Coin Indicates Cook Not First To Discover Australia

Did Columbus really discover America? A single Norse coin suggests otherwise. Did Captain James Cook discover Australia? Well, an African coin may also suggest otherwise--actually, several coins.

It is certain Cook reached Botany Bay in what is today Sydney in 1770. He claimed the continent for Great Britain, declaring the continent “terra nullius.” The first Englishman known to have physically landed on the Australian mainland was former pirate William Dampier (1651-1715). Since that time accolades have been heaped on Cook for his discovery.

The evidence is slim, century. The aboriginal settlers likely originated from the Malay Archipelago.