"Observations on the Coasts of Van Diemen's Land" is a historical account of the exploration of the Australian continent created by Captain Matthew Flinders, a British navigator, and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia. The expeditions started from Port Jackson and aimed to explore the neighboring lands.

This book provides a thoroughly researched biography of the naval career of Matthew Flinders, with particular emphasis on his importance for the maritime discovery of Australia. Sailing in the wake of the 18th-century voyages of exploration by Captain Cook and others, Flinders was the first naval commander to circumnavigate Australia's coastline. He contributed more to the mapping and naming of places in Australia than virtually any other single person. His voyage to Australia on H.M.S. Investigator expanded the scope of imperial, geographical and scientific knowledge. This biography places Flinders's career within the context of Pacific exploration and the early white settlement of Australia. Flinders's connections with other explorers, his use of patronage, the dissemination of his findings, and his posthumous reputation are also discussed in what is an important new scholarly work in the field.

The author, a keen bibliophile, has selected 42 books which he believes represents the principal primary source of information concerning the Tasmanian Aborigines.Detailed bibliographic descriptions are provided for each book together with biographical summaries of each author. Then, in chronological sequence, the content of each book is carefully examined with special emphasis on how it has contributed to our corpus of knowledge of the world’s most primitive and isolated stone-age people. Frequent use is made of direct quotation from the original source. The book also contains an introductory description of the Tasmanian Aborigines (with a time line of important events) and a number of illustrations and tables supplement the text.

In 1794, Charles Bishop sailed from Bristol as master of the Ruby, a trading ship bound for north-west America. He had instructions to procure otter furs from the Indians and then to proced to Canton via Japan and sell the cargo. During the years 1794-1802, he rounded South America to reach the Pacific coast, then visited the Pacific islands and the coasts of Asia and Australia. In the Moluccas, he sold the Ruby and purchased the Nautilus; correspondingly, the text is divided into two sections. This narrative is Bishop's journal of his voyages and relates a minor epic of adventure, courage and turbulent fortune. The records of his letters and financial accounts show something of the ships' general organization, and of the seamen who served such expeditions. Bishop also describes the various ports and peoples he encountered; his experiences typify European contacts in the Pacific, and the reaction between trader, missionary, administrator and local inhabitant. Dr Roe's introduction gives the background to the trading voyages of the 18th century and describes Bishop's pwn history. Records of his life continue until 1809, ending tragically in Sydney, where he passed some years in poverty and insanity, before being returned to England. . This is a new print-on-demand hardback edition of the volume first published in 1967.

This book is a demonstration of the richness, worth and vitality of Australian documentary record. At the same time, it is an introduction to collecting Australiana for those who, if not already bitten by the book bug, have been dangerously exposed to it. Readers who are immune to the attractions of collecting but who value our past and its books will also find something to interest them in the following pages.

A collection of work that attempts to reflect the diversity of travel literature from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This literature often reveals something of the cultural and gender difference of the travellers, as well as ideas on colonialism, anthropology and slavery.