Who Discovered Hervey Bay and Fraser Island?
It may not be who we thought it was.
Everyone presumes that James Cook was the first white explorer to chart the east coast of Fraser Island but that may not be the case.
Back in 1970 a lead fishing sinker was discovered on Fraser Island that was probably made from lead mined in Portugal or the south of France sometime around 1500. How that fishing sinker got there has been a mystery but now Australian Historian Peter Trickett may have found solved the mystery.
It seems that there is some evidence that Portuguese explorers mapped the east coast of Australia around 1522. They may have even reached the eastern most part of the Great Australian Bight and along they way they may have sailed into Botany Bay.
It’s an interesting theory and one that Peter Trickett expands on in his new book, ‘Beyond Capricorn’
You can read more about his theory on the New Zealand Herald’s website here
