William Dampier Explores Western Australia

1699

The English buccaneer-turned-naval captain William Dampier, commanding HMS Roebuck, surveyed parts of the coast of New Holland and New Guinea. His detailed descriptions of Aboriginal people, mangrove forests, and curious marsupials would eventually influence the planning of Captain Cook's later voyages. Scientific exploration had begun supplementing plunder, and the Enlightenment habit of careful observation was reaching even the farthest shores.