| After the success of his book A New Voyage Round The World , in 1699, the now ex-pirate William Dampier was given the task of exploring New Holland for the English. |
This time around he captained the Roebuck, a leaky castoff of the Admiralty, and had planned to sail east from Cape Horn to New Holland. Delays caused the expedition to depart during winter and bad weather forced him to follow the standard Dutch South Africa route instead (which probably prevented him from discovering Australia's east coast).
Dampier landed on Australia's west coast, a little further south of where Dirk Hartog had landed over 80 years before. Using Tasman's charts he sailed North to Timor, discovered New Britain and sailed through the Dampier Strait.
He had hoped to circumnavigate New Holland but the Roebuck was damaged and he returned to England only to face a court martial.
Historians blame his scathing reports on miserable conditions of the west coast for discouraging any further exploration of New Holland for many years.
MORE INFORMATION ON THIS TRIP
Dampier's Voyage In The Roebuck
and
An Account Of New Holland And Adjacent Islands by William Dampier
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