Cape York was the first place on the Australian mainland that Europeans discovered. It was in February 1606 the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon and his ship the Duyfken, landed on the west coast of the Cape. Spanish explorer Luis Vaz de Torres came later, sailing through and navigating the area now named after him, the Torres Strait.
This is one of Australia’s last great wilderness areas. A most interesting part of Australia with a very colourful history. From the early European explorers to the pioneers, miners, settlers, sailors, and shipwrecks, the region even played a pivotal roll in World War II when the north of the country was in defence.
Ironically, Cape York was the last part of the country to be explored and settled by Europeans. There have been many books written on the area over the years which document the hardships, the tenacity and the characters that have been part of this land. The idea behind this website is to convert old books to electronic format and bring them in line with the way of today. To keep these stories in circulation, so they are available for future generations.
Note: The books are available in two e formats, one for Kindle and the other is EPUB, EPUB is suitable for all other devices, iPhone, PC etc. You may be required to download a EPUB reader first to view the files.
We have many more books we would like to publish. It’s a slow process finding the rightful owner of the copy right to these books so long after publication has ceased. Maybe you or someone you know has the rights to an old Cape York book, if so please contact us.
© Cape York Telegraph 2025