230 



THE DISCOVERY OF AUSTRALIA 



is unbroken coastline or made up of islands. Only the Lord 

 knows the real state of the affair. It would seem never 

 to have been made or discovered by anyone before us, 

 as we never heard of such a discovery, and the chart 

 shows nothing but open ocean at this place." The Captain 

 suggests that " this land is a fit point to be made by ships 

 coming here with the Eastern monsoon in order to get 

 a fixed course for Java." 



By 1618 news had reached Holland of the discovery 

 of Eendrachtsland, and the captains sailing on the new 

 route were on the look-out for the coast, which some 

 identified with the Terra Australis of Mercatorian maps, 

 about which, it was believed, Marco Polo had written. 

 They expected, it seems, that Eendrachtsland would 

 prove to be Marco Polo's Beach, with its great supply 

 of gold, of elephants, and spices. In 1619 two ships 

 were sailing for Batavia under Commander Frederick 

 de Houtman. "On the I9th of July," he writes, " we 

 suddenly came upon this South-land of Beach in 32 

 20' " ; that is, slightly to the South of Perth. " We 

 resolved to use our utmost endeavour to obtain some 

 knowledge of this coast, which seems to be a very good 

 land, but could find no spot for convenient landing owing 

 to the surf and heavy seas." For nine days they sought 

 to land, and failed. At last they were " forced to leave 

 the land aforesaid, not deeming it advisable to continue 

 inshore in the bad weather with such heavy ships, and 

 such costly cargoes as we had entrusted to our care, being 

 contented with having seen the land, which at more favour- 

 able time may be more fully explored with more fitting 

 vessels and smaller craft." 



On the evening of the 28th of July, the land was out 

 of sight, and " deeming ourselves to be in an open sea 

 we shaped our course North by East." During the night 

 of the 29th, however, three hours before daybreak, 

 " we again unexpectedly came upon a low-lying coast, 

 a level broken country with reefs all round it. We saw 

 no high land or mainland, so that this shoal is to be care- 

 fully avoided, as very dangerous to ships that wish to touch 



