One of the rarest maps in the world, a 17th century depiction of New Holland, will go on display for the first time in Canberra after being forgotten for a century.

The large-scale map, Archipelagus Orientalis, sive Asiaticus (the Eastern and Asian archipelago), was created in 1663 by the master cartographer for the Dutch East India Company, Joan Blaeu.

It formed the basis for all other maps of New Holland and was used by Captain James Cook to complete the mapping of Australia in 1770.

"For the first time we can show you the rarest of rare, the map which is considered by many to be Australia's birth certificate," said National Library of Australia Council chair Ryan Stokes.

"It's the first map that tells the rest of the world where we are.

"What you see is a rare, fragile and remarkable piece of Australian history."

The map features the first detailed sightings of Tasmania by Abel Tasman's crew aboard the Zeehaen in 1642.

"It's the first time Tasmania appears on a map. It's the first time Australia is named by the Dutch and it's the first time New Zealand is named by the Dutch," curator Martin Woods said.

"It represents 40 years of Dutch discoveries in Australia and was really there as a status symbol ... of the Dutch prowess in the Pacific and Indian oceans."

The library acquired the fragile map after it was uncovered three years ago in a storage facility in Sweden.

"The fact it survived at all is remarkable, and probably owes much to the fact no-one knew it existed for about a century," Mr Stokes said.

Four conservators are working full-time to stabilise the map so it can feature in the Mapping Our World: Terra Incognita to Australia exhibition opening at the National Library next month.

"It was created 350 years ago, and we know that it was displayed in a public building or perhaps a private palace in the Netherlands, but we know nothing until 1950 where it is recorded in a sale catalogue of a Stockholm antique map dealer," Dr Woods said.

Loading...

Mapping Our World will feature many of the world's greatest maps, including treasures from the British Library, the Vatican, and the Bibliotheque Nationale de France.

Dr Woods says it is the first time many of the maps have been seen in the southern hemisphere.

"The exhibition tells the story of the imaginings of Australia from ancient Greek days all the way through medieval Europe to the Dutch and French and Portuguese and Spanish explorations in this part of the world, and finishing with the original mapping by Flinders and Cook," Mr Woods said.

Actor Russell Crowe, who has an interest in maps, will open the exhibition on November 7.

Entry is free; however, bookings are required.