Overview

For many, the colonial story of Australia starts with Captain Cook's discovery of the east coast in 1770, but it was some 164 years before his historic voyage that European mariners began their romance with the immensity of the Australian continent. Between 1606 and 1688, while the British had their hands full with the Gunpowder Plot and the English Civil War, it was highly skilled Dutch seafarers who, by design, chance or shipwreck, discovered and mapped the majority of the vast, unknown waters and land masses in the Indian and Southern Oceans. This is the setting that sees Rob Mundle back on the water with another sweeping and powerful account of Australian maritime history. It is the story of 17th-century European mariners – sailors, adventurers and explorers – who became transfixed by the idea of the existence of a Great South Land: 'Terra Australis Incognita'. Rob takes you aboard the tiny ship, Duyfken, in 1606 when Dutch navigator and explorer, Willem Janszoon, and his 20-man crew became the first Europeans to discover Australia on the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria. In the decades that followed, more Dutch mariners, like Hartog, Tasman, and Janszoon (for a second time), discovered and mapped the majority of the coast of what would become Australia. Yet, incredibly, the Dutch made no effort to lay claim to it, or establish any settlements. This process began with British explorer and former pirate William Dampier on the west coast in 1688, and by the time Captain Cook arrived in 1770, all that was to be done was chart the east coast and claim what the Dutch had discovered.

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9781489056061

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'A master of the maritime narrative.' -- The Sunday Age

Author Information

Rob Mundle established his international identity as an author in 1999 with his gripping factual account of one of the world’s most dramatic sporting tragedies, the 54th Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. His book, Fatal Storm, became an international bestseller. It is published in six languages and has sold well over 200,000 copies – a remarkable achievement for this category in publishing. His three most recent books, ‘Bligh – Master Mariner’, ‘Flinders, The Man Who Mapped Australia’, and ‘Cook – from Sailor to Legend’, achieved No. 1 bestselling status across Australia within a few weeks of being released. ‘Bligh – Master Mariner’ has been released in the UK. Rob has now published his 14th book, a fresh and insightful look into the activities around the First Fleet sailing to Australia, and the men and women who became the cornerstone of the foundation of the nation. Rob Mundle was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2013 for his services to Sailing and Journalism. Paul English is an actor and narrator based in Melbourne who has appeared in more than 40 productions with major Australian theatre companies. Some highlights include Shakespeare's Hamlet, Chekhov’s Ivanov and Stoppard's Arcadia. Paul's television credits include SeaChange, Curtin and Gallipoli. His narration of Li Cunxin's Mao's Last Dancer and Coming Rain by Stephen Daisley have both won AudioFile Earphones Awards.

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