Between 1890 and 1925 Collingridge devoted two books and some thirty articles to establishing Portuguese priority for the discovery by Europeans of Australia. He based himself largely, but far from solely, on the maps produced at Dieppe between 1536 and
1566 showing a large land mass, Jave-la Grande, in the right latitudes for Australia, but wrong longitudes. Collingridge's magnum opus is The Discovery of Australia (Sydney, 1895); the smaller First Discovery of Australia and New Guinea (Sydney, 1906) was designed for New South Wales schools but, owing to a change in administration, not adopted. He amassed formidable documentation, especially cartographic, in support of his thesis that the Portuguese had charted all but the south coast of Australia before 1530, and he put forward his views with great vigour and ingenuity; his skill as a draughtsman provided sometimes quaint illustrations to a lively if not always well-organized presentation. The analysis of the nomenclature on the Dieppe maps is thorough and acute, and since his work hardly any serious student, even amongst those who discount the evidential value of the maps, has disputed their Portuguese origins. With all its flaws, The Discovery of Australia is certainly a remarkable work for its time and especially for its place, far from the great centres of palaeocartographical research. The book has many beautiful coloured maps.
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