François Thijssen
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François Thijssen was a Dutch explorer who is famous because of his travel along the South coast of Australia.
He was the captain of the ship 't Gulden Zeepaerdt (The Golden Seahorse) when sailing from Cape of Good Hope to Batavia. On this travel, he ended up too far to the south and on January 26th 1627 he discovered the coast of Australia. This was near to Cape Leeuwin.
Thijssen continued to sail eastwards, mapping more than 1500 kilometres of Australia's coast. He called the land 't Land van Pieter Nuyts (The Land of Pieter Nuyts), referring to the highest VOC official aboard his ship. Part of Thijssen's map shows the islands St. Francis and St. Peter, now known as the Nuyts Archipelago.
