MAPS AUSTRALIA NT

Coronelli, a Francisian priest and mathematician, was one the of greatest cartographers and globemakers of the seventeenth century. Amongst his many achievements, he was famous for having constructed a pair of the world’s largest globes for King Louis XIV. Measuring over fifteen feet in diameter (4.5m) and weighing approximately two tons, the globes were large enough to hold up to thirty people inside.

In 1688, Coronelli produced a set of gores to be used to produce a smaller globe, although this was still over one metre in diameter. In 1696, he reprinted these into half gores for publication in his Isolario, using the same engraving plates but removing the large cartouches and parts of the geographical areas that had previously been shown. This gore of Australia has had the large cartouche comprised of two robed women and three putti removed and replaced with descriptive text relating to ‘Nouva Guinea’ and ‘Isola di Pines’. Fanciful depictions of native life including an elephant are included on the Australian continent.

A note over Australia states that ‘they believe that the newly discovered land is M. Polo’s the country of Lochac’. Although the comment perpetuates the age-old errors from the scribed accounts of Marco Polo, it does accurately chart some of the Dutch discoveries including those of Hartog in 1616, Houtman in 1619, de Wit in 1628 and those of Tasman’s second voyage in 1644.

From Coronelli’s Isolario.

References:

Clancy p.41, ill.2.13, Clancy (R) p.93, ill.94-95, Tooley 352.

Very rare map of the area of the important spice island of Banda from Francois Valentyn's (1656-1727), Oud en nieuw Oost-Indien. Shows northern Australia and New Guinea.

Large scale map showing Melville Island and Coborg peninsula. Rare.

John Lort Stokes joined the navy in 1824 and served first on the Prince Regent before being transferred to the brig Beagle , on which he served for eighteen years, completing marine surveys of South America as midshipman in 1826-32 and accompanying Charles Darwin on his circumnavigation of the world as mate and assistant surveyor in 1833-36. He was made a lieutenant in 1837 and sent under Commander John Wickham to survey the Australia waters. He surveyed the Timor Sea during which he completed a close examination of the northern Australian coast and discovered the Victoria River and Port Darwin. He was speared in the shoulder by Aborigines at Point Pearce in December 1839 but recovered and was made commander of the Beagle in 1841, after which he named the Albert and Flinders Rivers and inspected Port Grey. After returning to England, he rose in the ranks and retired in 1877 as an Admiral.

John Lort Stokes 1812 - 1885 explorer and hydrographer. Famous for being the commander of H.M.S Beagle and surveying the Australian coasts.


Between the 29th June and 4th August, 1841 retracing Flinders route in more detail. Between July 30th and August 6th Stokes discovered the Albert River and ascended it for a distance of 50 river miles from the mouth in a long boat. He was much impressed with the level grassy plains dotted with trees which stretched endlessly to the south, which he named "The Plains of Promise". Stokes also visited Sweers Island and on finding the tree blazed by Flinders, he blazed the reverse side.

STUART:

1860 FOURTH EXPEDITION:

On 2 March 1860 Stuart left Chambers Creek with the intention of finding the centre of Australia.

They found a major watercourse in early April which Stuart named the Finke River, and followed it north-west over the South Australian border to the MacDonnell Ranges, which he named after Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell, Governor of South Australia, on 12 April 1860.

On 22 April 1860, according to Stuart's calculations, the party reached the centre of the continent.

STUART FIFTH EXPEDITION;

On 1 January 1861 Stuart left Chambers Creek to return north with a government-provided armed guard to see them past the difficulties at Attack Creek.


GILES:

In in 1872 Giles was asked to lead an expedition from Chambers Pillar to the Western Australian Coast. During his search for a suitable passage to the west Giles discovered the Finke River and Palm Valley. He also travelled along the southern edge of the George Gill Range naming Carmichael Crag and Kings Creek in what is now Watarrka (Kings Canyon) National Park. Although he was unsuccessful in his ambition to reach the west coast, he added much to people’s knowledge of Central Australia.

Shows area west of the Gulf of Carpentaria and south Lake Woods.

Area from the Overland Telegraph Line in the west to the Queensland border in the east to Lake Sylvester in the north and The Bundey in the south.

Area extending from Ledans Peak in the north to Mount Wilyunpa in the south, to Alice Springs in the west and the Queensland border in the west.

Map of northwestern Northern Territory extending from Melville and Bathurst Islands in the north to Treachery Bay and the Katherine River in the south. Includes the path of the Overland Telegraph Line and the counties of Palmerston (present-day Darwin), Disraeli, Malmesbury and Rosebury.

In 1859, the South Australia government offered a £2000 reward to the first person who could cross Australia from south to north. With that in mind, John McDouall Stuart, already a noted explorer, began his expedition one year later, and became the first European to reach the centre of Australia in 1861 and the first to cross the continent south to north in 1862. His inland expedition from Adelaide to Port Darwin sparked a flurry of interest in the Northern Territory and there were numerous subsequent expeditions in the 1860s and 70s. These maps by John Sands contain information gathered from these explorations and depict the most up-to-date knowledge of the area. From the first atlas of the continent issued in Australia and the only series of maps of the nineteenth century to show details of the Northern Territory counties.

Scarce county map of the Northern Territory from the first atlas devoted to the continent issued in Australia. In 1837 Sands came to Sydney for health reasons and with stationery valued at £500 setting up business in George Street. In 1848 he took over a shop front next to the General Post Office. By 1870 as stationers, booksellers, printers and account book manufacturers the firm was one of the largest of its kind in Australia and in that year won prizes for printing and book production at the Intercolonial Exhibition in Sydney.