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Posted on 10/06/2002 5:55:10 PM PDT by blam
Ship find may predate Cook
07oct02
THE discovery of an ancient wreck on Fraser Island yesterday threw doubt on whether Captain James Cook was the first European to land on the east coast of Australia.
A Queensland-led team of archaeologists uncovered what they claimed was a 16th century shipwreck on the eastern shoreline of Fraser Island.
The 30m wreck is believed to be Portuguese or Spanish.
Photographs of three cannons visible during low tide will be sent to international experts to verify their age.
"Based on the shape of the cannon it looks like probably a 16th century shipwreck," team spokesman Greg Jefferys said. "We've found a whole row of deck cannon there, so it's convinced me that it's a significant military exploration ship rather than just a trading ship.
"We're 99.9 per cent sure that we've got something that will re-write the text books."
If the wreck is confirmed to be from the 16th century, it will prove Capt Cook was not the first European to land on the east coast of Australia.
While Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch captains charted much of the northern and western coasts of Australia during the 16th and 17th centuries, it was Capt Cook who is credited with discovering the east coast in the 1770s.
Capt Cook charted the coasts of eastern Australia and NZ and discovered the strait separating Australia from Papua New Guinea.
The archaeology team believes there are more pre-Cook ship wrecks along the Queensland coast.
True, but soon his goose was cooked.
Que pasa, Mate!
It's just not gonna be the same, when the Crocodile man sounds like Senor Wences...
This thing has been sitting there in plain sight in shallow water all these years,and nobody salvaged the cannons?
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