Discovery: The Quest for the Great South Land

<p>Presents a spellbinding chronicle of the centuries of searching by explorers convinced that the bottom of the world must contain a great Terra Incognita, whose mass balanced the land at the top, a conviction that led to the discovery of Australia.</p>

History

ESTENSEN, Miriam

Australia & Oceania

Conway Maritime Press

Discovery: the quest for the great south land

Presents a spellbinding chronicle of the centuries of searching by explorers convinced that the bottom of the world must contain a great Terra Incognita, whose mass balanced the land at the top, a conviction that led to the discovery of Australia. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

Six centuries before the birth of Christ, people began to imagine an immense land at the bottom of the world, a land of marvels, of enormous wealth and mystery. Discovery is the story of the quest which compelled men in small ships to traverse unknown seas, endure extraordinary hardships, and slowly unveil the sixth continent. The story begins among Greek philosophers on the shores of the Mediterranean. It ends two millennia later in the vast Southern Ocean. Lucidly and concisely, Miriam Estensen tells an absorbing tale of mapmakers and lonely caravels, Spanish hidalgos and Dutch merchants, remote coasts and castaways, buccaneers and dreamers. At the heart of Discovery is the power of a myth and the adventures and sacrifices of those who pursued it, for this is the story of how an imagined place was made real, how the speculations of visionaries became Terra Incognita and then Australia.

World

Conway Maritime Press Ltd.

The compelling story of the life and times of Matthew Flinders, one of Australia's – and history’s - greatest explorers. From the author of 'Discovery'.

The Life of Matthew Flinders

Biographies & Memoirs

Travelers & Explorers

Allen& Unwin

Seeking the legendary Great South Land, the Spanish conquistadors of the late 16th and early 17th centuries sailed from South America into the unknown southwestern Pacific. Crossing the planet's largest ocean in small wooden ships with rudimentary navigation, these conquistadors encountered for the first time the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, the south coast of New Guinea, and the east coast of Australia. In addition, the book recounts such little known details as the attempts to colonize that ended in death and disaster, the violent confrontations and tentative friendships with the indigenous people, and the search for King Solomon’s mythical land, Ophir.

Terra Australis Incognita: The Spanish Quest for the Mysterious Great South Land

In August 1800, George Bass returned to England after five years in the British colony of New South Wales. Gifted, ambitious, and impatient with the limitations of a naval career, he took leave from the navy to purchase a ship of his own and organize a commercial venture to Sydney. He also met Elizabeth Waterhouse, and fell very much in love. For the next two years, and across two oceans, letters were the only link between George and Elizabeth Bass. His were brief, dashed across the page with an impatient hand, embedded with tantalizing references to his life at sea or the colony of New South Wales and filled with love for his wife. Hers were many pages of small, neat script with news of her friends and family, her own thoughts and pursuits, and her yearning for a husband who would never return. The separate worlds in which George and Elizabeth lived also come to life in their letters: an England of domestic chatter and streets filled with soldiers awaiting a Napoleonic invasion; the hot humid coastal towns of Brazil, where Bass sought to sell his merchandise and took on board firewood, fresh water and tobacco; Sydney society and the disappointment of the ladies in Elizabeth not having come with her husband to join their small social circle; the exotic and languid Pacific islands where trade was difficult and ship labor hard. Rich in detail and deeply personal, The Letters of George and Elizabeth Bass provides a uniquely vivid and intimate portrait of the lives of these two young people and the era in which they lived.

The Letters of George and Elizabeth Bass

Literature & Fiction

Essays & Correspondence

"This comprehensive biography of one of AustraliaÆs greatest explorers, Matthew Flinders, details everything from his first sight of Terra Australis at 17 to receiving command of HMS Investigator to explore and chart the entire Australian coast years later. Compellingly written, the biography follows FlindersÆs high adventure with obstacles including a rotting ship in the perilous, little-known labyrinth of the Barrier Reef, bouts of scurvy and dysentery, shipwreck and imprisonment, and a nine-year absence from a beloved wife."

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Books by ESTENSEN, Miriam

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by ESTENSEN, Miriam. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Discovery: The Quest for the Great South Land

Discovery: The Quest for the Great South Land

Discovery: The Quest for the Great South Land

The Life of Matthew Flinders

Terra Australis Incognita: The Spanish Quest for the Mysterious Great South Land

The Letters of George and Elizabeth Bass

Discovery: the quest for the great south land

The Life of Matthew Flinders