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Book Cover
Book
Author Hill, David, 1946-

Title The great race / David Hill
Published North Sydney, N.S.W. : William Heinemann Australia, 2012

Copies

Location Call no. Vol. Availability
 MELB  994.02 Hil/Gra  AVAILABLE
Description 386 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 24 cm
regular print
Summary 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 u most famously Abel Tasman u 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. They suffered scurvy and heat exhaustion, and Flinders was shipwrecked and imprisoned u always knowing he was competing with the French to produce the first map of this mysterious continent. Written from diaries and other first-hand accounts, this is the thrilling story of men whose drawings recorded countless previously unknown species and turned mythical creatures into real ones, and whose skill and determination enabled 'terra australis incognito' to become Australia
Notes Cover subtitle: The race between the English and the French to complete the map of Australia
Bibliography Includes biblioographical references (pages [355]-370) and index
Subject Baudin, Nicolas, 1754-1803 -- Travel -- Australia.
Flinders, Matthew, 1774-1814 -- Travel -- Australia.
Cartography -- Australia -- History.
Discoveries in geography.
Discovery -- Area of study
Explorers -- Australia.
SUBJECT Australia -- Discovery and exploration http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2008114308 -- English
Australia -- Discovery and exploration http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2008114308 -- French
ISBN 9781742751092 (paperback)
Other Titles Great race : the race between the English and the French to complete the map of Australia