George Collingridge

author

George Collingridge

1847–1931

Best known for arguing that Portuguese sailors reached Australia before the Dutch, this lively nineteenth-century writer and illustrator brought big historical theories and a visual artist’s eye to his work. He moved easily between art, journalism, language study, and historical debate.

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 on 29 October 1847, he spent much of his childhood and education in France, studying at the Jesuit College at Vaugirard and later training in art and design in Paris. In 1879 he settled in Australia, where he worked as an engraver and illustrator for newspapers and built a wider career as a painter, writer, and teacher.

He became especially known for his book The Discovery of Australia (1895), which argued that Portuguese navigators may have reached the continent in the sixteenth century. Although that theory remained controversial, it gave him a lasting place in Australian historical discussion and showed the range of his interests as a researcher and public thinker.

Beyond history, he was active across many fields, including illustration, landscape painting, language study, and educational writing. He died on 1 June 1931, remembered as a restless and curious figure whose work connected art, scholarship, and the early cultural life of Australia.