A Voyage to Terra Australis
Undertaken for the Purpose of Completing the Discovery of that Vast Country, and Prosecuted in the Years 1801, 1802, and 1803

In volume 1, Flinders (1774–1814) provides an account of the charting of the south coast of Australia.

Matthew Flinders (Author)

9781108018180, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 26 August 2010

508 pages, 4 b/w illus.
29.7 x 21 x 2.6 cm, 1.21 kg

In the early nineteenth century, Australia remained largely uncharted, and doubt prevailed as to its unity as a continent. The 1801 expedition led by English mariner and cartographer Matthew Flinders (1774–1814), on board the Investigator, was groundbreaking in this respect. Flinders' charting of the Australian coastline provided the first complete map outlining the continent, and his influence was decisive in changing its name from Terra Australis to Australia - a term 'more agreeable to the ear'. Structured around daily geographical and astronomical observations, Flinders' journals are remarkable for their humanity and their sense of humour. Started in 1801, they continue to include Flinders' imprisonment by the French in the island of Mauritius between 1803 and 1810. They were first published in 1814, the day before Flinders' death. Volume 1 spans the first two years of the expedition and focuses on the discoveries made along the south coast of the continent.

Preface
Introduction: Prior discoveries in Terra Australis
Book I. Transactions from the Beginning of the Voyage to the Departure from Port Jackson: 1. Appointment to the Investigator
2. Departure from Spithead
3. Departure from False Bay
4. Departure from King George's Sound
5. Fowler's Bay
6. Prosecution of the discovery of the unknown coast
7. Departure from Port Lincoln
8. Departure from Kangaroo Island
9. Examination of the coast resumed
10. Departure from Port Phillip
11. Of the winds and currents on the south coast of Terra Australis, and in Bass' Strait
Appendix.

Subject Areas: Australasian & Pacific history [HBJM]