First European Landing in Australia

Date: February 26, 1606 • Location: North Fly, Papua New Guinea

Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon made the first recorded European landing in Australia, although he believed that he was on New Guinea.

Willem Janszoon was a Dutch navigator and colonial governor. He served in the Dutch East Indies in the periods 1603–1611 and 1612–1616, including as governor of Fort Henricus on the island of Solor. During his voyage of 1605–1606, Janszoon and his crew became the first Europeans known to have seen and land on the coast of Australia.