Tasmania and Van Diemens Land

Historical Survey of Northern Tasmania – Low Head to Launceston – McKnight

Hard to find soft cover and a quality production.

Published in 1998 at Launceston, effectively self published. 144 pages, perfect bound nicely illustrated.

Carefully written history with particular emphasis on the earliest reports of Port Dalrymple and the Tamar.

Naturally starts with Bass and Flinders in 1798; then Freycinet and Faure in 1802. Surveys by William Collins in 1804 along with the observations of Clark and Brown.

The last third is taken up by the seldomly referenced activities of Lieutenant Governor William Patterson who in 1804 was sent by Governor King to establish a colony at Port Dalrymple on at the behest of Lord Hobart from his desk in London. Patterson’s official and private journals are referred to as well as Mountgarrett’s account and the Paterson led explorations of the North Esk river.

Northern Tasmania, Port Dalrymple and, in particular, the keen observations of William Patterson.

$30.00

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Guide to Bruny Island History – B Davis

Described as a Second edition 190 albeit there had been a number of printings of the First the proceeds of which have gone traditionally to erect plaques at important historical sites around Bruny.

Not exclusively but essentially a history of the post colonial island and a special history its is too.

Card cover with an early French version of the map as decoration. 40 pages all up nicely illustrated from period photographs – they have come out better than often with this type of “local” production. A good coloured modern map to centre for perspective and bearings.

The third largest of the nearby Tasmanian islands and one held dear by those that have the life luxury to live there.

Bruny get the history then the experience … book your ferry today.

$35.00

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James Cook’s Second Voyage – A Voyage Towards the South Pole and Around the World – Fine Large Scale Facsimile in 2 Volumes

Facsimile of James Cook’s Second Voyage – Towards the South Pole – 2 Volumes

A Voyage Towards the South Pole, and Round the World Performed in His Majesty’s Ships the Resolution and Adventure, in the years 1772, 1773, 1774 and 1775. In which is included Captain Furneaux’s Narrative of his Proceedings in the Adventure during the Separation of the Ships: By James Cook Commander of the Resolution.

Illustrated with Maps and Charts, and a Variety of Portraits of Persons and Views of Places, Drawn during the Voyage by Mr. Hodges, and Engraved by the Most Eminent Master.

This is the account of Cook’s second voyage. The success of Cook’s first voyage led the Admiralty to send him on a second expedition to circumnavigate the globe as far south as possible in search of any southern continents. Cook proved that there was no Terra Australis which supposedly lay between New Zealand and South America, but became convinced that there must be land beyond the ice fields. Cook was the first to cross the Antarctic Circle. Further visits were made to New Zealand, and on two great sweeps Cook made an astonishing series of discoveries and rediscoveries including Easter Island, the Marquesas, Tahiti and the Society Islands, Niue, the Tonga Islands, the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, and a number of smaller islands. Rounding Cape Horn, on the last part of the voyage, Cook discovered and charted South Georgia, after which he called at Cape Town. William Hodges was the artist with the expedition. This voyage produced a vast amount of information concerning the Pacific peoples and Islands, proved the value of the chronometer as an aid in finding longitude, and improved techniques for preventing scurvy.

Also, includes the account of Captain Furneaux in the Adventure during his time separated from the Endeavour.

Originally published by Strahan & Cadell, London in 1777. This edition in two volumes by the Libraries Board of South Australia in 1970.

Complete with facsimile images – portrait frontispiece (Basire’s engraving of Cook from the painting by William Hodges) and 63 plates, charts and portraits, many folding. Light beige canvas cloth covered boards, separate title labels to spine. Very clean internally, high quality paper. A super set.

The second Voyage of James Cook to seek out the Great Southern Land – and to do so much more.

$360.00

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Jack Thwaites – Pioneer Tasmanian Bushwalker and Conservationist – Simon Kleinig

Published by Forty Degrees South, Hobart in 2008. A very good copy of a hard to come by book.

Soft cover, perfect bound, 261 pages, illustrated throughout including images from hand drawn maps.

This is a different sort of biography. We have the background of Jack Thwaites born in 1902 at Kendall in the Lake District, England. Arrived in Tasmania with his family at the age of ten. Around 1928 Jack began his ambitious walking trips. He was three years ahead of Bert Nicholls who is famed for cutting the Overland Track between Cradle Mountain and Lake St Clair .. the first genuinely up Frenchman’s Cap and likewise to the mountains in the South West.

This book is partly written around the diaries he kept during these long hikes, often written in pencil at the evening camp fire. Many diaries are missing … such a pity.

Simon Kleinig called on the help of many to produce this intimate and rewarding book not the least Jack’s grand children Anne and Bill Thwaites who also manged to find some memorable images of this pioneering walker.

Jack Thwaites – The First Real Tasmanian Bush Walker.

$50.00

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Shipwreck Archaeology in Australia – Michael Nash

A fine copy of Michael Nash’s all embracing Australian shipwreck book.

Published by the University of Western Australia Press in 2007. Squarish large octavo, 244 pages, very nicely illustrated throughout, end paper illustration of the dreadful goings on at the Batavia camp.

Pulled together by Nash with contributions from a number of other experts in the field, or the water really.

The fifteen wrecks dealt with in detail are presented chronologically starting with the Batavia (1629) .. then a leap to Hunter’s Sirius (1790) .. the Pandora (1791) all the way to the Tasman (1883). We say fifteen but the last is a place for wrecks Garden Island (1906-1945). Notes, glossary etc finish what is a really good reference or stand alone work.

The other dimension with this book is the back history of many of wrecks – First Fleet; Bounty Related; Slavers; Walers etc and for some another aspect such as Experimental Reconstruction (Zanoni 1867); Timber Shipbuilding techniques (Water Witch 1842).

Australian Wrecks – the way in to the subject – no better presentation.

$50.00

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The Convict Settlers of Australia – Robson

A first edition of this respected book on the subject. Published by the Melbourne University Press in 1965. Octavo, 257 pages, numerous tables of data included as appendices.

We are encouraged by the author to go through the tables in the appendices first before reading the book which is based up a statistical sample derived by way of the informative tables.

The body of the book seeks to define what sort of people made up the mass of the convicts transported and what sort of life they led in Australia. Conclusions that cannot be drawn from google search.

The Australian Convict population analysed and defined.

$30.00

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Historical Survey of Northern Tasmania – Low Head to Launceston – McKnight

Guide to Bruny Island History – B Davis

James Cook’s Second Voyage – A Voyage Towards the South Pole and Around the World – Fine Large Scale Facsimile in 2 Volumes

Jack Thwaites – Pioneer Tasmanian Bushwalker and Conservationist – Simon Kleinig

Shipwreck Archaeology in Australia – Michael Nash

The Convict Settlers of Australia – Robson

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