History
Abel Tasman led the first known European expedition to sight Tasmania. His journal entry for 29 November 1642 records that he observed a rock which was similar to a rock named Pedra Branca off China, presumably referring to the Pedra Branca in the South China Sea. The journal places Pedra Branca about 4 miles (6.4 km) from the mainland of Tasmania, however a Dutch mile from this period was about 5.8 km, thus 4 such Dutch miles would be 23 km, which is close to the actual distance of Pedra Branca from South East Cape.
Read more about this topic: Pedra Branca (Tasmania)
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