Narrative of the voyage of HMS RATTLESNAKE, volume 1

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Narrative of the voyage of HMS RATTLESNAKE, volume 1

Author John MacGillivray (1821 - 1867)

Publisher T&W Boone

Subject or historical figure Owen Stanley (British, 1811 - 1850)

Date1852

Object number00027900

NameBook

MediumInk on paper, leather, marbled boards

DimensionsOverall: 218 x 150 x 33 mm, 0.8 kg

ClassificationsBooks and journals

Credit LineANMM Collection

DescriptionTitled "Narrative of the voyage of HMS RATTLESNAKE, commanded by the late Captain Owen Stanley, RN, FRS &C during the years 1846-1850. Including discoveries and surveys in New Guinea, the Louisade Archipelago, etc. to which is added the account of Mr. RB Kennedy's expedition for the exploration of the Cape York Peninsula. By John MacGillivray, FRGS Naturalist to the expedition".

The book is divided into eight chapters and four appendices. It covers the voyage of the RATTLESNAKE around northern Australia and New Guinea. It has numerous lithographs and engravings plus a fold out map engraved by John Dower entitled "Outline chart of Torres Strait, and SE Coasts of New Guinea and the Louisiade Archipelago".
HistoryThe expedition of HMS RATTLESNAKE was commanded by Owen Stanley, with John MacGillivray as the naturalist and Thomas Huxley as the assistant surgeon. This expedition was a wide-ranging blend of hydrography, and natural history observation.
Cruising from 1846-1850, Stanley did much to document what in the 1840s was largely unknown to the British to the north of Australia. Stanley's early death on the return to Sydney was the occasion of the first great state funeral to be held in the colony.
SignificanceThis book is an important record of British exploration in the Torres Strait and New Guinea. One of the most notable discoveries of the RATTLESNAKE expedition was the clear channel between Cape Deliverance and the north-east entrance to Torres Strait.