The history of charting Australia’s coastline is well documented from most perspectives,
but not from a toponymic standpoint. Between 1606 and 1803, some nine hundred
European placenames were bestowed along the Australian coast. Authors Jan Tent and Helen Slatyer report here on an investigation and analysis of the place-naming practices of the Dutch, French, and English along the Australian coastline between 1606 and 1803, and show how these names reflect the social and political attitudes and motivations of the name-givers.
More information on, and publications from Linguist Dr. Jan Tent
