Three Expeditions into the interior of Eastern Australia, with descriptions of the recently explored region of Australia Felix, and the present colony of New South Wales.

MITCHELL, Thomas Livingstone.

Edité par London: T. & W. Boone, 1838

A propos de cet article

First edition of this illustrated account by the explorer who opened up the lush pastures of western Victoria to colonial settlement. His three daring expeditions added extensively to knowledge of Australia's inland waterways. This copy is from the collection of Jonathan Wantrup, a leading bibliographer of Australiana, with his book label on the front pastedowns. Appointed deputy surveyor-general of New South Wales in 1827, Mitchell (1792-1855) arrived in Sydney in September and began a six-year effort to produce a topographical map of the colony. His "Map of the Colony of New South Wales (1834), otherwise known as the 'map of the nineteen counties', has scarcely been equalled anywhere. It was perhaps Mitchell's greatest achievement. He determined too to extend his surveys outside the nineteen counties, and though there are other reasons for his exploratory expeditions this was a major factor" (ODNB). Mitchell's first expedition, begun in late 1831 while his map was still in progress, "explored between the Nammoi and the Gwydir and crossed the latter to strike the Barwon, but there was no north-west river; all streams were clearly tributaries of the Darling. The murder by Aborigines of two of his party as they were bringing up provisions made a return to the settled colony imperative" (ODNB), and his party reached Sydney in February 1832. His second expedition, undertaken three years later, charted the course of the Darling to the point where it turned south, establishing the likely region where it met the Murray. "Mitchell's third and most significant journey was undertaken ostensibly to connect the Murray with the Darling, but also to explore the Murray and perhaps the country south of it. The expedition left Sydney in March 1836 and moved down the Lachlan. It was impossible to cross to the Darling so Mitchell proceeded to the Murrumbidgee and into the Murray, following it down to what was thought to be the Darling junction. He traced the Darling upstream only sufficiently far to satisfy himself that it was in fact that river. Some 30 miles below the Goulburn river junction he turned off south-west. The region he then opened up he named Australia Felix (now the western district of Victoria), which certainly forms one of the richest tracts in Australia. At the Murray he found the country on the eve of being taken up by graziers, and the deep tracks of his boat carriage quickly became their ribbon to follow to the south-west. This journey, which lasted over seven months, thus added greatly to the knowledge of a very fertile region of Australia" (ODNB). Copies in the original cloth are nearly always found either rebacked or recased, and this is a better example than most. Ferguson 2553; Hill 1165; Wantrup 124a. 2 vols, octavo. Frontispieces (Vol. I hand-coloured), 44 plates (3 hand-coloured, 1 folding), 5 maps and plans (3 hand-coloured, 2 folding), large folding map at rear with hand colouring, vignette title pages, illustrations and tables in text; 16 pages of publisher's advertisements at end of Vol. II. Original green vertically combed cloth, recased, spines lettered in gilt with gilt vignettes of kangaroos, emus, and aboriginal weapons, boards decoratively blocked in blind, yellow coated endpapers, edges untrimmed, binder's ticket of Remnant & Edmonds on front pastedown of Vol. I. Cloth clean, light cockling and creasing, small split at head of spine of Vol. II, some plates foxed as usual, large folding map with small splits at folds and stub rear repaired on verso: a very good set.

N° de réf. du vendeur 173536

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Three Expeditions into the interior of Eastern Australia, with descriptions of the recently explored region of Australia Felix, and the present colony of New South Wales.
• Éditeur: London: T. & W. Boone, 1838
• Édition: Edition originale