The Last Navigator Whom We Noticed As Having Added To Our Knowledge
Respecting New Holland, Was Dampier, Who In This
Portion of the globe, not
only discovered the Strait that separates New Guinea from New Britain, but
also surveyed the
North-west coast of New Holland; and, contrary to the
Dutch charts, laid down De Witt's land as a cluster of islands, and gave it
as his opinion that the northern part of New Holland was separated from the
lands to the southward by a strait. Scarcely any thing was added to the
geography of this portion of the globe, between the last voyage of Dampier,
and the first voyage of Cook. One of the principal objects of this voyage
of our celebrated navigator, was to examine the coast of New Holland; and
he performed this object most completely, so far as the east coast was
concerned, from the 38th degree of latitude to its northern extremity; he
also proved that it was separated from New Guinea, by passing through the
channel, which he called after his ship, Endeavour Strait. In the year
1791, Captain Vancouver explored 110 leagues of the south-west coast, where
he discovered King George's Sound, and some clusters of small islands. In
the same year two vessels were dispatched from France in search of La
Peyrouse; in April 1792, they made several observations on Van Dieman's
Land, the south cape of which they thought was separated from the main
land; they also discovered a great harbour.
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