Volume 14 Australasia - dana ward's homepage

—294 AUSTRALASIA.Medici mentions the existence of a very extensive region stretching east of theMoluccas, and the reference was probably to Papuasia. But most historiansattribute its actual discovery, or at least that of some of its contiguous islands, tothe Portuguese Jorge de Menezes. The " good haven of Versiya," where thisnavigator wintered in 1526-27, was perhaps the present Warsai, near the northwestextremity of the mainland. But, however this be, there can be no doubt as tothe direction followed by Menezes's immediate successor, the Spaniard Alvaro deSaavedra. In 1528 this explorer cast anchor near an " island of gold," which seemsto be one of those situated in Geelvink Bay, and the following year he coasted aland south of the equator, which extended south-eastwards across several degreesof longitude, and which was certainly the New Guinea seaboard. Sixteen yearslater Retis gave this region the name it now bears, and took j^ossession of it forFig. 129.Chief Exploeations on the Coasts and in the Interioe of New Guinea.Scale 1 : 24,000,000.h?jsb oF Greenthe Spanish crown. At that time, however, it was still uncertain whether it wasan island or a part of the Australasian mainland. Doubtless some charts datingfrom the sixteenth century already represent Papuasia as an island ; but on others,notably that of Valentijn, prepared in the eighteenth century, it still figures as apart of Australia.Yet its insular character had already been practically demonstrated in 1G06 bythe Spanish pilot, Torres, who had penetrated into the dangerous strait namedfrom him, and who had at the same time surveyed the south coast of New Guinea.But this discovery, carefully concealed as a state secret in the archives of Manilla,had at last been forgotten by the Spaniards themselves.It was again brought tolight, however, by Dalrymplc during the temporary occupation of Manilla by theEngli.sh in 17(i2 ; and in 1770, Cook, resuming the itinerary of the Spanish navigator,traversed the strait which he supposed he was the first to visit. Henceforth