Australian places with Dutch names
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Of an estimated 200 place names the Dutch bestowed on Australian localities in the 17th century as a result of the
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
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.Jan Tent
Geographic and Linguistic Reflections on Moent and Dubbelde Ree: Two of Australia’s First Recorded Placenames
, ''Geographical Research'' 44(4):372–385
Other places were named after the early Dutch explorers by later British explorers or colonists, for instance the Australian state of
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
is named after
Abel Tasman Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first known European explorer to reach New ...
. 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 Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupació ...
and the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Willem Janszoon Willem Janszoon (; ), sometimes abbreviated to Willem Jansz., was a Dutch navigator and colonial governor. Janszoon served in the Dutch East Indies in the periods 16031611 and 16121616, including as governor of Fort Henricus on the island of S ...
made the first recorded European landfall in Australia during the
Janszoon voyage of 1605-6 Janszoon usually abbreviated to Jansz was a Dutch patronym ("son of Jan"). While Janse, Janssens, and especially Jansen and Janssen, are very common surnames derived from this patronym, the form Jansz is quite rare and Janszoon itself does not e ...
.


Renamed


Northern Territory


Western Australia


South Australia


Tasmania


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 - near
Weipa Weipa () is a coastal mining town in the local government area of Weipa Town in Queensland. It is the largest town on the Cape York Peninsula. It exists because of the enormous bauxite deposits along the coast. The Port of Weipa is mainly invol ...
where
Willem Janszoon Willem Janszoon (; ), sometimes abbreviated to Willem Jansz., was a Dutch navigator and colonial governor. Janszoon served in the Dutch East Indies in the periods 16031611 and 16121616, including as governor of Fort Henricus on the island of S ...
first sighted the Australian coast in 1606. *
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
- Australian state, along wit
31 other places
with the name of Tasman in Tasmania * Mount Heemskirk and Mount Zeehan - named by
George Bass George Bass (; 30 January 1771 – after 5 February 1803) was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia. Early years Bass was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George ...
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 Zeehan is a town on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia south-west of Burnie. It is part of the West Coast Council, along with the seaport Strahan, and neighbouring mining towns of Dundas, Rosebery and Queenstown. History The greater ...
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 Rear Admiral Phillip Parker King, FRS, RN (13 December 1791 – 26 February 1856) was an early explorer of the Australian and Patagonian coasts. Early life and education King was born on Norfolk Island, to Philip Gidley King and Ann ...
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 The Second Dutch Expedition to East Indies was an expedition that took place from 1598 to 1600, one of the Dutch forays into the East Indies spice trade that led to the establishment of the Dutch East India Company. It was led by Jacob Cornelius ...
*
Dutch East India Company in Indonesia Company rule in the Dutch East Indies began when the Dutch East India Company (Dutch: Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, "United East India Company"; VOC) appointed the first governor-general of the Dutch East Indies in 1610, and ended in 180 ...
*
European exploration of Australia The European exploration of Australia first began in February 1606, when Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon landed in Cape York Peninsula and on October that year when Spanish explorer Luís Vaz de Torres sailed through, and navigated, Torres Stra ...
*
New Holland (Australia) ''New Holland'' ( nl, Nieuw-Holland) is a historical European name for mainland Australia. The name was first applied to Australia in 1644 by the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman. The name came for a time to be applied in most European maps to the ...
* Janszoon voyage of 1606 *
Voyage of the Pera and Arnhem to Australia in 1623 The ''Pera'' and ''Arnhem'' were two ships from the Dutch East India Company (Dutch: ''Vereenigde Oost-Indische Companie'' or ''VOC'') that explored the north Australian coast in 1623. Arnhem Land is named after the ''Arnhem'' while the ship itse ...
*
History of the Northern Territory The History of the Northern Territory began over 60,000 years ago when Indigenous Australians settled the region. Makassan traders began trading with the indigenous people of the Northern Territory for trepang from at least the 18th century onw ...
*
History of Western Australia The human history of Western Australia commenced between 40,000 and 60,000 years ago with the arrival of Aboriginal Australians on the northwest coast. The first inhabitants expanded across the east and south of the continent. The first record ...
*
History of South Australia The history of South Australia includes the history of the Australian state of South Australia since Federation in 1901, and the area's preceding Indigenous and British colonial societies. Aboriginal Australians of various nations or tribes hav ...
*
History of Tasmania The history of Tasmania begins at the end of the most recent ice age (approximately 10,000 years ago) when it is believed that the island was joined to the Australian mainland. Little is known of the human history of the island until the Britis ...


References


Sources


Project Gutenberg, Abel Tasman's Journal




{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Places With Dutch Names
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
Dutch language lists Maritime history of the Dutch East India Company Dutch-Australian culture