400 years ago : exploration of Terra Australis.

From the beginning of the 17th century Dutch sailors started scouting and mapping the region around Australia and New Zealand.

On the occasion of the celebration of "Netherlands - Australia 1606 - 2006" the Dutch Royal Library (Koninklijke Bibliotheek) presents the complete digital facsimiles of five early Dutch books on the exploration of Australia on its site. All 17th century texts are provided with short introductions, page by page English translations and bibliographical descriptions. A real gold mine !
It's all on the web exhibition Barren Regions.

Dutch immigrants to Australia.

The National Archive (Nationaal Archief) put a database online, containing the names of over 50.000 Dutch emigrants to Australia (1946 - 1991).
More on Dutch immigration and general historical information on the 400th anniversary of the first Dutch contact with Australia on www.nederland-australie2006.nl.