Captained by Willem Janszoon, the Dutch ship Duyfken (Little Dove) recorded the first confirmed European sighting of Australia in 1606 and was the first of many expeditions to chart parts of the Australian coastline.

The Duyfken charted the shores of Cape York Peninsula and landed at the Pennefather River in the Gulf of Carpentaria. This was the first authenticated European landing on Australian soil.

‘There was much fighting between the Dutch and the warriors. The Dutch shot many Aboriginal people along the river and in the bush land. Also, the warriors speared and killed some Dutchmen and made the Dutch go back to their ship. The warriors and the Aboriginal people saw the Dutch return back to where they came from.’

– Yuknaporta F. Aboriginal tradition re the Duyfken, 1999. Quoted in Henderson J. Sent forth a dove: discovery of the Duyfken. Nedlands (WA): University of Western Australia Press, 1999.