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This series focuses on Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region from the arrival of European seafarers and missionaries to the early twentieth century. Contemporary accounts document the gradual development of the European settlements from penal colonies and whaling stations to thriving communities of farmers, miners and traders with fully-fledged administrative and legal systems. Particularly noteworthy are the descriptions of the indigenous peoples of the various islands, their customs and their differing interactions with the European settlers.

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107 results in Cambridge Library Collection - History of Oceania

Page 1 of 6

An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands, in the South Pacific Ocean
  • With an Original Grammar and Vocabulary of their Language
  • Volume 1
  • William Mariner
  • Edited by John Martin
  • Published online:
    05 December 2015
    Print publication:
    15 November 2012
    First published in:
    1818
  • In November 1806, the damaged Port-au-Prince arrived at what Captain Cook had called the Friendly Islands. William Charles Mariner (1791–1853) was among the few crew members spared by the native inhabitants. He lived there for four years. Published in 1818, this two-volume second edition offers an important early insight into Tongan customs and language. As editor John Martin (1789–1869) explains, the structure of a nation's language is vital to the consideration of its history. So successful was the first edition of 1817 - expanded upon here to include 'generally corroborative, and in a few instances somewhat corrective' information from another erstwhile inhabitant - that within months of its publication a French translation appeared; German and American editions soon followed. Volume 1 comprises Martin's extensive introduction, the story of the ship's voyage and destruction, and an account of Mariner's stay on the islands and the events leading to his departure.

An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands, in the South Pacific Ocean
  • With an Original Grammar and Vocabulary of their Language
  • Volume 2
  • William Mariner
  • Edited by John Martin
  • Published online:
    05 December 2015
    Print publication:
    15 November 2012
    First published in:
    1818
  • In November 1806, the damaged Port-au-Prince arrived at what Captain Cook had called the Friendly Islands. William Charles Mariner (1791–1853) was among the few crew members spared by the native inhabitants. He lived there for four years. Published in 1818, this two-volume second edition offers an important early insight into Tongan customs and language. As editor John Martin (1789–1869) explains, the structure of a nation's language is vital to the consideration of its history. So successful was the first edition of 1817 - expanded upon here to include 'generally corroborative, and in a few instances somewhat corrective' information from another erstwhile inhabitant - that within months of its publication a French translation appeared; German and American editions soon followed. Volume 2 covers diverse aspects of Tongan society, from its music to notions of the soul, and includes a detailed grammar of the language and 2,000 words of vocabulary.

Australian Dictionary of Dates and Men of the Time
  • Containing the History of Australasia from 1542 to Date
  • Edited by J. H. Heaton
  • Published online:
    05 November 2015
    Print publication:
    20 October 2011
    First published in:
    1879
  • A pioneering Australian reference work, this dictionary was published in 1879 by John Henniker Heaton (1848–1914), who in his youth spent twenty years as a journalist in Australia before returning to England and campaigning in Parliament for postal reform. Published amid a bitter dispute with the government printer, it is still acknowledged to contain much useful information despite some inaccuracies. The first part, 'Men of the Time', focuses on notable men and women with Australian connections, from 1542 to the date of publication, including explorers, governors, leading colonists, writers and scientists. The second part, 'The Australian Dictionary of Dates', provides an alphabetical listing of the most remarkable Australian historical events and topics, from Aboriginal cricketers to the Zig Zag railway line, particularly noting political and legal landmarks. Heaton's book is an important document of Victorian colonial historiography and a valuable resource for the history of European settlement in Australia.

An Historical Collection of the Several Voyages and Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean
  • Alexander Dalrymple
  • Published online:
    05 November 2015
    Print publication:
    02 July 2015
  • This important collection, published in two volumes in 1770–1 and reissued here in one, contains accounts of notable Iberian and Dutch voyages in the southern hemisphere, translated and edited by Alexander Dalrymple (1737–1808). Hydrographer to the Admiralty from 1795, Dalrymple produced this work as part of his research into the belief at the time that there existed an undiscovered continent in the South Pacific. These volumes were intended to demonstrate the knowledge of the region to date. The first volume covers sixteenth-century Spanish and Portuguese voyages, beginning with Ferdinand Magellan and including those of Juan Fernández, Álvaro de Mendaña y Neira and Pedro Fernandes de Queirós. The second volume contains the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Dutch voyages of Jacob Le Mair and Willem Schouten, Abel Tasman and Jacob Roggeveen. This volume also contains a chronological table of discoveries in the southern hemisphere since 1501.

Te Ika a Maui
  • Or, New Zealand and its Inhabitants, Illustrating the Origin, Manners, Customs, Mythology, Religion, Rites, Songs, Proverbs, Fables, and Language of the Natives
  • Richard Taylor
  • Published online:
    05 March 2015
    Print publication:
    26 August 2010
    First published in:
    1855
  • Reverend Richard Taylor (1805–1873) was an English missionary, who wrote extensively on Maori culture and the plant and animal life of New Zealand. Taylor graduated from Queens' College, Cambridge in 1828 and was ordained as an Anglican priest the same year. After serving as a curate in the Isle of Ely, Taylor was appointed as a missionary to New Zealand for the Church Missionary Society. He arrived in Australia in 1836 and landed in New Zealand in 1839. Taylor quickly became a peacekeeper between the different Maori tribes in his district. This volume, first published in 1855, provides a detailed account of Maori mythology and culture with a description of the plant life, animal life and geology of the North Island. Taylor strongly condemns contemporary (nineteenth-century) attitudes to Maori culture and demonstrates the complexity of their society in this sympathetic book.

History of Australia
  • Volume 1
  • George William Rusden
  • Published online:
    05 February 2015
    Print publication:
    29 April 2011
    First published in:
    1883
  • When George William Rusden (1819–1903) was fourteen, his family emigrated from England to Australia, where he later became a prominent educationalist and civil servant. Already an author of numerous books and pamphlets, he began work on his History of Australia after his retirement, and it was published in 1883 in three volumes. Although the work is considered sympathetic to the Aboriginal people of Australia, it is also infused with Rusden's Tory politics, infuriating his critics – one wrote that the volumes were 'as untrustworthy as a partisan pamphlet well can be without deliberate dishonesty'. Despite initial criticism, these wide-ranging volumes form an important early contribution to the writing of Australian history. Volume 1 begins with the arrival of Europeans in Australia, and then examines each colonial governor, starting with Arthur Philip (1738–1814), who was the first, and ending the volume with Thomas Brisbane (1773–1860) in 1821.

History of Australia
  • Volume 2
  • George William Rusden
  • Published online:
    05 February 2015
    Print publication:
    29 April 2011
    First published in:
    1883
  • When George William Rusden (1819–1903) was fourteen, his family emigrated from England to Australia, where he later became a prominent educationalist and civil servant. Already an author of numerous books and pamphlets, he began work on his History of Australia after his retirement, and it was published in 1883 in three volumes. Although the work is considered sympathetic to the Aboriginal people of Australia, it is also infused with Rusden's Tory politics, infuriating his critics – one wrote that the volumes were 'as untrustworthy as a partisan pamphlet well can be without deliberate dishonesty'. Despite initial criticism, these wide-ranging volumes form an important early contribution to the writing of Australian history. Volume 2 continues Rusden's examination of earlier governors, starting with Ralph Darling (1772–1858) and ending with George Gipps (1791–1847), before discussing immigration, the end of the practice of transporting prisoners, and the discovery of gold.

The History of New South Wales
  • Including Botany Bay, Port Jackson, Parramatta, Sydney, and all its Dependancies, from the Original Discovery of the Island
  • George Barrington
  • Published online:
    05 February 2015
    Print publication:
    02 December 2010
    First published in:
    1802
  • Described by the London Chronicle as 'the genteelest thief ever remembered at the Old Bailey', during the 1770s the dandy, actor and pickpocket George Barrington acquired infamy throughout Great Britain. His prosecution and conviction in 1790 merely served to intensify popular interest and ensured that when in 1802 the account of his transportation to Australia was published, reading audiences responded with hearty enthusiasm. After prefacing his volume with a concise and useful history of New South Wales, the author regales readers with tales of murder, theft, punishment and retribution. These bloody episodes, combined with engaging, albeit prejudiced, notes on the indigenous population, found favour with European readers and twenty years of serialisations, new editions and translations followed. Punctuated by quirky vignettes and unusual coloured plates, Barrington's narrative continues to entertain and inform anyone with an interest in British colonial, maritime or criminal history.

New Zealand, the `Britain of the South'
  • With a Chapter on the Native War, and our Future Native Policy
  • Charles Hursthouse
  • Published online:
    05 January 2015
    Print publication:
    24 November 2011
    First published in:
    1861
  • In October 1854 the Taranaki Herald reported the return to New Zealand of Charles Hursthouse, who 'for years past has been in England the untiring advocate of New Zealand emigration, and by his writings and lectures has materially contributed to the colonization of the settlement'. In this updated 1861 version of his 1857 book, Hursthouse promises 'a fair and honest picture of New Zealand as she is today' and expresses his belief that thousands of struggling British people from all walks of life would be 'saved' by emigrating. He describes New Zealand's history, climate, natural history, population, government, exports and markets, agricultural pursuits and trades, and includes a revealing chapter on war and 'native policy'. Hursthouse explains his own reasons for emigrating, and provides practical advice on official regulations, travel insurance, choice of ship, the best times to sail and how to keep occupied during the voyage.

The Cruise of H.M.S. Galatea
  • Captain H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, K.G., in 1867–1868
  • John Milner, Oswald Walters Brierly
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    24 July 2014
  • In 1867, Prince Alfred, Queen Victoria's second son, commissioned the Galatea for a voyage around the world which would include the first royal visit to Australia. Stopping along the way in Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town, Alfred was received with great ceremony at each port of call. These visits provided the ship's chaplain John Milner (1822–97) and the artist Oswald Brierly (1817–94) with ample material for this chronicle, published in 1869, which gives background details of each region alongside scenes from the tour, enhanced by illustrations based on Brierly's sketches. The authors drew on various recollections and writings, including a letter from Alfred to his brother describing an elephant hunt in South Africa. The tour was abruptly curtailed in Sydney when a Fenian sympathiser attempted to assassinate the prince, an act which boosted support for the British royal family.

The Naturalist in Australia
  • William Saville-Kent
  • Published online:
    05 December 2014
    Print publication:
    06 February 2014
  • Educated at King's College, London, the naturalist and marine biologist William Saville-Kent (1845–1908) went on to work at the British Museum and in aquariums at Brighton, Manchester and Westminster. He spent many years in Australia as a fisheries expert, and during this time he made extensive surveys of the natural world. The present work, first published in 1897, was intended to give a non-scientific audience a glimpse of the fantastic array of wildlife in Australia. The author discusses the many varieties of birds, lizards, fish and other sea life, insects (an entire chapter is devoted to termites), and vegetation. He was also able to take advantage of the photographic technology of the time and include around fifty collotype images, which complement the many other illustrations of the plants and animals he writes about, providing a vivid overview of the natural world in late nineteenth-century Australia.

Travels in New Zealand
  • With Contributions to the Geography, Geology, Botany, and Natural History of that Country
  • Volume 1
  • Ernst Dieffenbach
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    26 September 2013
  • As a surgeon and naturalist for the New Zealand Company, Ernst Dieffenbach (1811–55) travelled widely in the North Island between 1839 and 1841. He was the first European to successfully scale Mount Egmont (or Taranaki), and he also visited the natural wonders of the Pink and White Terraces at Lake Rotomahana, which were later destroyed in a volcanic eruption. First published in 1843, this two-volume work describes the landscapes, flora and fauna in a highly readable style. In Volume 1, Dieffenbach recounts his sea journeys through Cook Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound, along with his excursions deep into the North Island. There is also a thorough account of his ambitious climb to the snowy summit of Mount Egmont. His passages relating to the people he encountered also give an insight into the lives of the native islanders. This volume includes illustrations of Lake Taupo, Mount Egmont and Mount Ruapehu.

Voyage of HMS Blonde to the Sandwich Islands, in the Years 1824–1825
  • Captain the Right Hon. Lord Byron, Commander
  • Compiled by Maria Callcott
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    31 October 2013
    First published in:
    1826
  • George Anson Byron (1789–1868), cousin of the famous poet, was a naval officer and the seventh Baron Byron. When the king and queen of Hawaii died of measles in July 1824 on a visit to England, Byron was chosen to lead the voyage that returned the bodies to their native land. Prepared by Maria Graham (1785–1842), known later as Lady Callcott, this work was published in 1826 and organised into two parts: the first gives a brief history of the islands, culminating in an account of the fatal visit; the second and larger part is compiled from the journals of those on board HMS Blonde. Engravings made from the drawings of the ship's artist, Robert Dampier, complement observations about the geography of Hawaii, its people and their customs. The remarkable journey home involved the first European sighting of Malden Island and the rescue of survivors from a shipwreck.

Polynesian Researches during a Residence of Nearly Six Years in the South Sea Islands
  • Volume 2
  • William Ellis
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    21 November 2013
  • From humble origins, and trained by the London Missionary Society in theology, printing and rudimentary medicine, William Ellis (1794–1872) sailed for the Society Islands in 1816. He found himself at the cusp of major cultural change as Western influences affected the indigenous Polynesians. During his time there, Ellis became a skilled linguist and able chronicler of the traditional yet rapidly shifting way of life. He succeeded in capturing vivid stories of a leisured people who, without written language, had developed a rich oral tradition, social structure and belief system. Published in 1829, this two-volume collection proved to be an important reference work, notably for its natural history; it soon accompanied Darwin aboard the Beagle. In Volume 2, Ellis moves between Huahine and Raiatea, giving further background on the existing customs and polytheistic rituals, contrasted with the introduction of Western religion, dress, schools, housing, medicine and law.

The Mines of South Australia, Including Also an Account of the Smelting Works in that Colony
  • Together with a Brief Description of the Country, and Incidents of Travel in the Bush
  • J. B. Austin
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    06 May 2013
    First published in:
    1863
  • The British journalist and mining expert John Baptist Austin (1827–96) moved to Adelaide as a young man with his family. During the 1850s he became closely involved in the South Australian mining industry and the gold rush in Victoria. Austin was rewarded for his outstanding expertise and became secretary of several corporations, including the Adelaide and West Kanmantoo mining companies. His extensive knowledge is reflected in this work, first published in 1863. Offering a first-hand account of South Australian mining culture, it contains a great many descriptions of individual mines along with details of the everyday life of the miners. The book also provides insight into the region's Cornish mining heritage: many mines were named 'Wheal', family names such as 'Rodda' are mentioned, and direct comparisons of the mineralogy and the regulations for mineral prospecting are made.

Polynesian Researches during a Residence of Nearly Six Years in the South Sea Islands
  • Volume 1
  • William Ellis
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    21 November 2013
  • From humble origins, and trained by the London Missionary Society in theology, printing and rudimentary medicine, William Ellis (1794–1872) sailed for the Society Islands in 1816. He found himself at the cusp of major cultural change as Western influences affected the indigenous Polynesians. During his time there, Ellis became a skilled linguist and able chronicler of the traditional yet rapidly shifting way of life. He succeeded in capturing vivid stories of a leisured people who, without written language, had developed a rich oral tradition, social structure and belief system. Published in 1829, this two-volume collection proved to be an important reference work, notably for its natural history; it soon accompanied Darwin aboard the Beagle. Volume 1 covers the voyage to Tahiti, the development of Tahitian orthography, the conversion of chief Pomare II, the establishment of a printing press on Moorea, and Ellis's first sermon in Tahitian, delivered on Huahine.

Travels in New Zealand
  • With Contributions to the Geography, Geology, Botany, and Natural History of that Country
  • Volume 2
  • Ernst Dieffenbach
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    26 September 2013
  • As a surgeon and naturalist for the New Zealand Company, Ernst Dieffenbach (1811–55) travelled widely in the North Island between 1839 and 1841. He was the first European to successfully scale Mount Egmont (or Taranaki), and he also visited the natural wonders of the Pink and White Terraces at Lake Rotomahana, which were later destroyed in a volcanic eruption. First published in 1843, this two-volume work describes the landscapes, flora and fauna in a highly readable style. Volume 2 focuses on the Maori inhabitants of the island, for whom Dieffenbach had a respect and admiration that was unusual for the time. He writes about their customs, such as hunting techniques, burial practices and the tradition of facial tattooing. He also provides examples of Maori language, including songs and simple phrases. The final section of the work comprises a short grammar and dictionary.

Australia and New Zealand
  • Volume 2
  • Anthony Trollope
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    31 October 2013
  • One of the most celebrated and prolific authors of the Victorian era, Anthony Trollope (1815–82) was also an enthusiastic traveller. This two-volume work recounts his two-year journey across Britain's colonies in the Antipodes. First published in 1873, it celebrates the success of British colonisation, but also considers with pragmatic foresight the inevitable unification of the Australian territories and their desire for greater independence. In Volume 2, Trollope describes his travels through Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia and New Zealand. He supplements his travelogue with maps and a section on Australian institutions. He also tells of his unsuccessful foray into kangaroo hunting, showcasing his wit and appetite for adventure. North America (1862), Trollope's account of the continent during the American Civil War, and his An Autobiography (1883) are also reissued in this series.

Australia and New Zealand
  • Volume 1
  • Anthony Trollope
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    31 October 2013
  • One of the most celebrated and prolific authors of the Victorian era, Anthony Trollope (1815–82) was also an enthusiastic traveller. This two-volume work recounts his two-year journey across Britain's colonies in the Antipodes. First published in 1873, it celebrates the success of British colonisation, but also considers with pragmatic foresight the inevitable unification of the Australian territories and their desire for greater independence. Volume 1 covers Trollope's travels through Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Each section addresses the history and governance of the relevant state, assessing also the current condition of the region's institutions, people and resources. In the process, Trollope informs his reader about everything from the temperament of Aboriginal Australians to the troubles of travelling by steamboat. North America (1862), his account of the continent during the American Civil War, and his An Autobiography (1883) are also reissued in this series.

The Life and Work of Richard John Seddon (Premier of New Zealand, 1893–1906)
  • With a History of the Liberal Party of New Zealand
  • James Drummond
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    22 August 2013
    First published in:
    1907
  • A successful journalist, naturalist and author, James Drummond (1869–1940) began his biography of Richard John Seddon (1845–1906), New Zealand's prime minister, while his subject was still alive and in office. Originally intended as a collaborative effort, the work had to be completed without further assistance following Seddon's sudden death on a voyage from Australia to Auckland in June 1906. It was published in 1907, along lines 'that Mr Seddon approved of', and with an introduction by the prime minister at the time, Sir Joseph Ward. A popular figure, Seddon led his party to victory at five successive general elections. The book traces his life from his English childhood, through his emigration and entry into politics, to his last days, charting the achievements, personality and beliefs of New Zealand's longest-serving prime minister to date, and shedding light on the history of the Liberal Party.

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