Lucky Eddie
Sr. Member
- Feb 9, 2010
- 358
- 188
An interesting topic for research maybe.
Much is known of the discoveries of Australia by some presume the Chinese fleets of Zeng He in the 1400's, Portugal's Christopher Mendonca in the early to mid 1500's and later the Dutch & French in the 1600's, the English in the 1700s and so it goes.
An item of interest to me is the little known "Seaman H, 1771" rock inscription located in the Kimberleys region of Western Australia!.
I've studied what I can find of early navigators travels in this area, and so far at least find no record of any voyages past this section of Australian coast line in 1771 within the common English, French, Dutch, Portuguese. Spanish expeditioners.
Yes Capt Cook Did sail the Endeavor back to England from the east coast of Australia (Botany Bay / Sydney) in 1771 - but certainly not bye this route past north west of Western Australia.
So - one gets to wondering who was this as yet unknown explorer / seaman, who landed on our North Western Shores of the Kimberley region, and engraved the first Letter of his name "H" and the year "1771" indelibly into the rocks there?
Leaving a record of ones visit is not so strange many did so upon our shores including Pieter Albertz of the Vergulde Draeck in 1656, Wickham and Stokes in the HMS Beagle in 1840, as but two well known examples.
But for such a man to have left such an inscription on our shores in the even now remote Kimberley's in the year 1771, we need to have had a voyage to these parts in that year.
So far - i've been unable to locate such a voyage mentioned anywhere on the internet or in the books etc that I've studied that encompasses that year and that area.
There are recorded voyages both before and after, but non so far in that year that I'm aware of that encompass the year 1771 and that p[articular part of Australia.
Anyone out there aware of any such voyages that might account for such an historic inscription?
Many thanks in advance.
Much is known of the discoveries of Australia by some presume the Chinese fleets of Zeng He in the 1400's, Portugal's Christopher Mendonca in the early to mid 1500's and later the Dutch & French in the 1600's, the English in the 1700s and so it goes.
An item of interest to me is the little known "Seaman H, 1771" rock inscription located in the Kimberleys region of Western Australia!.
I've studied what I can find of early navigators travels in this area, and so far at least find no record of any voyages past this section of Australian coast line in 1771 within the common English, French, Dutch, Portuguese. Spanish expeditioners.
Yes Capt Cook Did sail the Endeavor back to England from the east coast of Australia (Botany Bay / Sydney) in 1771 - but certainly not bye this route past north west of Western Australia.
So - one gets to wondering who was this as yet unknown explorer / seaman, who landed on our North Western Shores of the Kimberley region, and engraved the first Letter of his name "H" and the year "1771" indelibly into the rocks there?
Leaving a record of ones visit is not so strange many did so upon our shores including Pieter Albertz of the Vergulde Draeck in 1656, Wickham and Stokes in the HMS Beagle in 1840, as but two well known examples.
But for such a man to have left such an inscription on our shores in the even now remote Kimberley's in the year 1771, we need to have had a voyage to these parts in that year.
So far - i've been unable to locate such a voyage mentioned anywhere on the internet or in the books etc that I've studied that encompasses that year and that area.
There are recorded voyages both before and after, but non so far in that year that I'm aware of that encompass the year 1771 and that p[articular part of Australia.
Anyone out there aware of any such voyages that might account for such an historic inscription?
Many thanks in advance.
