In "Northmost Australia," Robert Logan Jack deftly immerses readers in an exploration of the Australian northern landscape, characterized by its vibrant flora, fauna, and indigenous cultures. Written in a narrative style that seamlessly blends scientific observation with lyrical prose, the book captures the essence of the region's natural beauty and the intricacies of its ecosystems. Set against the backdrop of the late 19th century, Jack's work reflects the burgeoning interest in natural ...

The often harsh and unforgiving Australian landscape was a far cry from what the early colonisers were used to, and it proved a daunting obstacle to settlement. However, a few brave and at times foolhardy men were determined to prove themselves equal to the challenge. AUSTRALIA'S GREAT EXPLORERS looks at the tragedies and triumphs of men such as Wentworth and Lawson, Hume and Hovell, Burke and Wills, Leichhardt and Strzelecki as they battled to conquer the Great Diving Range, find an elusi...

Lust, science, adventure -- Joseph Banks and his voyages of discoverySir Joseph Banks was a man of passion whose influence spanned the globe. A fearless adventurer, his fascination with beautiful women was only trumped by his obsession with the natural world and his lust for scientific knowledge.Fabulously wealthy, Banks was the driving force behind monumental voyages and scientific discoveries in Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific, Europe, North Ame...

In Cook's relatively short and adventurous life (1728-79) he voyaged to the eastern and western seaboards of North America, the North and South Pacific and the Arctic and Antarctic bringing about a new comprehension of the world's geography and its people's. He was the linking figure between the grey specualtion of the early eighteenth century and the industrial age of the first half of the nineteenth century.Richard Hough's biograpahy is full of new insights and interpretations of...

In 1770, Captain James Cook sailed up the east coast of Australia in his ship, the HM Bark Endeavour. Setting out from England in 1768, he was given two instructions: to observe the transit of Venus and to find and chart the mythical "Great Southern Land". He succeeded in both tasks, despite he and his crew facing great hardship and danger, to complete one of the great voyages of exploration. But as a result of this voyage and reports made later by Joseph Banks, botanist on board the Endea...

‘What joy to be at sea again, adrift on the vast Pacific, in the clutches of a gifted storyteller. Harrison Christian and the mutineers of Men Without Country held me happily captive to the very last page.’ Dava Sobel, author of LongitudeA mission to collect breadfruit from Tahiti becomes the most famous mutiny in history when the crew rise up against Captain William Bligh, with accusations of food restrictions and unfair punishments.Bligh...

In Bligh, the story of the most notorious of all Pacific explorers is told through a new lens as a significant episode in the history of the world, not simply of the West. Award-winning anthropologist Anne Salmond recounts the triumphs and disasters of William Bligh's life and career in a riveting narrative that for the first time portrays the Pacific islanders as key players. From 1777, Salmond charts Bligh's three Pacific voyages – with Captain James Cook in the Resolution, on board the ...

The Australian Exploration Anthology features the first-hand personal accounts of the explorers: Captain William Dampier, Captain James Cook, Matthew Flinders, John McDouall Stuart, John McKinlay and William Wills.This book charts the history of the exploration of the vast continent of Australia by the European newcomers who arrived at the last great habitable continent to be discovered. This comprehensive anthology begins with the initial seaborne forays of the sometime pirate Cap...

Celebrated historian Diana Preston presents betrayals, escapes, and survival at sea in her account of the mutiny of the Bounty and the flight of convicts from the Australian penal colony.The story of the mutiny of the Bounty and William Bligh and his men's survival on the open ocean for 48 days and 3,618 miles has become the stuff of legend. But few realize that Bligh's escape across the seas was not the only open-boat journey in that era of Briti...

Two ships set out in search of a missing continent: the St Jean-Baptiste, a French merchant ship commanded by Jean de Surville, and the Endeavour, a small British naval vessel captained by James Cook. Distinguished historian Geoffrey Blainey tells the story of these rival ships and the men who sailed them. Just before Christmas 1769, the two captains were almost close enough to see one another – and yet they did not know of each other's existence. Both crews battled extre...

On 28th April 1789 a small and unremarkable merchant vessel became one of the most famous ships in maritime history. HMS Bounty was under the command of 34-year-old Lieutenant William Bligh, an inexperienced commander who lacked the respect of a crew attracted to the promise of an easy life in a Tahitian paradise.Fletcher Christian led half the crew in mutiny against Bligh and after overpowering all resistance, they cast their deposed captain adrift along with those still ...

Three shiploads of settlers sail for a magnificent, isolated bay to establish a Utopia.But Australia, the oldest continent, settled by Europeans less than 100 years before, strikes back at the intruders through its climate, terrain and first people.Here in full for the first time is the story of the ill-fated Camden Harbour expedition of 1864-65.The harbour lies in a region of Western Australia that hides ancient Aboriginal art deep in caves in its sandstone escarpment...