The History of Discovery in Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand
From the Earliest Date to the Present Day

First published in 1865, this two-volume history describes the European exploration and settlement of Australia and New Zealand.

William Howitt (Author)

9781108029506, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 23 June 2011

488 pages, 1 map
21.6 x 14 x 2.8 cm, 0.62 kg

The prolific writer William Howitt (1792–1879) embarked for Australia in 1852 and spent two years there travelling and panning for gold. His experiences resulted in several books that appealed to the Victorian public's avid interest in Antipodean exploration. Published in 1865, when New Zealand had only been recognised as a country for a generation, this two-volume work describes 'scenes of danger and of wild romance, of heroic daring and devoted deaths, such as few countries have to show'. It gives a valuable account of early European exploration and settlement in Australia and New Zealand as well as insights into European travellers' responses to this previously unknown continent. Volume 2 begins in the mid-1840s, and focuses on the 1861 disappearance in Australia of Burke and Wills, the expeditions searching for them (including one led by Howitt's son), and visits to New Zealand by explorers including Charles Heaphy and Julius Haast.

1. Dr. Leichhardt's expedition overland from Moreton Bay to Port Essington in the years 1844 and 1845
2. The expedition of Captain Sturt into Central Australia in the years 1844, 45, and 46
3. Exploring expeditions in Western Australia continued
4. Sir Thomas Mitchell's fourth expedition. Discovery of the Barcoss
5. Kennedy's explorations of the Barcoo and of the York Peninsula, 1847
6. The expedition of Mr. Robert Austin, assistant surveyor, into the interior of Western Australia, in 1854
7. Expedition for the exploration of Northern Australia in 1855–6, under the command of Mr. A. C. Gregory
8. The expeditions of John McDouall Stuart, extending from Adelaide to the North Sea, from 1858 to 1862
9. The exploring expedition of Victoria in 1860–1 under the command of Messrs. Burke and Wills
10. Expedition in quest of that of Messrs. Burke and Wills, under the command of Mr. Alfred William Howitt
11. The journey of Burke and Wills to the Gulf of Carpentaria, and return to Cooper's Creek
12. The exploration expedition of Mr. McKinlay in search of Burke and Wills in 1861 and 1862
13. Landsborough's expedition from the Gulf of Carpentaria in quest of Burke and Wills, 1861
14. Mr. Frederick Walker's expedition in quest of Burke and Wills
15. Expeditions of discovery in South Australia in 1856–57–58, and 59
16. Exploring expeditions in South Australia in 1856–57–58, and 59, continued
17. Augustus C. Gregory's expedition in quest of Dr. Leichhardt's remains
18. Expeditions in Western Australia in 1858 and 1861, by Mr. Frank T. Gregory
19. Expedition for bringing down the remains of Burke and Wills
20. Conclusion of discovery in Australia
21. Incidents of discovery and settlement in New Zealand
22. Discovery of the insularity of the South Island
23. Discoveries in the middle island continued
24. Opening communication with the west coast.

Subject Areas: Australasian & Pacific history [HBJM]