led
him to believe; and it would really seem to be a fact that Tasman had
placed this coast too far to westward.

[* See No. XXXVI _infra_.]

[** The names there conferred by him on various parts of the coast, may
be sufficiently gathered from Document No. XXXVI.]

{Page viii}

IV.

THE NETHERLANDERS ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST OF AUSTRALIA.

In a previous work [*] I have attempted to show that the discovery of
Arnhemsland must beyond any doubt be credited to the voyage of the yacht
Arnhem, commanded by Van Colster or Van Coolsteerdt, which took place in
1623. Since the Journal and the charts of this voyage are no longer
available, we are without the most important data for determining with
certainty between what degrees of longitude the Arnhemsland then
discovered was situated. To westward of it must be sought Van Diemens-
and Maria's-land, touched at in 1636 by Pieter Pieterszoon with the ships
Cleen Amsterdam and Wesell) [**]. There can be no doubt that Pieterszoon
must have sailed far enough to westward to have passed Dundas Strait, and
to have reached the western extremity of Melville Island (Roode hoek =
red point). He took Dundas Strait to be not a strait, but a bay, and
accordingly looked upon Melville Island not as an island, but as a
portion of the mainland (Van Diemensland) [***].

[* See my Life of Tasman, pp. 100-102, and the Documents under No. XIV, 2
_infra_.]

[** See the Documents under No. XXV.]

[*** Maria-land lies immediately to eastward of Van Diemens-land, and to
westward of Arnhems-land.]

In the course of these two voyages of 1623 and 1636, therefore, the whole
of the north-west coast from Melville Bay to Melville Island was surveyed
by Dutch ships. But in the absence of charts made on these voyages it is
impossible for us to say with certainty, whether the coastline can have
been traced with correctness. On this point also more light is thrown by
the well-known chart of 1644, in which the results of Tasman's voyages
are recorded. Tasman sailed along the whole of the coast, but in this
case too, his observations were not on all points accurate. Thus the
situation of Wessel-eiland and the islets south of it, with respect to
the mainland, is not given correctly by him; nor has he apprehended the
real character of Dundas Strait and of Van Diemen's Gulf, so that also
according to him Melville island forms part of the mainland. But for the
rest Tasman's chart also in this case approximately