Aboriginal

Geological Survey Cape York, Horn Island, Possession Island Queensland etc – C.F.V Jackson 1902 – Excellent Maps

Queensland Department of Mines Geological Survey Report No 180.

Report on a Visit to the West Coast of the Cape York Peninsula and Some Islands of the Gulf of Carpentaria also, Reports on the Horn Island and Possession Island Gold Fields, and the Recent Prospecting of the Cretaceous Coast of the Cook District.

By C.F.V. Jackson, Assistant Government Geologist.

Octavo, staple bound. 23 pages with images from photographs and four maps, a broader map of the regions and three folding coloured maps of the South Wellesly Islands (Bentick, Fowler and Sweers); the Horn Island Goldfield and Horn Island. Slight browning to map edges, still a very good copy of a scarce item. Good maps.

As often the geologist travels significant ground taking in Cox Creek, Wilkinson range, Mitchell River, Wellesly Islands, Horn Island, Possession Island etc with good detail on the topography of the land and various anthropological finds along the way. He discovered aboriginal middens of enormous proportions estimated to have taken several hundred years to form. He mentions bauxite at Weipa … to become one of the world’s largest deposits of that mineral.

Clements Frederick Vivian Jackson (1873-1955) was a very talented engineer, initially in the Civil file and then Mining. He designed an built bridges over the Bremer River near Ipswich and received the London Institute of Civil Engineers Prize for his bridge over the Burdekin an Charters Towers. He moved into the geology / mining filed and after conducting the work subject to this reports was involved in the geological survey of Western Australia. Returning to Queensland he rose to the highest position, that of State Mining Engineer

Scarce report on important locations with excellent maps.

$120.00

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Lure of the Southern Seas – The Voyages of Dumont D’Urville 1826-1840

Large perfect bound soft cover (30cm x 24cm) a good size for showing off the many illustrations from artwork created at the time and photographs of displays from the voyage collection held in France.

Published by the Historic Housed Trust of NSW in association of a exhibition held at the Sydney Museum in 2003.

Well researched and produced making an important contribution to works on the two voyages undertaken by Dumont D’Urvillle in the first half of the 19th Century.

Following and introductory chapter “Southern Discomfort” and excellent map, we gain an understanding of the man and what drove him. His voyage towards the Polar Ice; the Anthropology and “Harvest of Curiosities” and the more defined Natural History Catalogue. Some notes on the artists without whom the wonder could not have been so well revealed. Data back up in the form of routes and statistics of the Voyage are followed by the great man’s correspondence and of all things “his will” … references, bibliography.

Dumont D’’Urville well presented historical account, some new information and special images.

$55.00

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Cooksland in North-Eastern Australia – John Dunmore Lang – First Edition 1847 – Fine Binding

A first edition of Lang’s lengthy book on territory that was essentially shortly to become Queensland. Cooksland was his offered naming and recommending a southern boundary down south of the Clarence River, in modern day NSW.

John Dunmore Lang (1799-1878) hold a important place in the history of and recording of the settlement period. He was instrumental in promoting immigration from both Britain and Germany. Regarded as Australia’s first Republican.

Published by Longman Landon. Octavo, 496 pages with folding map of the proposed “Cooksland”’ as frontispiece, six illustrations of views which are tinted and a portrait of Dr Leichardt. Rebound in full calf by Roger Perry to a super standard. Separate red leather title with gilt work to compartments on spine. Internally some quiet heavy foxing in patches … other area quite clean. Scarce.

The contents are varied and the dry patches of typical Lang on the “artificial productions” of Cooksland can be a bit dreary. However interspersed this some important and lengthy narrative. Such as Leichhardt’s travels from Moreton Bay to Port Essington. Leichhard’s letter from around the Glass House Mountains; Andrew Petrie’s travels to Wide Bay; Schmidt’s travels to the Bunya-bunya tree country. Also, he allocated 130 pages to the aborigines, and whilst he writes with a degree of Lang arrogance there is some useful information there.

Cooksland a unique Dunmore Lang work – some foxing but complete and nicely bound in full leather.

$390.00

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Report on Australian Languages and Traditions (Parts I and II Complete) – Rev William Ridley MA – 1872/3

An original extract from the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 1872/73 pages 257-291. Octavo, soft modern wraps for protection, very good copies.

William Ridley (1919-1878) a supporter of the aboriginal community and compiler of languages .. a talented linguist. He arrived in Sydney in 1850 at the request of Rev J.D. Lang. Ordained and went to the New England are which he expanded into Moreton Bay and the Darling Downs. For financial reasons he later took on the roles of pastoralist and Journalist. He continued his interest in the aboriginal people and was the author of a landmark book on the Kumilaroi, Dippil and Turrubul people published in 1866.

These significant papers start with the detail of a thousand plus mile tour around outback NSW. This report is notes to be supplementary to the aforementioned book. Lists “new words” of Paces, with their meaning; Additional Words and Phrases in Kamilaroi, Wailwun etc; Pikumbul – spoken on the Macintyre. He goes on to deal with Social Classification, and Laws of Marriage and Descent; Religious and Mythical Traditions; The Bora; Funeral rites; the Krodjis and their Enchantments; the Recollections of Billy Murri Bundar; Traditions Concerning the Stars [especially interesting to Voyager].

In Part II, Ridley presents his own work on the Kamilaroi, Turrubul and Dippil alongside Gunther and Watson’s on the Wirradhurri, Daniel Bunce in Victoria and Hume on the West Coast. Presenting key words in tabular form.

Rare publication of supplementary work on aboriginal languages and customs by authority William Ridley

$60.00

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The Antiquity of the Aborigines of Australia and Tasmania – The Discovery of Gold – Magnetism etc – Georgina King FRASA – Sydney 1924

A self-published pamphlet by Georgina King of work previously published in the “Sunday Times”. Printed by William Brooks, Sydney and issued in 1924.

Octavo, 23 pages, soft wrappers as issued, three illustrations in the text regarding aboriginals. Some age from use still a very good copy.

The articles are as per the title … The Antiquity of the Aborigines of Australia and Tasmania – Two Stone Ages in Australia; The Discovery of Gold and How it was Found in Payable Quantities; Magnetism – terrestrial and Universal; Diamond and Their Origin.

A most usual body of work. Georgina King (1845-1932) was an amateur geologist and anthropologist. As a woman she was excluded from the “professional” category e.g. she was not allowed to read her own paper at the Royal society of NSW. Her ideas were rather whacky though and make for interesting reading … they did not stop her becoming a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Society. The daughter of Rev George King she was advised by him and naturalist Bennett not to marry if she wanted to get on in her chosen filed. She corresponded with Robert Logan Jack regarding geology and Huxley on natural sciences. In her eccentricity she blamed other for stealing her ideas, including Edgeworth David on her radical concepts of the earth’s formation and Einstein on the theory of relativity. She believed diamonds were fossilised marine organisms … quoting from the paper contained here …

“Diamonds existed as marine organisms. They are composed of pure carbon, containing only a little hydrogen, and the most minute particles are often found in what were small cavities, perhaps their breathing apparatus; some were like feathers. The cleavages of the diamond were the gills of those marine organisms …”

Her article of the aborigines is a lot more grounded. She was a friend of Daisy bates and provided financial support to Bates for her work among aboriginal people.

Georgina King isolated Australian Scientist with some wild ideas and some interesting ones.

$50.00

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The Jubilee History of Tasmania – Two Volumes – First Editions1887

Complied by Thaddeus Leavitt with a significant contribution from then Hobart historian, James Fenton.

Covers more as title continues … illustrated, with which is incorporated, the Early History of Victoria, Biographical Sketches, as well as incorporating some of the author’s earlier volume the Australian Representative Men.

Two volumes, large heavy set of near 1000 pages in original publishers half morocco with gilt page edges and designs (a superior binding), a little rubbed but really and excellent set. Very clean and crisp internally.

Full of historical information, with many illustrations and hundreds of biographies. Topics include Aborigines, Businesses, Churches, Dutch East India Co, Education, Exploration, Famine, Institutions, Land Grants, Newspapers, Supreme Court, Wool and much more.

The engravings of commercial building of the day of very interesting both in Tasmania and Victoria … seem to be quite a few pubs among them … and some coffee houses!

Very good Tasmanian and Victorian History – Scarce and nicely bound

$890.00

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Geological Survey Cape York, Horn Island, Possession Island Queensland etc – C.F.V Jackson 1902 – Excellent Maps

Lure of the Southern Seas – The Voyages of Dumont D’Urville 1826-1840

Cooksland in North-Eastern Australia – John Dunmore Lang – First Edition 1847 – Fine Binding

Report on Australian Languages and Traditions (Parts I and II Complete) – Rev William Ridley MA – 1872/3

The Antiquity of the Aborigines of Australia and Tasmania – The Discovery of Gold – Magnetism etc – Georgina King FRASA – Sydney 1924

The Jubilee History of Tasmania – Two Volumes – First Editions1887

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