Beyond Capricorn

'Beyond Capricorn' radically rewrites the first chapter of European contact with Australia and New Zealand. In 'Beyond Capricorn', Peter Trickett challenges the commonly held view that the European discovery of Australia and New Zealand was made first by the Dutch, followed later by Britain's Captain James Cook. Trickett argues the remarkable claim that in the year 1522 - a century before the Dutch and 250 years before Captain Cook - the Portuguese sailed past Fraser Island and into Botany Bay, around Wilson's Promontory, and as far as Kangaroo Island before returning to their base in Malacca via the North Island of New Zealand. Drawing from primary and secondary historical sources, archaeological evidence and stories handed down through Aboriginal oral tradition, Peter Trickett tells a story of espionage, revenge and secret voyages made by the Portuguese to corner the fabulously rich spice trade in the east and find the islands of gold alluded to by Marco Polo. Secret voyages that resulted in the discovery of Australia and New Zealand almost 500 years ago.