“ In 1574 Fernandez discovered St Felix and St Ambrose islands (in 27° S., 82° 7′ W.) ; and in 1576, while voyaging in the southern ocean, he is said to have sighted not only Easter Island, but also a continent, which was probably Australia or New Zealand if the story (rejected by most critics, but with reservations as to Easter Island) is to be accepted.
See J. L. Arias, Memoir recommending to the king the conversion of the new discovered islands (in Spanish, 1609; Eng. trans., 1773) ; Ulloa, Relacion del Viaje, bk. ii. ”