Being over 100 years old this book reveals some relevant facts, still rarely known even today, over the discovery of Australia. Although some doubts still prevail about who were the first Europeans to set foot on Australia. Between 1511 and 1536 the Portuguese draw maps of the big southern island. Although Portuguese maps were lost in 1755 when an earthquake and subsequent fire destroyed national archives, copies of this maps made by the French survived to present days. It is thus clear that more than 200 years before Cook reached Australia, the Portuguese had already sailed the shores of Australia. The book contains a lot of interesting facts and is easy to read. An interesting document for those who are curious about the discovery of Australia, sailing or the history of Europe in the 16th/18th centuries.