George Collingridge

author

George Collingridge

1847–1931

Best known for arguing that Portuguese sailors reached Australia before the Dutch, this English-born Australian writer and illustrator led a remarkably varied life. He was also a painter, engraver, teacher, and energetic self-taught historian whose work helped keep early exploration debates alive.

1 Audiobook

The First Discovery of Australia and New Guinea Being The Narrative of Portuguese and Spanish Discoveries in the Australasian Regions, between the Years 1492-1606, with Descriptions of their Old Charts.

The First Discovery of Australia and New Guinea Being The Narrative of Portuguese and Spanish Discoveries in the Australasian Regions, between the Years 1492-1606, with Descriptions of their Old Charts.

by George Collingridge

About the author

Born in Oxfordshire in 1847 and raised partly in France, George Alphonse Collingridge de Tourcey built an unusually adventurous early life before settling in Australia. Sources describe him studying art in Paris, serving with the Papal Zouaves, spending time in North America, and eventually emigrating to New South Wales in 1879, where he worked as an illustrator, engraver, and later an art teacher.

Collingridge became known in Australia as an artist and man of letters, but he is remembered most for his historical writing. His best-known book, The Discovery of Australia, argued that Portuguese navigators may have reached the continent in the 16th century. That theory remains debated, yet it gave him a lasting place in discussions about the mapping and early exploration of Australia.

He died in Sydney in 1931. Today, he stands out as a curious and wide-ranging figure: a practicing artist who turned deep personal enthusiasm for maps, history, and exploration into books that continued to attract attention long after his lifetime.