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Project Gutenberg Australia gratefully acknowledges the significant contribution of Sue Asscher in preparing many of the eBooks relating to Australian Explorers, which are available from this page.

Australian Explorers, Discoverers and Pioneers

(including exploration of Antarctica)

Introduction

The First Fleet of ships from England arrived in Sydney in 1788. This represented the first European settlement of the continent, although aborigines had already been living in Australia for tens of thousand of years. For the first twenty-five years the new inhabitants were confined to the coastal strip around Sydney as no way could be found across the Blue Mountains, part of the Great Dividing Range which runs parallel to the east coast of Australia for almost the coast's entire length.

When, in 1813, a way across the Blue Mountains was found, a wave of inland exploration was unleashed which continued for the next fifty years. New areas were opened up for settlement and several expeditions were commissioned by the government and by private backers to ascertain whether an inland sea existed. This remarkable period in Australian history was documented by many of the explorers themselves, who kept journals of their exploration. These journals were usually published soon after the conclusion of each expedition, and particularly appealed to people in England who took quite an interest in the "opening up" of the "new" continent. Moreover, many of those journals have been reprinted in facsimile editions, which mean that they are accessible to the modern reader, though they are by not readily available at all public libraries.

A number of Project Gutenberg volunteers in Australia have transcribed these Australian exploration journals and most are now available at Project Gutenberg, including a a number of HTML versions, with illustrations and maps from the original publications. These ebooks provide a wonderful resource for students, researchers and general readers. Links to these ebooks, together with reproductions of maps showing the extent of the exploration undertaken, and other information relating to Australian land and sea exploration are available from links on the exploration timeline on this page, or from the Explorers Journals page.

On this page:

• List of Australian land and sea explorers with links to their biographical details and their journals.
• Exploration Time Line--Australian Land and sea exploration. Contains links to ebooks created from the journals written by the explorers themselves. Also see the Australian Explorers Journals page, a virtual library of writing by the explorers themselves, in alphabetical order.
• Maps of the routes taken by many of the explorers. Follow the links by clicking on 'map' in the Exploration Time Line, below.
• List of links to other internet pages devoted to Australian exploration.

From this site:

• The Voyages and Travels page. Links to many ebooks covering Voyages and Travels throughout the world over the last 1000 years.
• The Australian History page. Books covering Australian History.
• The Australian Discovery page. The first authenticated discovery of Australia was in 1606. This page covers the period from 1606-1770.
• Maps and Charts showing early land and sea exploration.
• The Discovery of Australia by George Arnold Wood
• 'The Explorers of Australia and their Life-work' by Ernest Favenc. This book details of the life and work of the major and minor land explorers.
• 'The History of Australian Exploration' by Ernest Favenc. This book outlines the history of Australian land and sea exploration to 1888, with introductions to both areas of exploration. Details of the work of both major and minor explorers are covered, with generous quotations from the works of the explorers themselves and reproduction of a number of relevant documents.
• Extracts from 'A Short History of Australia' by Sir Ernest Scott. An on-line resource comprising chapters relating to Land and Sea Exploration. The complete eBook is also available.
• 'Australian Discovery' by Sir Ernest Scott. This on-line resource contains extracts from the journals of many sea and land explorers including Tasman, Dampier, Cook, Flinders, Blaxland, Sturt, Giles and Leichhardt. The introduction to each volume provides an overview of sea and land exploration relating to Australia. The maps and figures from the books are reproduced. In a number of cases the complete Journal, from which the extrtact in Scott's book has been taken, may be downloaded from the page now being viewed. (Refer to the "Autobiographical Publications" column in the Exploration Time Line,, below, for links.)
• Dictionary of Australian Biography Biographies of more than 1000 people prominent in the development of Australia--explorers, artists, politicians, scientists, etc. All died before the end of 1942.
• A chronolgy of Australian history--from A Short History of Australia by Sir Ernest Scott.
• Early Australian Voyages by John Pinkerton--covers the voyages of Pelsart (1628-1629), Tasman (1642-1643) and Dampier (1699-1700).
• Laperouse by Sir Ernest Scott.--A biography of the explorer.
• The Life of Captain James Cook by Arthur Kitson--A biography of the explorer.
• The Life of Matthew Flinders by Sir Ernest Scott.--A biography of the explorer.
• Charles Sturt - His Life and Journeys of Exploration by J H L Cumpston
• Thomas Mitchell--Surveyor General and Explorer by J H L Cumpston
• William Dampier by Wiliam Clark Russell
• Terre Napoleon by Sir Ernest Scott.--A history of French explorations and projects in Australia.
• The Logbooks of the Lady Nelson by Ida Lee. An edited account of the logbooks of a ship employed extensively in Australian exploration.
• Early Explorers in Australia by Ida Lee. An account of early exploration with extracts from the log-books and journals of the explorers. Extensive treatment is given of Allan Cunningham's botanical exploration by land and sea.
• The Naval Pioneers of Australia by Louis Becke.
• The Discovery of Australia by George Collingridge.
• The First Discovery of Australia and New Guinea by George Collingridge.
• The Part Borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia by J E Heeres.
• The Voyage of the Endeavour by George Arnold Wood
• Abel Janszoon Tasman's Journal by J E Heeres.
• Early Voyages to Terra Australia by R H Major.
• The First Discovery of Australia with an account of the Voyage of the Duyfken and the Career of Captain Willem Jansz. by T D Mutch.
• The Exploration of Cape York Peninsula 1606-1915 by Robert Logan Jack.
• Early Days in North Queensland by Edward Palmer.
• Northmost Australia by Robert Logan Jack.
• Geographical Memoirs on New South Wales (1825) edited by Barron Field.
• Brief View of the Progress of Interior Discovery in New South Wales (1832) by Allan Cunningham.
• A Source Book of Australian History (1919) by Gwendolen H Swinburne.

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Australian Land and Sea Explorers, including exploration of Antarctica.

Most of the explorers listed here are referred to elsewhere on this page. Click on names for biographical information, links to ebooks and, in some cases, maps of the routes taken.

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Exploration Time Line--Australian land and sea exploration.
[For Antartcic Exploration see the entries at the end of the Time Line]

This time line contains links to many ebooks created from the journals and first hand accounts written by Australian land and sea explorers. All ebooks are available in PLAIN TEXT format, and many are available in HTML, together with illustrations from the original publication. Generally the HTML file and the illustrations have been 'zipped' to save space and to make the ebook available as one downloadable file. Check the links shown below in the "Autobiographical Publications" column. Works are continually being added. If you experience any problems, or have any suggestions, please contact me. Col Choat.

*** (Refer to the Time Line at the Australian Discovery page
for a more detailed list of events from 1606 to 1770.) ***

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Some internet sites which provide information about Australian Explorers

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Updated 22 June 2022

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