Australian places with Dutch names
Dutch name English translation Date Reason for naming Coords
Cabo keerweer Cape Keerweer 1606 Meaning turn-about cape , the point where the Duijfken turned back North 13°56′00″S 141°28′30″E / 13.93333°S 141.47500°E / -13.93333 ; 141.47500 ( Cape Keerweer )
Golf van Carpentaria Gulf of Carpentaria 1623 Pieter de Carpentier , then Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies 13°59′S 139°00′E / 13.983°S 139.000°E / -13.983 ; 139.000 ( Gulf of Carpentaria )
Coen Rivier Coen River 1623 Jan Pieterszoon Coen , previous Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies 13°37′S 142°08′E / 13.617°S 142.133°E / -13.617 ; 142.133 ( Coen River )
Staaten Rivier Staaten River 1623 Like Staten Island after the Staten-Generaal 16°24′S 141°17′E / 16.400°S 141.283°E / -16.400 ; 141.283 ( Staaten River )
Nassau Rivier Nassau River 1644 Maurice of Nassau , Prince of Orange 15°54′S 141°23′E / 15.900°S 141.383°E / -15.900 ; 141.383 ( Nassau River )
Van Diemens Baai Van Diemen Inlet 1644 Anthony van Diemen , then Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies 16°58′S 140°59′E / 16.967°S 140.983°E / -16.967 ; 140.983 ( Van Diemen Inlet )
Kaap Van Diemen Cape Van Diemen 1644 Anthony van Diemen 16°31′S 139°42′E / 16.517°S 139.700°E / -16.517 ; 139.700 ( Cape Van Diemen )
Places named by the Dutch -- Queensland
The Dutch charted the western side of Cape York Peninsula and the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria . Willem Janszoon made the first recorded European landfall in Australia during the Janszoon voyage of 1605-6 .
Of an estimated 200 place names the Dutch bestowed on Australian localities in the 17th century as a result of the Dutch voyages of exploration along the western, northern and southern Australian coasts, only about 35 can still be found on current maps. Five out of six names were either renamed or forgotten or their locations were lost. Other places were named after the early Dutch explorers by later British explorers or colonists, for instance the Australian state of Tasmania is named after Abel Tasman. Australia itself was called New Holland by the English and Nieuw Holland by the Dutch.