Captain Cook gave this island [Magnetic Island] the wrong name, but somehow got it right (www.brisbanetimes.com.au)

submitted 6 months ago by Zagorath@aussie.zone to c/australia@aussie.zone

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[-] Zagorath@aussie.zone 8 points 6 months ago

The story of its name is fascinating.

during his voyage up the east coast of Australia in 1770, passed by and witnessed his compass go crazy.

It must be something to do with this island, thought Cook, with its dramatic coastline of huge boulders, piled on top of each other –hence the name.

It was, however, a blunder. There was nothing on the island that affected Cook’s instruments (despite modern efforts to figure out what might have caused the phenomenon). So rather than retain it as some kind of tribute to the great explorer, reverting to its original name would also cover up one of Cook’s embarrassing mistakes.

I so desperately want to know what the actual cause of his compass going wild was!

[-] Bangeo@aussie.zone 2 points 6 months ago

Turn out in 1770 there was a solar flare between September 16-18. He apparently named the island in June so the timelines dont match exactly from what we know but its a possibility.

this post was submitted on 26 Apr 2024

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