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The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, Volume XII

Date1842

Object number00019773

NameBook

MediumInk, leather, marbled boards, gilt

DimensionsOverall: 222 x 145 x 28 mm, 0.6 kg

ClassificationsBooks and journals

Credit LineANMM Collection

DescriptionA book titled 'The Journal of The Royal Geographical Society of London Vol.XII'. Contents relating to Australia and the Pacific include: V.- Notes on Depuch Island. By Captain Wickham. Analysis: I.- The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs. By Charles Darwin, M.A., F.R.S., F.G.S. Miscellaneous: I.- Notes on South America and Oceania. By General W. Miller. II. Notes on Northern Australia and the neighbouring Seas. By Mr.G.W. Earle. III. Letter from Dr Dieffenbach, describing the present State of Te Wanga Lake in Chatham Island. III. - Notes of a Cruise in the Eastern Archipelagao in 1841. By Captain Owen Stanley, R.N. HistoryThis bound copy of The Journal of The Royal Geographical Society of London is one of a series of held by the Australian National Maritime Museum ranging from 00019762 - 00019826 and covering the years 1831 - 1854. The Journal of The Royal Geographical Society of London was, and remains, a major source of first-hand information on European discovery and exploration during the Victorian era. From the first articles in volume one, papers on Swan River, botany, and the natives of King George's Sound, Australia plays a key role in this story. The Journal contains articles by Phillip Parker King, Allan Cunningham, Charles Sturt, Ludwig Leichhardt, and Owen Stanley - all key figures in the European story of Australia. These articles are often illustrated and accompanied by maps and charts. It places Australia in a context, so as well as articles on the BEAGLE by Robert FitzRoy and Charles Darwin there are articles such as 'On the Countries South of Abyssinia', or by David Livingston, a 'Memoir on Madagascar'. But the Journal is much more than a quaint relic. As volume follows volume we get a serial sense of the world unfolding, revealing its mysteries. Its frequently a romantic, exotic world, but imperial realities are never faraway.SignificanceThe Journal of the Royal Geographical Society is an exceedingly important source document for exploration worldwide in the 19th Century and European perceptions of the landscapes and people explorers were encountering.