The first known European explorer to visit the region was the Dutch Willem Janszoon (whose name is also written as Jansz) in his 1605-6 voyage.
The first overland expedition to reach the Gulf was the Burke and Wills expedition, led by Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills which left Melbourne, Victoria in August 1860 and reached the Bynoe River, Queensland in February 1861.