Australia
| Dutch name | English translation | Date | Reason for naming | Coords | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landt van P. Nuyts | Nullarbor | 1/16/1627 | Pieter Nuyts | 32°S 132°E / 32°S 132°E / -32; 132 | Nuytsland was the given to the coast adjoining the Great Australian Bight. |
| Eijland St. François | St. Francis Island | 1627 | St. Francis via François Thijssen | 32°31′S 133°17′E / 32.517°S 133.283°E / -32.517; 133.283 | |
| Eijland St. Pieter | St. Peter Island | 1627 | St. Peter via Pieter Pietersen, the head merchant on Thijssen's expedition | 32°17′S 133°34′E / 32.283°S 133.567°E / -32.283; 133.567 |
Tasmania
| Dutch name | English translation | Date | Reason for naming | Coords | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diemens Land | Van Diemen's Land | 11/24/1642 | Anthony van Diemen | 43°35′S 146°21′E / 43.583°S 146.350°E / -43.583; 146.350 | Now known as Tasmania, after Dutch explorer Abel Tasman |
| Wits Eijlanden | De Witt Island | 1642 | Cornelis Jan Witsen, a VOC Commissioner | 43°35′S 146°21′E / 43.583°S 146.350°E / -43.583; 146.350 | |
| Sweers eijland | Sweers Island | 1642 | named after Salomon Sweers, member of the Council of India | ||
| Eijland den Maet | Maatsuyker Island | 12/1/1642 | named after Joan Maetsuycker, member of the Council of India | 43°39′18″S 146°16′23″E / 43.65500°S 146.27306°E / -43.65500; 146.27306 | |
| Pedra branca | 1642 | "towards noon we passed two rocks of which the westernmost was like Pedra Branca off the coast of China" | 43°51′S 146°58′E / 43.850°S 146.967°E / -43.850; 146.967 (Pedra branca) | Name is Portuguese in origin, although named by the Dutch Tasman | |
| Boreels-eiland | Boreel Head | 11/29/1642 | Pieter Boreel, member of the Council of India | 43°14′S 148°00′E / 43.233°S 148.000°E / -43.233; 148.000 (The Friars) | Islands now called The Friars, Boreel Head is now the nearby cape on the south of Bruny Island |
| Storm Baij | Storm Bay | 1642 | " had almost reached his intended anchorage when a heavy storm arose and he was driven out so far to sea that next morning he could hardly discern the land. It was from this incident that Storm Bay got its name." | 43°10′S 147°33′E / 43.167°S 147.550°E / -43.167; 147.550 (Storm Bay) | |
| Tasmans Eijland | Tasman Island | 1642 | 43°14′S 148°00′E / 43.233°S 148.000°E / -43.233; 148.000 (Tasman Island) | ||
| Fredericks Hendricks Baij | Frederick Hendrick Bay | 1642 | 42°51′S 147°58′E / 42.850°S 147.967°E / -42.850; 147.967 (Frederick Hendrick Bay) | nearby NE cape on Forestier Peninsula still has the name Cape Frederick Hendrick, not near Frederick Henry Bay which is on the other side of the Tasman Peninsula which he never visited. The bay he called Frederick Henry Bay is now Marion Bay | |
| Marias Eijlandt | Maria Island | 12/4/1642 | Maria Van Aelst, wife of Anthony Van Diemen | 42°37′S 148°05′E / 42.617°S 148.083°E / -42.617; 148.083 (Maria Island) | |
| Schoute Eijlandt | Schouten Island | 12/4/1642 | Justus Schouten, member of the Council of India. | 42°18′S 148°16′E / 42.300°S 148.267°E / -42.300; 148.267 (Schouten Island) | |
| Van der Lijns Eijland | Vanderlins Island | 1642 | Cornelis van der Lijn, member of the Council of India | 42°13′S 148°18′E / 42.217°S 148.300°E / -42.217; 148.300 (Freycinet Peninsula) | not an island, actually Freycinet Peninsula. When Tasman passed it he was heading east; did not see the connection to the mainland in the north. |
Places named after the Dutch
Other places were given Dutch names by later explorers or colonists in honour of the Dutch. These include:
- Duyfken Point - 12°34′S 141°35′E / 12.567°S 141.583°E / -12.567; 141.583 near Weipa where Willem Janszoon first sighted the Australian coast in 1606.
- Tasmania - Australian state, along with 31 other places with the name of Tasman in Tasmania
- Mount Heemskirk and Mount Zeehan - 41°53′S 145°20′E / 41.883°S 145.333°E / -41.883; 145.333 named by George Bass and Matthew Flinders after Abel Tasman's ships Heemskerck and Zeehaen in 1798. It is near where Tasman first sighted Tasmania. The township of Zeehan, Tasmania near Mount Zeehan was established after the discovery of tin, lead and silver deposits in 1890.
- Geelvink Channel was named after a ship, but the ship was named after Joan Geelvinck
- Vansittart Bay on the coast of Western Australia is a unique anomaly. It was named by Phillip Parker King after Nicholas Vansittart, who was an English politician of Dutch descent.
See also
- List of place names of Dutch origin
- First Dutch Expedition to Indonesia
- Second Dutch Expedition to Indonesia
- Dutch East India Company in Indonesia
- European exploration of Australia
- New Holland (Australia)
- Janszoon voyage of 1606
- Voyage of the Pera and Arnhem to Australia in 1623
- History of the Northern Territory
- History of Western Australia
- History of South Australia
- History of Tasmania
References
- Jan Tent, Geographic and Linguistic Reflections on Moent and Dubbelde Ree: Two of Australia’s First Recorded Placenames Archived 26 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Geographical Research 44(4):372–385
- "December 2007 – Australia on the Map".
- Institut, Eingestellt von CID. "Nassau River - Queensland / Australia".
- The AOTM Landings List 1606 – 1814 Archived 10 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine
Sources
- Project Gutenberg, Abel Tasman's Journal
- Dutch settlers in South Australia
- Project Gutenberg, The Discovery of Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land.), New Zealand, and Bass' Straits.