Australia on the Map - While the Duyfken may have been the first European ship to come here why do most Australians think nothing really happened until Captain Cook and the First Fleet came along?

While the Duyfken may have been the first European ship to come here why do most Australians think nothing really happened until Captain Cook and the First Fleet came along?

History can be a complex narrative. People like to simplify it and focus on the dramatic events and embrace the heroes of the hour. Until the end of the Second World War, Australia had a predominantly British heritage. Since the war that has changed and we are now a multicultural society. There is a growing realization that we also have a multicultural history that begins well before Captain Cook and the First Fleet, important as they are. Furthermore, it was not until 1925, when a copy of the chart made by the Duyfken was discovered, that we were sure that this ship, and its Captain Willem Janszoon, really had first visited in 1606. This fact, and the richness of our early history, is only starting to filter through now. “Australia on the Map: 1606 – 2006” is a way of bringing this all together and acknowledging that many others apart form Captain Cook and the First Fleet had a significant role in the unveiling of Australia and in the making of our nation.