[The following takes place roughly during the 16th and 17 centuries.]
Contemporary globes and maps continued to indicate the presence of Terra Australis in this area. Over the years, elements of fantasy had crept into descriptions of the South-Land, and in the sixteenth century faulty interpretation of the works of Marco Polo led to the addition of three imaginary provinces to maps of the southern continent.
The most important of the three was Beach, which appeared on many charts with the alluring label provincial aurifera, “gold-bearing land”; sailors often referred to the whole South-Land by this name. The other imaginary provinces were Maletur (scatens aromaibus, a region overflowing with spices) and Lucach, which was said as late as 1601 to have received an embassy from Java. The existence of these three provinces was an article of faith for most Europeans; in 1545 the Spaniards had actually appointed a governor of the nonexistent Beach – a certain Pedro Sancho de la Hoz, who was one of the conquistadors of Chile.
Source:
Dash, Mike. “Terra Australis Incognia.” Batavia's Graveyard. Three Rivers Press, 2003. 134. Print.
Further Reading:
I assumed they figured it out that it didn't exist when he went to go govern and couldn't find it???