The great race : the race between the English and the French to complete the map of Australia / Cartography

Hill, David, 1947-

The great race : the race between the English and the French to complete the map of Australia / David Hill. - Paperback edition. - 386 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour), maps, portraits ; 20 cm.

First published in Australia in 2012 by William Heinemann.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

AUSTRALASIAN & PACIFIC HISTORY: C 1750 TO C 1900. AUSTRALIAN. On the afternoon of 8 April 1802, in the remote southern ocean, two explorers had a remarkable chance encounter. Englishman Matthew Flinders and Frenchman Nicolas Baudin had been sent by their governments on the same quest: to explore the uncharted coast of the great south land and find out whether the west and east coasts, four thousand kilometres apart, were part of the same island. And so began the race to compile the definitive map of Australia. These men's journeys were the culmination of two hundred years of exploration of the region by the Dutch - most famously Abel Tasman - the Portuguese, the Spanish and by Englishmen such as the colourful pirate William Dampier and, of course, James Cook. The three-year voyages of Baudin and Flinders would see them endure terrible hardships in the spirit of discovery.

9780349140421


Flinders, Matthew, 1774-1814.
Baudin, Nicolas, 1754-1803.


Cartography--History--Australia--19th century.


Australia--Discovery and exploration--British--History--19th century.
Australia--Discovery and exploration--French--History--19th century.