Today I read in The Gruniad that Australia may not have been discovered by Cap'n Cook afterall. Apparently, a 16th century map has turned up in a Canberra bookshop which seems to suggest that the little known Portuguese explorer, Mendonca, set foot Down Under as early as 1520, and that he went about giving every cove, promontory and hut Portuguese names that were subsequently recorded on the aforesaid document. The plan's authenticity does not seem to be in doubt: just the interpretation, which is not as straightforward as one may presume. After a bit of jiggery-pokery with a scanned copy of the chart in question, its finder was able to locate Brisbane airport to a 'very precise degree' - which causes one to wonder why we Brits went to all the trouble of sailing our convicts half-way around the world when they could fly there in a fraction of the time (or maybe it was the thought of using TAP [Take Another Plane] that convinced them to go the long way). Of course, the Australian Aborigines must have been totally confused: not only did they find out that they were lost for the Europeans to discover, but their genius in building the world's first airport has been widely ignored. B'm dia, cobbers.

Extra, extra, read all about it