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LENOX-CONYNGHAM, Col. Sir Gerald & POTTS, F.A.
The Great Barrier Reef.
21 pages, including an in-text sketch map and a few sketch illustrations. Plus photographic plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. This is a fascinating report on the geographical, geological and biological aspects of the amazing Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef system off the coast of Queensland, Australia, given by Colonel Lenox-Conyngham and Mr. Potts, which includes investigation of the biological problems which coral reefs and islands present, the origin of the reef, as well as, how the corals live, how they form the reef, at what rate they grow, what affects their growth; and what binds them together into a solid rock, and the disastrous effect of silt and sand on corals. The islands visited by the authors were Dunk Island, Lindeman Island, Thursday Island, and Murray Islands - a small group of three volcanic islands. Also with mentions of Charles Darwin and Jukes of the HMS Fly.
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TERRY, Michael.
From East to West Across Northern Australia.
22 pages. Plus a full-page sketch map and photographic plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. This is an extensive expedition account of Mr. Terry, an explorer and gold prospector, traveling on a Ford motor car in the little-known portion of Australia, the Northern Territory, from Winston in Western Queensland to Broome on the West Australian coast, containing exceptional details of his adventures. This fascinating account pre-dates the author's book, entitled "Across Unknown Australia," first published in 1926, and is beautifully illustrated with photographs and a sketch route map. Following is Mr. Terry's travel route from Winton to Broom: Winton, Kynuna, McKinlay, Cloncurry, Duchess, Camooweal, Avon Station, Rankin River, Alexandria Station, Alroy Station, Brunette Station, Anthony's Lagoon, Monmoonah Water Hole, Newcastle Waters, Yellow Water Holes, Jump-up, Montijinny Out-station, Pigeon Holes Out-station, Wave Hill Station, Inverway Station, Soakage Creek Station, Flora Valley Station, Hall's Creek, Mulla-Bulla Station, Booty's Selection, Margaret River Station, Cox's Selection, Fitzroy Crossing, Debry, Broome.
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GREGORY, Professor J. W.
The Fiords of the Hebrides.
24 pages including in-text sketch maps. Plus photographic plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. This is an exceptional geographical report dealing with one of the most controversial subjects among the Scottish and English geologists and geographer, the fjords of the Western Isles or Hebrides, given by John Walter Gregory, a respected British geologist and explorer. His valuable report concerns with the characteristic and formation of the Fjords, the Hebridean lochs, the Hebridean fjord groups, structural types of fjord valleys, the age of the Hebridean fiord valleys, and Tectonic depressions in the North Atlantic, with references to valley and loch systems of Mull, Skye, Sunart, Tummel, Crinan, Scarba, Erisort, Lewis, Boisdale, and Eport.
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CLOWES, Laird.
Ships of Early Explorers.
20 pages. Plus black and white plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. This engaging report, rich in historical detail, deals with 'ships of early explorers'. The author discusses Viking ships and other vessels that were found at the bottom of various bodies of water, each one providing information on the smaller details of early ship building over a period of about 3000 years. Accompanying this informative report are numerous sketch illustrations of ancient and important ships, some found near Arabia 1457, in the Indian Ocean 1500, in the South Atlantic 1529 as seen on ancient maps, and specifically of the Chinese Funk in the Red Sea 1375, the Golden Hind near Celebes circa 1595, and Captain Cook's ships Resolution and Adventure prior to his second voyage of 1772.
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WILLIAMS, W. Wynne
The Barkly Tableland of North Australia: with Special Reference to Further Pastoral Settlement.
12 pages, including 2 in-text sketch maps. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. This is a most fascinating expedition report on the Barkly Tableland of North Australia, including a geographical study of the Mitchell grass lands and prairies of Central Queensland, the Lake Nash area, the well-known holding of Avon Downs, the natural and artificial courses of water, and also the sheep pastures. Some of the sheep were brought from Vandelin Island and their health improved dramatically as a result. Williams discusses the possibility of more sheep raising on this tableland, and supports his theory with a brief summary of the usage of the roads and railways and also on the Pastoral Settlement within the Northern Country in the preceding 50 years, while making suggestions for possible improvements.
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CROSSLAND, Cyril
The Island of Tahiti.
21 pages, including sketch maps and illustrations. Plus photographic plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. This is an exceptional report on the geology and natural history of the Island of Tahiti provided by a distinguished naturalist, Dr. Crossland, illustrated with several sketch maps showing Tahiti and Taiarapu; the mouth of the Fautaua River, Taunoa Harbour; the mouth of the Punaruu river, as well as, amazing photographs depicting west coast of Tahiti; the island of Moorea from Atine; the north-east side of Tahara Head; Papeari; beach of Pocillopora on Motu Au; a wrecked islet off Hitiaa; and "Nansouty" islet. The author also discusses how the three easternmost groups of Polynesia differ one from another by decribing their volcanic origin, maritime flats, and coral reefs. Crossland was praised in his obituary in the journal "Nature" as 'one of the last explorer-naturalists of the Darwin type'.
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TERRY, Michael
Through Northern Australia: Report of the Terry Australian Expedition.
24 pages, including a full-page sketch map. Plus photographic plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Michael Terry, known as "The Last of the Australian Explorers" was an explorer and gold prospector, and the leader of fourteen inland Australia expeditions between 1923 and 1935, mainly working for Adelaide mining companies seeking minerals. This is his extensive expedition account traversing approximately 2000 miles on caterpillar-track trucks with a team of mineralogists, topographers and botanists, for four months, from Darwin in the Northern Territory to Broome, Western Australia This fascinating account pre-dates the author's book, entitled "Across Unknown Australia," first published in 1926, and is beautifully illustrated with photographs and a full-page sketch route map through North-East Australia.
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BAKER, John R.
The Northern New Hebrides.
21 pages, including sketch maps. Plus photographic plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. An intimate first-hand perspective with fascinating anthropological and ethographic details of the unusual Sakau culture in the islands of Espiritu Santo and Gaua, particularily in the northeastern peninsula of the former island which is called Sakau. It examines the life of the cheerful and remarkably honest native people, the Melanesians, who lived almost precisely the life that their ancestors lived. With sketch maps, showing inhabited and uninhabited villages, as well as Hog Harbour, a village in northeast Santo so-named by explorers who were in awe of the abundance of pigs. A informative description of the Hebrides and a remarkably engaging travel account.
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J.A. Steers.
The Queensland Coast and the Great Barrier Reefs.
56 pages (in two consecutive complete issues), including sketch illustrations and in-text sketch maps. Plus photographic plates and a fold-out colour map measuring approximately 7.5 x 10.25 inches (19 x 27cm). Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. Two complete issues, seldom found in such good and original condition. This is an intriguing and detailed account of the Great Barrier Reef Expedition, originally planned to investigate certain biological problems, and dealing with several matters other than the origin of the reef. This article contains new material and views on the nature and origin of low wooded islands and sand cays. Several other problems, which had been occasionally touched upon by earlier writers, have also been elaborated on. Of particular interest, mention is made of the evidence for uplift along the East Australian Coast, the formation of sand and shingle spits, and the question of cliffing. The main object of this report was to dicuss the evidence for faulting.
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KARIUS, C. H.
Explorations in the Interior of Papua and North East New Guinea: The Source of the Fly, Palmer, Strickland, and Sepik Rivers.
18 pages. Plus photographic plates, and a large fold-out colour map measuring approximately 15 x 21 inches (38 x 53cm). Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. This is a remarkable report on significant expeditions into unknown regions to the interior of New Guinea, a journey of arduous climbing, scaling, or circumventing fragile sheer rose-colored limestone faces, navigating through valleys and gorges, and rafting powerful rivers, in the midst of perpetual earth tremors and landslides. This exciting journey, which also endured injury and shortage of food, was rewarded with the discovery of the sources of both the Palmer and Strickland rivers, of two additional previously unknown streams, and also of a pass to the main mountain range. Includes entertaining anecdotes of encounters with indigenous tribes such as attempted robbery from the traveler's camp on the Fly river, communication with signs, and the introduction of tobacco to the native populations. With a fantastic route map, not only showing two journeys, but also describing geographical features, placing huts and villages, outlining international and colonial boundaries, and indicating vast unexplored territory in the east.
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TAYLOR, E.G.R.
The Missing Draft Project of Drake's Voyage of 1577-80 [AND] Hondius's Portraits of Drake and Cavendish.
3 pages, plus 3 plates, one showing the portrait illustrations of Drake and Cavendish, and two showing the draft. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. This is an enlightening succinct account of tremendous historical importance, the most significant discovery of two documents found in the British Museum, revealing the actual draft project and other correspondence concerning Drake's secret voyage, which existed prior to the dramatic expedition. Previous to this report, all discussions as to what plan and instructions Drake carried with him when he finally sailed for Magellan's strait in December of 1577 had been based upon after the events: upon the course which he actually travelled, narratives written and dispositions made when he returned a national hero. The first document found, consisting of three pages, two of which are reproduced in facsimile in this article, is the draft plan of the voyage which subsequently took shape as a circumnavigation of the world. This document gives a list of the promoters of the voyage, the Lord High Admiral (the Earl of Lincoln), Leicester, Walsingham, Hatton, Sir William Winter, George Winter, John Hawkins and Francis Drake. The second document is the report made by John Winter on the 2nd of June, 1579, the day he reached England, nearly eight months after losing sight of Drake in the South Sea, the second page of which contains the plan to be followed, revealing that the ships are to go and return by Magellan's strait, that unknown shores not in the possession of and Christain Prince are to be visited, and that, if it seems to be advisable to Francis Drake, the voyage is to be extended to 30 degrees, while its duration is to be thirteen months. Drake's circumnavigation of the globe began amidst political and religious upheaval in Europe, in 1577. The voyage was so far ahead of its time that another 200 years would pass before the eighteenth-century explorers of record reached the northwest coast of North America. Drake's secret voyage, the exploration of the Pacific Northwest in hopes of finding the fabled Northwest Passage to eastern trade routes, and to establish a British colony in the New World, was hidden under a "cloak of secrecy" due to Drake's complicated relationship with Queen Elizabeth and England's precarious political situation with Spain. One of 16th-century England's most daring adventurers, Drake sailed all the way to Alaska, much farther than anyone had envisioned, thereby rewriting the history of exploration in North America. Surviving the dangers of mutiny, the lack of knowledge about wind and current, and the arduous physical challenges faced every day, Drake earns his reputation as "one of the greatest mariners that sail[ed] the seas, both as a navigator and as a commander," feared by his enemies for the "alarming scope of his success." Together with Hondius's portraits of the first two English circumnavigators, Sir Francis Drake and Sir Thomas Cavendish on one plate and a page of explanatory text. Jodocus Hondius (1563-1612), was a Dutch engraver, and cartographer. He is best known for his early maps of the New World and Europe, for re-establishing the reputation of the work of Gerard Mercator, and for his portraits of Francis Drake. He helped establish Amsterdam as the center of cartography in Europe in the 17th century.
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TERRY, Michael.
Two Journeys Westwards from Horseshoe Bend and Oodndatta, Central Australia.
6 pages, including 3 sketch maps. Plus a few photographic plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. Some crease to pages and wrappers, otherwise this is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Michael Terry, known as "The Last of the Australian Explorers" was an explorer and gold prospector, and the leader of fourteen inland Australia expeditions between 1923 and 1935, mainly working for Adelaide mining companies seeking minerals. This is a succinct account of his prospecting expedition to the Petermann and Tomkinson Ranges in Central Austraila, in which he traversed approximately 3000 miles in the lands west of the Overland Telegraph Line in search of useful minerals including gold. Terry did not find any significant mineral, but found great quality pastoral land in and adjacent to the Tomkinson, Mann, and western portion of the Musgrave Ranges.
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CHEESMAN, L. Evelyn.
The Island of Malekula, New Hebrides.
18 pages, including 2 sketch maps. Plus photographic plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. This is a fascinating account of a two-year expedition in the New Hebrides, focusing on the twelve months spent on Malekula, the second largest island of the group, being 46 miles long and 26 miles wide, and being densely forested from the shore-belt to the top of the hills. The remainder of the time was spent on four other islands with six weeks on Vanua Lava, Banks Islands. The natives of Malekula were Malenesians and were reported to be quite primitive, still unuaccustomed to caucasians exploring their land. This first-hand account reveals indigenous customs and beliefs, implements and their purpose, and also discusses cannibalism. Two previous surveyers, Mr. McPahail and Mr. Deacon both died of blackwater fever before completing their work on the island. Their untimely deaths made it difficult for Miss Cheesman to later enlist native guides to accompany her, as they believed that death was always due to supernaural interference. Unwittingly, Cheesman earned a reputation of being some kind of super-bush-devil and was indeed able to achieve her objectives.
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Michael Terry & Donald George Mackay
Explorations Near the Border of Western Australia. [AND] The Mackay Aerial Survey Expedition, Central Australia, May - June 1930.
17 pages. Plus photographic plates and a fold-out colour map measuring approximately 12.25 x 14 inches (31 x 36cm). Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. This is a fascinating report by a man who during the previous eleven years had led twelve in Australia with the principal object of searching for minerals of commercial importance. The scope of his field work was now to include reconnaissance survey, soil study, meteorology, and the collection of specimens for the Adelaide Museum. Included is a brief report by Donald Mackay entitled, 'The Mackay Aerial Survey Expedition, Central Australia, May - June 1930.' Accompanied is a lovely fold-out colour map of Western and Central Australia illustrating both reports. Donald George Mackay (1870-1958) was an Australian outdoorsman, long-distance cyclist, and explorer who conducted several expeditions to the remotest areas of the Australian continent. Beginning in 1930, Mackay supervised several aerial survey expeditions to Central Australia. The 1930 expedition surveyed the Southwestern corner of the Northern Territory. Mackay utilized two ANEC III aircraft for the survey, piloted by Captain Frank Neale and Captain H. B. Hussey, with Commander Harry T. Bennett as the navigator and surveyor. The team made 15 survey flights over 24 days, mapping and correcting the dimensions of Lake Amadeus and finding a previously unknown lake (Lake Mackay). The expedition finished at Adelaide on 28 June 1930. Michael Terry, FRGS, FRGSA (1899-1981) was an Australian explorer, surveyor, prospector and writer. He was born at Gateshead, County Durham, England. During the First World War he served with No. 2 Squadron of the RNAS Armoured Cars in Russia against the Bolsheviks, by whom he was captured at Kursk though subsequently released. He moved to Australia in 1918. Between 1923 and 1935 he led 14, mainly gold prospecting, expeditions through inland Australia. Among his published books include: "Untold Miles: three gold-hunting expeditions amongst the picturesque borderland ranges of Central Australia," "Hidden Wealth and Hiding People [a search for gold amongst the blacks of Central Australia]," "Through a Land of Promise: With Gun, Car and Camera in the Heart of Northern Australia," "Across Unknown Australia," "Sand and Sun: Two Gold-Hunting Expeditions in Australia," "Journey to NW & Central Australia."
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CHINNERY, E.W.P. & SPINKS, K. L.
The Central Ranges of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea from Mount Chapman to Mount Hagen [AND] Mapping the Purari Plateau.
Two reports on New Guinea in a complete issue, 19 pages. Plus photographic plates and a fold-out colour map measuring approximately 10 x 21 inches (15.5 x 53.5cm). Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Also includes "Mapping the Purari Plateau" by K. L. Spinks. This fascinating narrative reveals the geographical and ethological knowledge gained by miners while in search of gold in the great central ranges New Guinea between Mount Chapman and Mount Hagen. Chinnery describes the three large groups of people who inhabit this diverse mountainous jungle area, and the differences in their type, language,and customs. Accompanied by a large colour map and spectacular photographic plates depicting Mount Lawson, the headwaters of the Tiveri, the watershed of the Tiveri and Watut rivers, Wahgi River valley, Jimmi valley, western Purari gardens, Bena Bena natives, and native at Kauramugil.
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Atlas, Maps, Prospectus
Original Prospectus Piece, With a Sample Colour Map of New Zealand and an Order Form, for the Second Edition of 'The World-Wide Atlas of Modern Geography'.
Original Prospectus Piece for the Second Edition of 'The World-Wide Atlas of Modern Geography', published by W. & A.K. Johnston in Edinburgh, 1894. With a sample colour map of New Zealand from the Atlas, list of maps and plans, and an order form. Single leaf, double sided, measuring approximately 9.5 x 12 inches (24 x 30cm). Near Fine Condition. The Atlas contained 112 coloured plates, maps, and plans of cities, and an introduction, giving an account of geographical discovery and political territorial changes in the nineteenth century, by J. Scott Keltie, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society, London.
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BAKER. John. R.
Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides.
25 pages. Plus photographic plates and a fold-out colour map. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. A fascinating travel expedition account of the tropical Pacific islands designated the 'New Hebrides.' The Oxford University Scientific Expedition's two-fold remit was to ascend and survey the region's highest mountain and to study the breeding seasons of a selection of the area's indigenous animals. Having designated Santo Peak as the region's highest mountain, the party performed various reconaissance surveys, took barometer and odometer readings, made a collection of insects despite the heavy rain as well as a good collection of plants, featured among them several orchid species - and provided a description of its summit. Having selected five animals (the parrot, lizard, fruit-bat, insectivorous bat and the passerine bird) for a detailed study of breeding seasons, various observations were recorded. Features detail of the local Sakau people and appendices relating to exploration of the Tawoli river, the birds of Espiritu Santo, survey equipment employed and regional geology.
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BENSON, Professor W. N.
Notes on the Geographical Features of South-Western New Zealand.
9 pages, including a full-page sketch map. Plus photographic plate and a fold-out diagram. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. This is a fascinating expedition report on one of the most beautiful parts of New Zealand - the south western extremity often known as Fiordland. Most of it was then difficult to access, incompletely mapped or unexplored, and geologically but little known. Among subjects discussed include a brief history of exploration and mapping, topography, vegetation, the valley-system, and coastal plateau. Accompanied by diagrams showing Dusky and Breaksea Sounds, Milford Sound, and Tutoko Peak, plus spectacular photographs, some depicting Homer's Saddle, Hall Arm in Doubtful Sound, Grave Talbot Pass, and Hollyford Valley.
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LEAHY, Michael
The Central Highlands of New Guinea.
A Preliminary Report on New Guinea Which Pre-Dates Author's Book. 41 pages. Plus photographic plates, fold-out panoramas, and a large fold-out colour map measuring approximately 12 x 20 inches (30 x 51cm). Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Leahy's early primary resource, which pre-dates his highly acclaimed book! A riveting first-hand account of New Guinea exploration by the first Europeans to enter into the highlands, in searching for gold, which led to one of the major discoveries of the twentieth century - over a million primitive people living in the stone age. The last great adventure of New Guinea exploration, together with important first contact photographs. The interior of New Guinea hadlong been thought to be a mass of impenetrable mountain ranges and deep valleys, which maps of that time had labelled "probably uninhabited", but Michael Leahy, and his party, the first whitemen ever to effect entry into the heart of New Guinea, found densely populated long wide valleys, inhabited with flesh eating cannibals, and fertile plateaus. Leahy was subsequently honoured by the Royal Geographical Society in recognition of his discoveries in New Guinea. This is a set of two remarkable reports detailing a foremost discovery expedition to New Guinea, vividly illustrated with photographic plates including fold-out panoramas, and also accompanied by a spectacular colour route map. Includes a report titled "The Wahgi River Valley of Central New Guinea," by K. L. Spinks, which covers colonization history, accessibility of the main plateau, tectonic features, mountain names, and notes elucidating the color map. Leahy's Title is Recognized as "THE CLASSIC" of New Guinea Exploration Literature - "Land That Time Forgot, Adventures and Discoveries in New Guinea", first published in 1937.
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MARSHALL, A. J.
Northern New Guinea.
18 pages, including an in-text sketch map. Plus photographic plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. This is a most captivating travel account featuring remote villages and the indigenous people and of New Guinea, describing the devastation and damage caused by an earthquake in the Torricelli Mountains, and revealing European influence. Marshall imparts his observations on the Wapei people, whom he greatly enjoyed spending time with, on their customs, ceremonies, sparse dress, superstition, hunting, agriculture, trade , and their villages which were usually built along a ridge and sometimes by excavating holes in the sandstone. While recounting various routes of exploration, he also shares knowledge gained of the Bogasip people who were yet uninfluenced by the European, and of the people of the Vanimo district in Dutch New Guinea.
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STEERS, J. A.
The Coral Islands and Associated Features of the Great Barrier Reefs.
56 pages. Plus photographic plates, one of which is a fold-out panorama. Also with 2 fold-out maps, one measuring approximately 13 x 17 inches (33 x 43cm), the other measuring 8 x 19 inches (20 x 48cm). Published in two complete issues of the Royal Geographical Society. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. Two complete issues, seldom found in such good and original condition. his is a most captivating substantial geographical account from an expedition into the heart of the amazing reefs stretching for nearly 1200 miles in the warm waters of tropical Queensland coast, from Torres Straits to Lady Elliot Island, to which collectively the legendary name "Great Barrier Reef" is applied; being a very descriptive report of the unique qualities of numerous islands and their dramatic changes as they are affected by the tides, possible movement of sea-level, and the cyclone season. With a scientific approach, the report entails much detail on the Bunker and Capricorn Islands, Sand Cays, the Lower Bench and its features, Cliffing, the Higher Bench and Platform, the formation of the Lower Platform on the Low Wooded type of islands. With a substantial section on the 'Low Wooded Islands', also referred to as the 'Island Reefs'. Two sketch maps serve to delineate the Queensland coast, and numerous islands including Lady Musgrave, Heron, Stone, Cockermouth, Houghton, Night, Sherrard, and Enn.
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CAMPBELL, Stuart
The Country Between the Headwaters of the Fly and Sepik River in New Guinea.
27 pages, plus photographic plates and a large fold-out colour map measuring approximately 7 x 13 inches (18 x 33cm). Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Fascinating notes of an expedition formed to explore rumours regarding valuable mineral deposits said to be present around the vast and unexplored headwaters of the Fly and Sepik rivers in New Guinea. Organized on behalf of British and American mining interests, the party set off in two planes, piloted by Stuart Campbel of the Royal Australian Air Force and K. Garden. A compelling narrative leads the reader through hazardous terrain: the Mittages mountains and the valley of the Om; the Behrmann hills and Hindenburg range; the May and Screw rivers and introduces them to the Kiarikim, the Telifomin, the Fekelmin and the Atbalmin. Interesting descriptions of tribal customs, cannibalism, dress, social mechanisms, weaponry and diet. Further features a secion dedicated to the work of earlier explores such as Sir William Macgregor and D'Albertis.
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BLACKWOOD, Beatrice.
Life on the Upper Watut, New Guinea.
18 pages, including 2 in-text sketch maps. Plus spectacular photographic plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. A fascinating study of the modern Stone Age people known as the Kukukuku, similar both culturally and physically to certain groups on the Papuan side of the boundary, and living in the Morobe district of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea; a remarkable people whose most valuable assett is the bamboo, and whose skill and patience is displayed as they make clubheads and other simple tools by selecting round water-warn stones from the stream and shaping them by rubbing them on a stone. A truly captivating report illustrated with many incredible photographic images of the natives.
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BROUWER, H.A.
Exploration in the Lesser Sunda Islands.
10 pages, plus 2 full-page colour maps and several photographic plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. This is an illuminating paper by Professor Bouwer who took with him a group of students to study the most interesting islands in the East Indies, the archipelago located at the intersection of two great zones of crustal weakness of the earth. Some of the islands studied included the Wetar, Lirang, Alor, and Lomblen and also the volcanic islands of Adonara, Solor, and the eastern part of Flores. In the eastern part the mountain-building processes are still active, while the portion to the west of Makassar Strait has long been more or less stable, except where it borders upon the Indian Ocean. Among subjects discussed include morphological features of the islands, geological composition and structure, the rate and direction of movement of the earth's crust, geographic distribution of volcanoes and evolution of volcanic activity, Accompanied by 2 full-page colour maps, one of which shows active and extinct volcanoes, also included are amazing photographic images depicting native house at Kaslio and market at Kefamenanoe in Timor.
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BROWNE, Alan
The Volcanic Zone of Tarawera, New Zealand.
8vo. 8 pages, plus a full page map and photographic plates for illustration. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Well known mountain climber and painter of distinction, Alan Browne presents a most captivating comparison of New Zealand's Rotorua region, before and after the devastating volcanic eruption of 10 June 1886, a catastrophic event that would permanently alter the area's topography, and claim the lives of many Maoris. Drawing from local accounts of Auckland residents, as far as 140 miles away, Browne describes the tragic event with vivid eyewitness testimony. The region's entire forest was nearly destroyed, as was the area which at that time was uninhabited. Sadly, lives were taken, in the villages of Te Ariki and Moura about one hundred Maori people being buried under rock, ash, and mud. The event abruptly ended the long stretch of hundreds of years without volcanic eruption in the Tarawera mountain ranges. Browne includes interesting photographs and descriptions of the hot lakes in the series of craters that formed as a result of the eruption, Echo Crater and Frying-pan Lake being examples, concluding with a proposal for immediate establishment of a vulcanological observatory, its role particularly geared toward the prediction of future eruptions. An eruption of Waimangu in 1900, and others in 1904 and 1917 are further offered for evidence of continued volatility.
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CHAMPION, Ivan
The Bamu-Purari Patrol, 1936.
8vo. 32 pages over 2 issues, plus large fold-out map and photographic plates for illustration. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. A primary source account of the first peaceful expedition into tribal regions of central Papua New Guinea, by a distinguished patrol officer who was native to the island himself, and who would later become a director in District Services and Native Affairs, as well as senior commissioner of the new Land Titles Commission. On this journey, the officer and expedition leader established good relations with indigenous tribes as he learned much about their communal lives. He further settled a new post, and provided a geographical survey which facilitated the first accurate map of the region. From April-December 1936 Ivan Champion led a major Bamu-Purari patrol to establish the remote Lake Kutubu patrol post, accompanied by patrol officer C.T.J. Adamson. Champion returned with a manuscript account of the mission, 123 pages in length, a condensed version of which is presented here in this foremost published account. As stated herein, circumstances caused a notable delay in publication. Champion's amicable experiences and collaboration with the indigenous Motuan and Koitabu inhabitants caused immense criticism of a patrol previously made by Jack G. Hides and his violent actions against native tribes, actions which Champion's expedition illustrated were unnecessary. In diary format, the officer describes arduous travel including river crossings and precipice climbing, as well as procuring fresh food, and pleasant interactions with native people, continuously making comparisons with Hides' erroneous reports. He also includes some striking photographic images of the tribes, their dwellings, canoes, and more, as well as a route map which again compares his tracts to those of Hides. Champion has been called "the last great explorer of Papua" and his book, 'Across New Guinea from the Fly to the Sepik' is now a classic in exploration.
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CHEESMAN, L. Evelyn.
The Mountainous Country at the Boundary, North New Guinea.
8vo. 19 pages, plus a sketch map and several photographic plate illustrations. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Engaging descriptions of eminent entomologist and author Lucy Evelyn Cheesman's journey to Vanimo, then north to Humboldt Bay (Tepati) and the Cyclops Mountains, with further excursions to hill villages in the boundary mountains of Papua New Guinea, from where she intended to collect twenty thousand insects for the South Australian Museum. Vivid anecdotal descriptions of encounters with the Tepati people; the people of Molol and Wanimo; incidents with crocodiles; life of the indigenous people in the villages near Vanimo; Vanimo itself and the efforts of the local mission there run by Father Hittenberger and Brother Michael. Cheesman devotes a lot of text to the 'forest people and hunters' of Krissa, recounting their ritual 'kill-song' connected with the pig hunt and their frightening beliefs in the mysterious 'sangumen' or sorcerer. Notable geographical detail includes descriptions of the Oinake Massif and Mount Oinake with its breath-taking cliffs of vivid colour, contrasts of bright green madreporic shrubs against dramatic purple shadows and stark white limestone.
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CHEESMAN, L. Evelyn.
Two Unexplored Islands off Dutch New Guinea: Waigeu and Japen.
8vo. 8 pages, plus 2 full page sketch maps and photographic plate illustrations. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Significant for its early account of biodiversity in the now protected "Coral Triangle" of the Pacific, Cheesman's succinct and well illustrated primary source reveals highlights of an entire year of entomological research on little-known islands of the Pacific, just north of the Dampier Strait, in Papua New Guinea, on behalf of the Natural History division of the British Museum. The splendid coral reefs of Mayalibit Bay, limestone mountains and formations, a wealth of exotic vegetation, mangrove swamps, fauna and reptilia are but a few features examined. On the volcanic Mount Nok she set up camp, where she interacted with native inhabitants of small villages, remarking on their language, education, and on previous feuds with "Bush Tribes.' On Japen island she first establishes camp on Mt. Baduri, from where she collects samples and observes birds. before relocating to two other locations. In the tropical forests for six months, many samples were acquired, and a remarkable storm was documented.
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PASCOE, J. D.
The Adams Valley and Glaciers, Southern Alps of New Zealand.
8vo. 6 pages, plus map and photographic plates for illustration. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Recounting mountaineering expeditions as early as the Baker and Butler survey of 1861, the author's illustrated compendium focuses on two expeditions undertaken in 1934 and 1935 by members of the Canterbury Mountaineering Club, one of whom is the author himself. The unknown watershed of Mount Adams into the Perth and Poerua rivers was the question to unravel on New Zealand's South Island, resulting in fascinating discovery, climbing, and mapping. Herein are described specific glaciers, unnamed cols, glacial tributaries, and climbing adventures. Excerpt from the text: "The Main Divide of the Southern Alps between Canterbury and Westland is a chain of glaciated peaks linked with curious passes. The subranges are equally intricate and the whole forms a fascinating wilderness... The story of the exploration of the Southern Alps is long and eventful, and even in 1938 was not complete."
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Barigh, M. (Pioneer of Perth, Western Australia)
ALS Concerning Drought, Poverty, and Land Value.
Manuscript Signed Letter, dated 21 January 1897, discussing matters pertaining to the settlement era of Perth, Western Australia. 8vo. Two double-leafs, 5 pages. Very good condition. Fascinating content such as a poverty, drought, general health issues in Perth from the conditions, problems of the homeless, and in contrast the increase in land values, and prospects for youngsters, The writer also talks of the Music Society and of singing the Messiah at Christmas. Written by M. Barigh of Havelock Street, her home located on a hill above the central town, who may have been a relative of Richard Henry Barigh, an immigrant to Australia, possibly originally as a convict. Excerpts from the letter: "Lately we have had a water famine and all day long the water is cut off but we fill a tank and so it does not cause us much inconvenience... We do not like W.A. half so much as N.Z. it is too hot and dry and this town is not healthy." "The place must have grown half since we came and building is going on all the time and the values of property increasing - our land cost about four pounds a foot and a lady has just bought this piece adjoining ours and given over eleven pounds for it and thinks she has got it cheap." "There are scores of people here with nothing who a little while since in Melbourne were living in luxury." End Excerpts. Perth had only been established since 1829. In 1850, Western Australia was opened to convicts at the request of farming and business people looking for cheap labour. Queen Victoria announced the city status of Perth in 1856.
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CROMMELIN - LONGITUDE AT SEA
An Adaptation of Major Grant's Graphical Method of Predicting Occultations to the Elements Now Given in the Nautical Almanac
8vo. 6 pages, plus 2 large folding diagrams. A rare separate offprint printed for the Royal Geographical Society. Publisher's blue titled wrappers, string-tied and bearing the society's crest. Some light foxing, otherwise in very good and original condition. The author, a respected astronomer and well-known authority on comets, renders praise to the primary research and calculations of Major S.C.N. Grant in 1896, which forms the basis for his dissertation. With meticulous and detailed instruction Crommelin presents a simplified method to predict and decipher the instantaneous and momentary occultation of stars which greatly simplifies the detremination of Longitude at Sea. He further introduces the application to the Solar Eclipse phenomenon. Exceedingly rare dissertation by an important nineteenth century astronomer. Six years prior to Crommelin's study, Grant published a six page report and illustration, titled "Diagram for Determining the Parallaxes in Declination and Right Ascension of a Heavenly Body, and its Application to the Prediction of Occultations." Crommelin was famed for his computations of cometary orbits. He took part in expeditions to observe total solar eclipses in 1896, 1900, 1905, 1912, and 1927. In 1919 he participated in the solar eclipse expedition to Brazil which aimed to determine the amount of the deflection of light caused by the gravitational field of the Sun. The results from these observations were crucial in providing confirmation of the General Theory of Relativity, which Albert Einstein had proposed in 1916.
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Thor Heyerdahl.
The Voyage of the Raft Kon-Tiki.
21 pages, including a full-page sketch map. Plus black and white plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. This is a most amazing and compelling account of a fearless, treacherous, and seemingly unreasonably optimistic Pacific Ocean voyage of 101 days on a most precarious raft. Guided by the early Spanish records, supplemented by native Ecuadorian advice, the expedition members with Herman Watzinger as their architect, built a 40-foot replica of the old balsa raft, intended for the crossing of the magnificent Pacific Ocean, using balsa logs from the Ecuadorian jungle lashed together side by side with hemp rode, absolutely no metal fixings nor a single nail, and complete with a small thatched bamboo hut and two mangroves sails! The seaworthiness of the seemingly clumsy raft, which held Heyerdahl and five companions for a 4,300-mile voyage to the Polynesian islands, surpassed the boldest expectations. Upon their inconcievable return, Heyerdahl proudly reports that the buoyant logs rode the crest of breaking seas like rock. The use of rope instead of nails or pegs permitted independent movement between the separate pieces of wood and bamboo, and gave the craft an amazing toughness and resiliency at sea and on the reef. Whether the South Pacific water-span was ever bridged by preshistoric craft is a question by no means new to anthropology. The Polynesian race, its origin and its migrations have been the subject of more attention among scientists than any other living branch of the human family. Heyerdahl’s theory was that the original Polynesians had come by sea from South America, on rafts such as the one he and his companions built. The first voyage ended in failure after 47 days. The second voyage of 4300 miles and 101 days facing dangerous storms and all the elements of the sea, did in fact establish the feasability of his claim. They set out from Callao in Peru and ended with the wreck of the Kon-Tiki on a coral reef off Raroia in the Tuamoto Archipelago, part of French Polynesia. From the actual building of the raft to their crash landing on the island, the Kon-Tiki expedition has been hailed as one of the great scientific as well as maritime feats of all time! Kon-Tiki was the raft used by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl in his 1947 expedition. It was named after the Inca sun god, Viracocha, for whom "Kon-Tiki" was said to be an old name. Kon-Tiki is also the name of the popular book that Heyerdahl wrote about his adventures. The book was a best-seller, and a documentary motion picture of the expedition won an Academy Award in 1951.
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JUTSON, J.T.
Erosion and the Resulting Land Forms in Sub-Arid Western Australia, Including the Origin and Growth of the Dry Lakes.
Item is in ORIGINAL Condition, With Blue Wrappers - As Issued, Complete with All the Ads!!! Notes & Condition: The author's scientific survey features Lake Raeside, Ora Banda, Niagara, Cue, Kanowna, and more, as he examines vegetation, land forms, cliffs, dry lakes and their origins, stream-lake systems, stone fields and desert features. One of the principal objects of Mr. Jutson's paper is to suggest that the lakes as they now exist are not simply portions of old river-valleys, though he agrees that such may have been the beginning of their history. In his opinion the lake-basins are still in process of formation, and owe their origin largely, though not wholly, to the action of the wind, etc. Thought-Provoking Geological Survey of Western Australia Lake-Basins and their Origin! 20 pages, including a full-page sketch map, a few in-text sketch illustrations. Plus photographic plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. Small chip to front cover, otherwise this is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition.
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CAMERON, H.C.
The Failure of the Philosophers to Sail with Cook in the Resolution
Item is in Original Condition, with Blue Wrappers - As Issued! Notes & Condition: Solely addressing the clamour surrounding Captain Cook's ship 'Resolution' as she was fitted for the South Seas voyage, this account features previously undisclosed and unpublished text from a passionate extempore letter written by Joseph Banks to the Earl of Sandwich May 30th 1772. Banks protests the design of the ship and urges the provision of a larger vessel. Followed by more diplomatic comments of the Navy Board, drawing from the Royal archives of the Windsor Castle, this brief report enlightens the scope of bitter feuding and controversies surrounding the voyage, potential shortcomings with the ship itself, and personal mandates which could have forever altered Captain Cook's paramount voyage. Excerpts from the text: [Joseph Banks]: "...I must be allowed to say that the ship will thus be if not absolutely incapable at least exceedingly unfit for the intended Voyage... the Shop where we are all to work if not sufficiently large will deprive the workmen of a possibility following their respective employments and prevent me from reaping the Fruit earned by voluntarily exposing myself to danger and incurring a material Expence." [The Navy Board]: "...Mr. Banks seems throughout to consider the Ships as fitted out wholly for his use; the whole undertaking to depend on him and his people..." End Excerpts. 8vo. 6 pages. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, very good and original condition.
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AUSTEN, Leo
The Tedi River District of Papua - 11
Title: The Tedi River District of Papua. Author: Leo Austen Publisher: London: Edward Stanford, Royal Geographical Society, 1923. Item is in Original Condition, with Blue Wrappers - As Issued, Complete with All the Ads! Notes & Condition: As early as six years prior to Charles Karius and Ivan Champion launching their famous 1926 expedition to cross New Guinea from the Fly to the Sepik, Australian army officer Leo Austen who would soon after become an anthropologist, led several pioneering patrols into the area. In 1922 he was placed in charge of an expedition to explore the country surrounding the Alice River [now known as the Ok Tedi River]. His party included one other officer, a Malay interpreter, twelve armed Papuan natives, and thirty-five Papuan carriers. As he notes the river's navigability and other important geographical features, he also observes various people groups settled along the banks and slightly inland. The Yonggom people and their customs are described at length. Piercing and tattooing, specific superstitions, confessions of cannibalism, fire making practices, cooking on hot stones, plaited fibre and sago leaf skirts for loin cloths, raised dwellings made of dirt and sago leafs with woven rattan doorways and constructed on posts or stilts, principal food staples, the use of long bamboo sticks for preserving water, and European influenced tobacco smoking, are some of the topics discussed in an unbiased manner. Both informative and engaging, Austen's firsthand account of a survey of the Ok Tedi District, formerly known as Alice River, describes a natural paradise, as it was in its virgin, undamaged state, three decades before Kennecott discovered the fabulous copper and gold deposit at Mount Fubilan near the headwaters of the Ok Tedi. He also visited several villages at the foot of the Star Mountains. 8vo. 15 pages, plus a full page sketch map for illustration. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Leo Austen (1894-1956) was born Leopold Novak Augstein in Brisbane. He was working as a clerk when World War I began and immediately enlisted. He landed with the first troops at Gallipoli and served in France where he was wounded. He returned to Australia in 1918 as a lieutenant and, with his brothers, changed his Austrian surname to Austen to avoid the anti-German sentiment after the war. On 3 April 1919 he joined Hubert Murray’s Papuan Service as a temporary Patrol Officer based at Daru in the lonely Western Division. He went on to lead many great patrols, there and elsewhere. In 1926 a Chair of Anthropology had been set up at the University of Sydney, partly to train Cadet Patrol Officers of the then separate New Guinea Department of District Services. Hubert Murray allowed some of his officers, including Leo, to attend the lectures. Leo eventually obtained qualifications as an anthropologist and began a parallel career producing many learned monographs and a book on Papua. The 1930s saw a massive upheaval of traditional societies in Papua due to increased European influence. Leo sought to restore and maintain the traditional cohesion of those societies, and was particularly successful in encouraging the revival of the paramount luluais in his favourite haunts in the Trobriand Islands. Leo became part of the Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU) during World War II and attended the major ANGAU conference in February 1944. Towards the end of the war he was the presiding magistrate at the trial of a number of local people accused of collaborating with the Japanese. Later he Leo obtained a position with Aboriginal Welfare in Casino New South Wales, and continued to advocate for aboriginal rights, in various ways, until his final days.
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MARKHAM, C. R.
Progress of Discovery on the Coasts of New Guinea - With Bibliographical Appendix by E.C. Rye.
71 pages, contained in an issue of the Royal Geographical Society. These are original text pages printed in 1886. Paper is in Excellent Condition. This is the Original of Markham's Bibliography, as issued in the blue wrappers. The first printing of Markham's summation of New Guinea discovery expeditions leading up to those of Wilfred Powell, with remarks on potential opportunity in yet little-known interior territories. Includes the foremost 51 page bibliographical appendix on the subject, compiled by Rye. In 1511 the Portuguese Antonio de Abreu had made a voyage from the Aru Islands to the Moluccas, and had possibly sighted the coast of New Guinea. But it was Don Jorge de Meneses, a Portuguese commander sent from Malacco to take charge at the Moluccas in 1526, who was the actual discoverer. Meneses little dreamt of the significance of his discovery, that he had reached one of the largest islands in the world-covering 306,000 square miles, 1500 miles long and 500 wide, and as large as France and Britain put together. Remaining parts of the island would not be explored until the 17th century. There is very little bibliographical material published on the early history and discovery of New Guinea. Rye's is the first bibliography on the subject mentioned in Besterman. He cites approximately 800 publications on the subject. The arrangement of the material is alphabetical by author. Markham adds a concise and useful history of the exploration of the island. Scarce in any edition. Besterman 4224.
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LUKE, Sir Harry
Easter Island
Author: Sir Harry Luke Publisher: London: Edward Stanford, Royal Geographical Society, 1954. Item is in Original Condition, with Blue Wrappers - As Issued, Complete with All the Ads! Notes & Condition: Recounting his visit to Easter Island in April and May 1952, the widely travelled author presents a lively account of the lesser-known history of slavery and slave-driven industries which nearly devastated the famous volcanic island, including the especially ruinous guano industry raid of 1862. [In 1862, Peruvian slavers made a ruthless raid on Rapa Nui and took about a thousand islanders - including the king - to work the guano deposits on Peru's Chincha Islands. The hardships and oppressions endured by the Chinese laborers who were employed in digging guano have been descrbed as a system of the worst kind of slavery.] In contrast, he also discusses the political and economic situation at the time of his visit, including the merino sheep industry, artisans retaining one ancient tradition, and British-led efforts to support the social well-being of the inhabitants which had been terminated for political reasons by the Chilean government in 1953. Following a firsthand description of the moai monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people, and remarks on the Bird-man cult, Luke concludes by revealing that the Commonwealth was considering establishing an air route from Australia to Chile, including the construction of an air strip on Easter Island. [The most remote airport in the world, Mataveri International Airport, began its service in 1967.] Excerpts from the text: "Easter Island was a no-man's land from the time that Spain was compelled to relinquish her South American possession until 1888... for more than two generations at the mercy of the 'blackbirders,' those scourges of the Pacific who roamed from island to island, seizing by force defenceless natives to work out their plantations, mines and the like. Easter Island was one of the many islands all but ruined by these depredations." "The breach of continuity to which I have referred was brought about by the development of the guano industry on the rocky islands off the Peruvian coast, which began at the end of the 1850s. From 1859, and especially in the organized raid of December 1862, most of Easter Island's able-bodied men and its leaders, including King Kaimakoi, his son and many of the learned elders (maori), were crimped by Peruvian blackbirding expeditions and transported to those sun-scorched, glary, waterless pieces of rock whose only covering consists of deposits of stinking guano." "The fifteen who lived to see their island again introduced the smallpox to a community that had no immunity... most of those who had escaped the clutches of 'blackbirders' lost their lives in the consequent epidemic." "Adorned with clumps of eucalyptus, Persian lilac, cypress and bamboo, it is a place that leaves a lasting impression and many questions with all visitors past and present. The isolation of Easter Island, its numerous and bizarre works of art, combined with the rarety of its visitors some 50 years ago contributed to a great deal of speculation and attempted explanations of the unknown phenomena." "... I am the 'ex-Governor of the British Colonies in the Pacific' referred to in Chapter 3 of Thor Heyerdahl's fascinating book as having been present on 27 April 1947 at the launching of his most famous of rafts... I was therefore anxious... to see how far the works of Easter Island culture support his theory..." End excerpts. 8vo. 10 pages including an in-text sketch map, plus photographic plates for illustration. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Sir Harry Charles Luke KCMG GCStJ (born Harry Charles Lukach) (1884-1969) was an official in the British Colonial Office. He served in Barbados, Cyprus, Transcaucasia, Sierra Leone, Palestine, Malta, the British Western Pacific Territories and Fiji. He wrote books on several of these countries. The Chincha Islands, or Islas Chincha, are a group of three small islands 21 km (13 mi) off the southwest coast of Peru, to which they belong, near the town of Pisco. They were of interest for their extensive guano deposits, but the supplies were mostly exhausted by 1874. Peru began the export of guano (droppings of seabirds, bats, and seals) in 1840, using slave labour. Spain, not having recognized Peru's independence (until 1879), and desiring the guano profits, occupied the islands in April 1864, setting off the Chincha Islands War (1864-1866).
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LAW, Phillip
The Australian Antarctic Expedition to Mac-Robertson Land, 1954. - 12
Author: Phillip Law Publisher: London: Edward Stanford, Royal Geographical Society, 1954. Item is in Original Condition, with Blue Wrappers - As Issued, Complete with All the Ads! Notes & Condition: With a chart tracking the course of the specially designed Australian ice-breaker ship called Kista Dan, and four remarkable photographic views, Phillip Law describes his difficult but successful mission - having establishing a completely functional station for future scientific work in the region of Mac. Robertson Land, Antarctica. Resolute in his endeavour, Law and his modest team of twenty-four, battled fierce windstorms and deadly moving ice in 1953-1954, to erect "Mawson Station" which he named after Antarctic explorer Sir Douglas Mawson. Established in 1954 in Holme Bay, Mac Robertson Land, Mawson is Australia's oldest Antarctic station and the oldest continuously inhabited Antarctic station south of the Antarctic Circle. On 13 February 1954 the party led by Law raised the Australian flag on the rocky shore of Horseshoe Harbour. In the first year a 10 Australians spent winter in cramped but adequate accommodation under the leadership of Robert Dovers. By the end of the year, they had erected the living quarters, a works hut, a carpenter's shop, an engine shed, two store houses. 8vo. 12 pages including sketch maps, plus photographic plates for illustration. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Excerpt from the text: "The Kista Dan, under the command of Captain H. C. Petersen, arrived at Melbourne on 11 December 1953... the ship loaded stores and supplies for both Heard Island and Antarctica..." "Three 'weasels' were taken... two living caravans to be towed behind the weasels which were fitted with insulated cabins. Five huts were landed... to provide sleeping, messing and cooking quarters, and one specially designed... to serve as radio, meteorological, survey and medical accommodation, and an engine house and two storehouses..." "Proceeding to the French Station at Port aux Français, Iles de Kerguelen, the Kista Dan took on 50 tons of gas-oil, 36 tons of water, petrol for weasels and aircraft, and diesel fuel for the Antarctic station..." "Early on Saturday, February 6, the wind rose and prevented any action... 60 knots and snowing... storm continued all day, causing great ice movements to port and astern of the ship... Kista Dan was immovably wedged." "The time until our departure, February 23, was employed on a variety of tasks. Three huts were completed... seals were killed and skinned for winter dog-food; gravity and magnetic observations, also an astronomical determination of position, were made at Mawson; geological and botanical specimens were collected; and philatelic mail, comprising 23,000 letters, were stamped." "Several emperor penguin skeletons were found at Mawson but no live emperor... There were no penguin rookeries at Mawson... but there was an Adélie penguin rookery on the island where Dover camped... where the Kista Dan first began to break into the fast-ice... a long line of thousands of Adélie penguins stretched... many of the chicks were dying from starvation..." "Mawson provided an ideal site for station..." End Excerpt. Today, Mawson Station houses approximately 20 personnel over winter and up to 60 in summer. It is the only Antarctic station to use wind generators for over 70% of its power needs, saving over 600,000 litres of diesel fuel per year. Some of the small pre-fabricated huts used in the first years remain on the station, but these are overshadowed by large steel-framed modular buildings dating from a major rebuilding program which started in the late 1970s. As intended by Law, it now serves as a base for scientific research programs, including an underground cosmic ray detector, various long-term meteorological, aeronomy and geomagnetic studies, as well as ongoing conservation biology studies, in particular of nearby Auster rookery, a breeding ground for emperor penguins and Adélie penguins. Phillip Garth Law AC, CBE, FAA (1912-2010) was an Australian scientist and explorer who served as director of Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) from 1949 to 1966. He spent the first of many summers in Antarctica in 1947-48 as a senior research officer on ANARE, soon becoming director. He established bases in Mawson, Davis and Casey, and led expeditions that explored more than 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi) of coastline and some 1,000,000 square kilometres (390,000 sq mi) of territory. From 1966 to 1980 he chaired the Australian National Committee on Antarctic Research. He published many works on his exploration. Law's wife Nel became the first Australian woman in Antarctica when she visited Mawson in 1961. Mac. Robertson Land is the portion of Antarctica lying southward of the coast between William Scoresby Bay and Cape Darnley. In the east, Mac. Robertson Land includes the Prince Charles Mountains. It was named by the British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) (1929-1931), under Sir Douglas Mawson, after Sir Macpherson Robertson of Melbourne, a patron of the expedition. Sir Macpherson Robertson had financed the joint British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition 1929-1931, which was led by the famous explorer Douglas Mawson. Mac. Robertson Land was named in his honour, and in 1932 Robertson received his knighthood for his philanthropic works, specific mention being given for his support of this expedition.
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BEAGLEHOLE, J. C.
On the Character of Captain James Cook.
8vo. 13 pages, plus two black and white plates for illustration. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, containing other accounts as well, seldom found in such good and original condition. An earnestly disquisitive analysis of early biographies, scant surviving correspondence, and most importantly, Captain Cook's own decision making and planning processes relating to his voyages, results in a most captivating character sketch of the great navigator, Captain James Cook. The author remarks on how very little is known of his famous subject other than his name, which is known worldwide. Further describing what he terms "the irony of the Pacific story" this account is well researched and compelling.
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Dr. F. von Hochstetter; Dr. A. Petermann
The Geology of New Zealand: In Explanation of the Geographical and Topographical Atlas of New Zealand - Rare NZ Imprint.
An English translation by Dr. C. F. Fisher, from the Scientific Publications of the Novara Expedition, comprising important and fascinating observations and survey work by German-Austrian geologist Ferdinand von Hochstetter at the onset of British settlement in the region. 8vo. 113 pages, plus table of contents, title page. Red cloth boards titled in gilt to front. Volume measures approximately 14 x 21 cm. Faint blemish to boards, otherwise very good condition, clean and bright. An early work presenting discoveries made in New Zealand, specifically in Auckland and Nelson, during the Austrian Imperial Novara Expedition. It includes two important lectures delivered by esteemed geologist and expedition leader Ferdinand von Hochstetter. A principal member of the expedition, Hochstetter was involved in its planning from the onset. His surveys were used in the making of the first geological map of New Zealand, created the bases for future geological research. The Novara Expedition (1857-1859) was the first large-scale scientific, around-the-world mission of the Austrian Imperial navy. In 1859, during the expedition, Hochstetter was funded by the government of New Zealand to make a rapid geological survey of the islands. Over 150 years later, his work is regarded as an authoritative primary source still today. the volume's content centers largely on Hochstetter's survey of Auckland, beginning with his lecture on the region's geology. Subjects further include its extinct volcanos, Lake Rotomahana and its hot springs [Te Tarata thermal springs], and three inlets on North Island - Whaingaroa [now known as Raglan], Aotea, and Kawhia. Approximately one quarter of the text is devoted to his geological work in the Province of Nelson.
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COX, W. Gibbons
The Artesian Water-Supply of Australia from a Geographical Standpoint.
8vo. 17 pages including in-text illustrations, plus a folding colour map measuring approximately 38 x 26 cm. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, containing other accounts as well, seldom found in such good and original condition. Irrigation and drainage engineer Gibbons W. Cox examines for the first time the Artesian basin of Australia, for the purpose of offsetting periods of drought by way of a "fuller utilization of the artesian water conserved in the crust of the Earth." Noting that Australia's rivers are few, and suggesting that it will become increasingly costly to hold their flood-time waters in canals and reservoirs, he calls attention to the immediate need for "remedy to the existing defects in administration of this valuable asset." To substantiate the concept, he examines similar regions, including Madras, Persia, the Sahara Desert regions of Algeria, and especially the United States of America, providing impressive statistics of success, where in some regions whole communities survive only by the "transformations produced by artesian waters upon sandy wastes" even with the most primitive systems in place. Following this, he illustrates the current usages of outflow waters tapped into with bore holes, and the loss of invaluable water. Alarming and factual statistics are presented, the loss of 31,340,000 sheep from 1890-1899, and 975,645 cattle in the year 1900 alone, to bring awareness to the critical water problem. Costs and effectiveness of river irrigation versus better management of artesian waters support his urgent recommendation. Together with photographic and sketch illustrations, and a colour map showing the expanse of the underground basin and partially reclaimed regions within Queensland alone, Cox makes a most compelling argument, concluding that, "... the only alternative lies in a greater increase in artesian supplies, and their adoption for systematic irrigation (for at least fodder and stock), and thus induce a larger pastoral and agricultural population to settle on the land... It is easily conceivable that sufficient water might be tapped by a great increase or artesian borings in Australia, which would provide permanent rivers and creeks in the interior from which systematic irrigation could be carried out... there would be greater evaporation, increased moisture, and a far more equable climate..." A discussion then ponders the sustainability of the water source, a most important topic which remains a question still today 110 years later! [A recent study, 2013, has assessed the sustainability of the artesian reservoir, through a comprehensive examination of the Basin's water flows, hydrology and geology.]
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GROVER, J. C.
Some Geographical Aspects of the British Solomon Islands in the Western Pacific.
20 pages with several in-text sketch maps and diagrams, plus a fold-out sketch map and a few photographic plates. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. The author provides a detailed geological profile of the Solomons, from the Santa Cruz Group, Rennell, Bellona, the Shortlands, the Central islands, Western San Cristoval, and including also outlying coral islands. Featuring also Gaudalcanal and the Savo Volcano. Scientific observations were gained during his six years of prolific work. He remarks that Choiseul and the New Georgia Group were still 'largely unexplored', and expected to remain as such for another two years. John Grover was born in Sydney, Australia in 1920. He served in the Middle East and New Guinea during World War II with the Royal Australian Engineers of the AIF. He then followed a distinguished career in the earth sciences and mining industry in the South West Pacific, Australia and Africa. He received a Royal Society and Nuffield Grant in 1967 and managed the major U.N. Development Project in Ethiopia in 1975-77. His two books "The Struggle For Power" and "The Struggle For Cargo" are widely regarded as classics in the anti-uranium/nuclear and anti-mining movements. An Ambitious Undertaking for a Thorough Scientific Survey of the Solomon Islands.
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Bonham's Magazine - Sam Willis
Sir Francis Drake - Sailor of the Century
72 pages containing a 5 page article on Sir Francis Drake. Merchant, pirate and hero of the Armada, Sir Francis Drake was no mere man of his time. As Sam Willis argues, Drake defined the era It is one of the great storeys of British history and, sadly, one that sensible historians routinely disparage: that, as his nation faced existential peril at the hands of its mortal enemy, Sir Francis Drake (c.1540-1596) chose first to finish the game he was playing. The tale is well known, but bears retelling.
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ALCOCK, A.
A Naturalist in Indian Seas, or, Four Years with the Royal Indian Marine Survey Ship "Investigator"
large 8vo [23.5 x 16 cm]; xxiv, 328 pp, photogravure frontis of the ship, 98 illustrations on 58 plates, folding map, bibliog, tables, index. later green morocco-backed boards, gilt spine title lettering, gilt decorations on raised bands, very lightly foxed on few leaves, mostly marginal, near fine sound copy in handsome binding. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. Wood p. 184. Most of the book is a quality narrative of the voyage in the Indian Ocean, including Laccadive Sea, Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. Also included is a history of the ship "Investigator" and its use in gathering information on natural history over more than a decade, with the final section being on the marine biology of the Indian seas. The illustrations are of fish and other marine creatures, An important study and interesting narrative.
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ANDERSEN, Johannes C., illustrated by Richard Wallwork
Myths & Legends of the Polynesians
8vo [22.5 x 16 cm]; 512 pp, 16 color plates from paintings including the frontis, 32 half-tone plates, other illus, folding map, glossary, index. original decorated blue cloth, gilt lettering on front cover and spine, lightly stained on cover, inscribed on endpaper, interior is fine and clean, in good cover. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. "Charming myths, ranging from New Zealand to Central Polynesia to Hawaii, have been retold by a Danish scholar." (A. Grove Day, in 'Pacific Islands Literature, one hundred basic books') The author edited the Journal of the Polynesian Society for 22 years, received the Royal Society Medal for Ethnology, and was a renowned scholar in the area. The romantic illustrations from Wallwork's paintings are supplemented by many photos of artifacts, textiles, tattoos, canoes, scenery, people, etc.
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ANDERSEN-ROSENDAL, Jorgen
The Happy Lagoons; Adventures of a South Sea Wanderer
8vo [21.5 x 14 cm]; [xii], 272 pp, illustrations from photos. original cloth backed boards, dj (bit rubbed), else very good overall. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. The author's travels to Tonga, Makogai, Samoa, etc.
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ANDERSON, Charles Roberts
Journal of a Cruise to the Pacific Ocean, 1842-1844, in the Frigate United States with notes on Herman Melville
8vo [22 x 14.5 cm]; x, 143 pp, frontis, plates from paintings of Journal of William H. Meyers, painted during the cruise, tables, notes, index. original cloth with gilt title lettering on spine, dj (lightly chipped at spine end, not price clipped), fine in vg dj. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. Hill 463. The anonymous author was probably a petty officer with access to the ship's records so that the diary combines the accuracy and authenticity of an official log book with the informal discursiveness of a personal record (dj). It includes the earliest known account of official uniforms in the American navy. The journal contains the fullest published account of the capture of Monterey four years before the Mexican War. Herman Melville was one of the members of the crew and the work includes the first published account of his life during this period of his South Seas adventures, out of which experiences he wrote White Jacket, or the World in a Man-of War.
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ANDREWS, J. R. H.
The Southern Ark; Zoological Discovery in New Zealand 1769 - 1900
folio [30 x 22 cm]; xii, 237 pp, numerous illustrations and plates, mostly in color from early sources, detailed bibliog, index. original cloth, gilt title lettering on spine and front cover, pictorial endpapers, dj (not price clipped), fine and clean copy, unused and unmarked. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. A description of the discovery of the unique fauna such as the Kiwi, Moa, Takahe and the Tuatara beginning with the voyages of Captain Cook to the end of the Victorian era. Attractive illustrations include those of Parkinson, Forster, Lear, Gould, Wolf, Martyn, Keulemans and Donovan cover all aspects of animal, bird, marine and insect life.
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ANDREWS, J. R. H.
The Southern Ark; Zoological Discovery in New Zealand 1769 - 1900
folio [30 x 22 cm]; xii, 237 pp, numerous illustrations and plates, mostly in color, detailed bibliog, index. original cloth, gilt title lettering on spine and front cover, pictorial endpapers, dj, fine and clean copy, unused. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. A description of the discovery of the unique fauna such as the Kiwi, Moa, Takahe and the Tuatara beginning with the voyages of Captain Cook to the end of the Victorian era. Attractive illustrations include those of Parkinson, Forster, Lear, Gould, Wolf, Martyn, Keulemans and Donovan cover all aspects of animal, bird, marine and insect life.
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AUDAS, James Wales
The Australian Bushland
8vo [22.5 x 15 cm]; 711, [i, errata] pp, frontis (portrait), 8 color plates from paintings (one of Cassowary, others of flowers), many other plates and illustrations from photos, maps, glossary, index. original green cloth, spine and cover title lettering, dj (chipped at spine ends, not price clipped), interior is clean and fine, overall very good. A picture of this book is available upon request by email. The botanist author, describes the flora, trees, grasses, etc in each region of Australia as well as botanical excursions in Victoria, appendices on wildflowers, grasses, Australian aborigines, birds, mammals of Australia, termites, erosion, Australian exploration, etc. Very well-illustrated.
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