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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 5 of 6

The Progress of Australasia in the Nineteenth Century
  • T. A. Coghlan, T. T. Ewing
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    04 May 2011
    First published in:
    1903
  • Sir Timothy Coghlan (1855–1926) was the statistician for New South Wales from 1886, and is regarded as Australia's first 'Mandarin'. His advice was sought by state and federal governments on matters as diverse as tax, public sanitation and infant mortality. In 1905 he took up an appointment as New South Wales government agent in London, remaining there for the rest of his life. First published in 1903, this was one of the first comprehensive histories of Australia, and it benefits greatly from the author's extensive hard statistical data. In contrast to his later Labour and Industry (also reissued in this series), Coghlan and his co-author, T. T. Ewing (1856–1920), discuss the politics behind progress as much as the economics. Charting the country's development from penal colony to urbanised democracy, they conclude with a wealth of statistical data to endorse the assertion that 'the possibilities for Australia's future are tremendous'.

Terre Napoléon
  • A History of French Explorations and Projects in Australia
  • Ernest Scott
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    05 May 2011
    First published in:
    1910
  • Ernest Scott (1867–1939) emigrated to Australia in 1892, settling in Melbourne where he worked as a journalist. In 1913 he was appointed Professor of History at the University of Melbourne. This volume, first published in 1910, discusses the aims and outcome of the survey of the south Australian coast performed by Nicholas Baudin's French expedition between 1800 and 1804, and established Scott's reputation as a historian. Scott traces the path of Baudin's expedition along the then unexplored south coast of Australia, estimating the amount of original surveying performed by the expedition to address the accusation that the French expedition plagiarised British surveys of the same coastline. Scott also discusses the origins of the expedition to investigate possible political motivations behind the survey. This detailed and meticulously researched volume presents a valuable revised view of Baudin's expedition.

Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia
  • With Descriptions of the Recently Explored Region of Australia Felix and of the Present Colony of New South Wales
  • Volume 1
  • T. L. Mitchell
  • Published online:
    05 February 2012
    Print publication:
    05 May 2011
    First published in:
    1838
  • Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell (1792–1855) was an acclaimed surveyor and explorer of Australia. After attending the University of Edinburgh Mitchell joined the British Army in 1811. He took part in major battles of the Peninsular War and difficult military surveys in the Pyrenees. In 1827 he was appointed Deputy Surveyor of New South Wales, and he became Surveyor General in 1828. This fascinating two-volume work, first published in 1838, contains Mitchell's illustrated account of his three expeditions into the then unexplored interior of modern eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales between 1831 and 1836, for which he received a knighthood in 1839. Drawing on Mitchell's personal journals, Volume 1 describes in vivid detail the difficulties and dangers of exploring the Kindur and Gwydir rivers, and provides valuable first-hand descriptions of the lives and society of the indigenous Australians his expedition encountered.

Discoveries in Australia
  • With an Account of the Hitherto Unknown Coasts Surveyed during the Voyage of the HMS Beagle, between the Years 1837 and 1843
  • Volume 1
  • John Lort Stokes
  • Published online:
    05 January 2012
    Print publication:
    22 September 2011
    First published in:
    1846
  • John Lort Stokes (1812–85) was a naval officer on board H.M.S. Beagle - the same ship that had carried naturalist Charles Darwin around the world in 1831–6. Stokes served on that expedition and on the following commission, which was a survey of Australia in which the crew was charged with discovering more about the largely unknown land mass. The expedition set off in 1837 and Stokes did not return to England until 1843 - after 18 years of service on the Beagle - when he began work on this two-volume account of the voyage, which was published in 1846. This work provides a detailed narrative of the journey, including interaction with indigenous peoples and observations about the natural world in Australia, making it an important source about the early years of the European colony. Volume 1 covers Stokes' time exploring north-west Australia and includes illustrations of plants, insects, and reptiles.

Discoveries in Australia
  • With an Account of the Hitherto Unknown Coasts Surveyed during the Voyage of the HMS Beagle, between the Years 1837 and 1843
  • Volume 2
  • John Lort Stokes
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    22 September 2011
    First published in:
    1846
  • John Lort Stokes (1812–85) was a naval officer on board H.M.S. Beagle - the same ship that had carried naturalist Charles Darwin around the world in 1831–6. Stokes served on that expedition and on the following commission, which was a survey of Australia in which the crew was charged with discovering more about the largely unknown land mass. The expedition set off in 1837 and Stokes did not return to England until 1843 - after 18 years of service on the Beagle - when he began work on this two-volume account of the voyage, which was published in 1846. This work provides a detailed narrative of the journey, including interaction with indigenous peoples and observations about the natural world in Australia, making it an important source about the early years of the European colony. Volume 2 sees the expedition explore the Victoria River, and later venture north into the Indonesian archipelago.

Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia
  • With Descriptions of the Recently Explored Region of Australia Felix and of the Present Colony of New South Wales
  • Volume 2
  • T. L. Mitchell
  • Published online:
    25 October 2011
    Print publication:
    05 May 2011
    First published in:
    1838
  • Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell (1792–1855) was an acclaimed surveyor and explorer of Australia. After attending the University of Edinburgh Mitchell joined the British Army in 1811. He took part in major battles of the Peninsular War and difficult military surveys in the Pyrenees. In 1827 he was appointed Deputy Surveyor of New South Wales, and he became Surveyor General in 1828. This fascinating two-volume work, first published in 1838, contains Mitchell's illustrated account of his three expeditions into the then unexplored interior of modern eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales between 1831 and 1836, for which he received a knighthood in 1839. Drawing on Mitchell's personal journals, Volume 2 describes in vivid detail the difficulties and dangers of exploring the Murray–Darling river systems, and provides valuable first-hand descriptions of the lives and society of the indigenous Australians his expedition encountered.

The Australians
  • A Social Sketch
  • Francis William Lauderdale Adams
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    03 May 2011
    First published in:
    1893
  • Best-known for the scandalous circumstances surrounding his suicide in 1893, Francis Adams (1862–1893) enjoyed a reputation as a proficient, if unpredictable, writer producing a large volume of work in his relatively short life. Adams moved to Australia in the early 1880s, remaining there for several years. Finding the news of Australia in England 'inept', Adams wrote from a desire to educate the English public properly on the Australian people. His work, published in 1893, is divided into two parts. The first describes the geography, culture and society of the 'Pacific slope', the ribbon of settlements along the east coast of Australia. The second half, focused on the eastern interior, deals with the more controversial issues of land ownership and the Aboriginal population in the rural areas in the country. Much of the book draws on Adams' series of articles on Australian life, previously published in the Fortnightly Review.

The History of Tasmania
  • Volume 1
  • John West
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    22 April 2011
    First published in:
    1852
  • John West (1809–1873) was an English-born minister who received a Colonial Missionary Society post in Tasmania in 1838. West became an outspoken opponent of the ongoing government policy of transporting convicts from Britain to Tasmania. Around 1847 a wealthy supporter approached West to write the colony's history, although it had been a British territory only since 1803. West accepted the task and, amid his campaigning and other responsibilities, completed this two-volume work which was published in 1852. It is divided between a straightforward narrative of events and thematic issues such as the treatment of the Aboriginal peoples and the issue of the convict transport system. Volume 1 covers the development of the colony, starting with the arrival of the Dutch in the seventeenth century, who named the island Van Diemen's Land, through to British control and its subsequent settlement as the colony of Tasmania.

An Historical and Statistical Account of New South Wales, Both as a Penal Settlement and as a British Colony
  • Volume 2
  • John Dunmore Lang
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    04 May 2011
    First published in:
    1834
  • The first prominent advocate of Australian republicanism, Scottish-born John Dunmore Lang (1799–1878) is an important figure in the history of his adopted country. This two-volume work, originally published in 1834, presents a series of chapters illustrating Australia's history and its condition in his own time. Written during a voyage from New South Wales to Britain in 1833, the book promotes what Lang deems to be the best interests of the New South Wales colony, by encouraging the emigration 'of reputable families and individuals to its territory'. Volume 2 investigates the distribution and character of the convict population and stresses the advantages of New South Wales to emigrants, finishing with an analysis of the practicalities of emigration and settling in Australia. The reader will be mindful of Lang's aim in writing the work - to tell the truth 'fully and fearlessly' in order to secure Australia's general welfare and advancement.

The History of Tasmania
  • Volume 2
  • John West
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    29 April 2011
    First published in:
    1852
  • John West (1809–1873) was an English-born minister who received a Colonial Missionary Society post in Tasmania in 1838. West became an outspoken opponent of the ongoing government policy of transporting convicts from Britain to Tasmania. Around 1847 a wealthy supporter approached West to write the colony's history, although it had been a British territory only since 1803. West accepted the task and, amid his campaigning and other responsibilities, completed this two-volume work which was published in 1852. It is divided between a straightforward narrative of events and thematic issues such as the treatment of the Aboriginal peoples and the issue of the convict transport system. In Volume 2, the first ten sections discuss the early encounters with Europeans and the subsequent mistreatment of the native people in Tasmania. The remainder of the volume considers the island's development as a penal colony.

Labour and Industry in Australia
  • From the First Settlement in 1788 to the Establishment of the Commonwealth in 1901
  • Volume 3
  • T. A. Coghlan
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    02 May 2011
    First published in:
    1918
  • Sir Timothy Coghlan (1855–1926) was the statistician for New South Wales from 1886. He produced the world's first example of national financial accounts, and is regarded as Australia's first 'mandarin'. His advice was sought by state and federal governments on matters as diverse as tax, public sanitation and infant mortality. In 1905 he took up an appointment as a New South Wales government agent in London, remaining there for the rest of his life. First published in 1918, this monumental book is Coghlan's very personal history of Australia, embracing materials, population growth, trade and land. Volume 3 covers a turbulent period. Coghlan examines the depression of the 1890s and the banking crisis of 1893, which saw the Federal Bank fail. He also devotes a large section to detailing labour and wages in this period, which saw the unprecedented Maritime Strike of 1890.

The British Colonization of New Zealand
  • Being an Account of the Principles, Objects, and Plans of the New Zealand Association
  • Edward Gibbon Wakefield
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    17 February 2011
    First published in:
    1837
  • Edward Gibbon Wakefield (1796–1862) was a controversial colonial advocate and political theorist, who was the driving force behind the early colonization of New Zealand and South Australia. Barred from entering parliament after serving a three-year sentence in Newgate Prison, Wakefield read widely on contemporary economic and social questions before forming the New Zealand Association in 1837, with the aim of creating a colony in the country based on his theories of systemic colonization. This volume, first published in 1839, contains a detailed description of the New Zealand Association's plans for the formation of a British colony in the country. Published to attract new members and potential colonists to the Association, this volume discusses the natural resources of New Zealand and describes the Association's method of colonisation together with a proposed system of government, providing a valuable practical example of Wakefield's influential theories of colonization.

Notes and Sketches of New South Wales
  • During a Residence in that Colony from 1839 to 1844
  • Louisa Anne Meredith
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    09 December 2010
    First published in:
    1844
  • Louisa Anne Meredith (1812–1895) had published poetry, journalism, and books on flowers before emigrating to Australia in 1839. Her account of her journey there and her early impressions of the people were somewhat derogatory, and caused considerable offence in Sydney, although the book was widely read both in Australia and in England. However, her lyrical descriptions of nature were extremely popular, and she was also a talented illustrator of her own work. She published some twenty books, and many other writings, making her one of the most commercially successful women writers in Australia. Her My Home in Tasmania (1852) is also reprinted in this series. Her books remain valuable as a source of information on the social history of Australia in the mid-nineteenth century, and also on natural history. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=merelo

Adventure in New Zealand from 1839 to 1844
  • With Some Account of the Beginning of the British Colonization of the Islands
  • Edward Jerningham Wakefield
  • Edited by Sir Robert Stout
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    16 December 2010
    First published in:
    1908
  • Edward Jerningham Wakefield (1820–1876) was the son of Edward Gibbon Wakefield (1796–1862), who was the driving force behind the early colonization of New Zealand and South Australia, founding the New Zealand Association in 1837 with the aim of creating a colony in that country. His son was appointed secretary of the first settler expedition to New Zealand in 1839, and remained in the colony until 1844. This volume, edited by Sir Robert Stout and first published in 1908, contains Wakefield's account of his stay in New Zealand. He describes in detail the social conditions during the founding of the colony and its explorations in New Zealand, and includes detailed first-hand ethnographic information concerning the Maori tribes the expedition encountered. This volume provides a valuable and fascinating insight into the society and development of one of the earliest colonies of New Zealand.

Station Life in New Zealand
  • Mary Anne Barker
  • Published online:
    07 September 2011
    Print publication:
    30 June 2011
    First published in:
    1870
  • Written by the adventurous and widely travelled Lady Mary Anne Barker (1831–1911), this 1870 publication records 'the expeditions, adventures, and emergencies diversifying the daily life of the wife of a New Zealand sheep farmer'. Born in Jamaica and educated in England and France, Barker married her second husband in 1865 and spent the next three years living on his sheep station on the South Island. This book is based on letters written to Barker's younger sister, beginning with an account of her two-month voyage to Melbourne and her onward journey via Nelson and Wellington to Christchurch. Barker vividly describes her domestic surroundings, friends, neighbours, servants, her first (and last) experience of camping, the Canterbury landscape and vegetation, and the 7,000 sheep on the farm. Her enthusiastic personal account of Victorian colonial expansion captures the 'delight and freedom of an existence so far from our own highly-wrought civilization'.

An Historical and Statistical Account of New South Wales, Both as a Penal Settlement and as a British Colony
  • Volume 1
  • John Dunmore Lang
  • Published online:
    07 September 2011
    Print publication:
    04 May 2011
    First published in:
    1834
  • The first prominent advocate of Australian republicanism, Scottish-born John Dunmore Lang (1799–1878) is an important figure in the history of his adopted country. This two-volume work, originally published in 1834, presents a series of chapters illustrating Australia's history and its condition in his own time. Written during a voyage from New South Wales to Britain in 1833, the book promotes what Lang deems to be the best interests of the New South Wales colony, by encouraging the emigration 'of reputable families and individuals to its territory'. Volume 1 sets out the historical background and discovery of the coastal areas, leading to the establishment of the New South Wales British colony, and presents accounts of its condition and progress under various governments. The reader will be mindful of Lang's aim in writing the work - to tell the truth 'fully and fearlessly' in order to secure Australia's general welfare and advancement.

Oceana, or, England and her Colonies
  • James Anthony Froude
  • Published online:
    07 September 2011
    Print publication:
    09 December 2010
    First published in:
    1886
  • James Anthony Froude (1818–1894) was one of the foremost historians in Victorian England, though he was often controversial and opinionated, especially towards Catholicism. His 1884 biography of Thomas Carlyle (which will also be reissued in this series), with its emphasis on Carlyle's weaknesses as well as his brilliance, caused lasting offence to many. In 1886 he spent six months travelling in South Africa, Australasia and America, and published Oceana on his return. He was very impressed by what he saw, and regretted popular indifference to the Empire at home. He believed that settlers from British colonies would reinvigorate and renew Britain itself as well as the Empire, since historically empires have a pattern of expansion and decay. His fears of the decline of Britain as a world power if she lost her Empire proved prophetic. A bestseller on publication, it remains a fascinating and readable account of his travels.

The Convict King
  • Being the Life and Adventures of Jorgen Jorgenson
  • Jorgen Jorgenson
  • Adaptation by James Francis Hogan
  • Published online:
    05 August 2011
    Print publication:
    30 June 2011
    First published in:
    1891
  • James Francis Hogan (1855–1924) wrote several histories of Irish colonisation in Australia. His family emigrated to Melbourne in 1856 where he became a respected author. After returning to Britain in 1893 he was elected a Member of Parliament, and he later became Professor of Irish History at University College Cork. This book, first published in 1891, retells the extraordinary life of Jorgen Jorgenson (1780–1841), a Danish adventurer, accomplished fraudster, amateur playwright and freelance preacher, who once declared himself the ruler of Iceland and eventually became Constable of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). Working from Jorgenson's autobiography (originally printed in the Van Diemen's Land Annual 1835 and 1838), Hogan describes his early adventures as a sailor, his 'liberation' of Iceland from Denmark in 1809, his employment as a British spy, his imprisonment at Newgate and arrival in Tasmania as a convict, and his participation in the infamous Aboriginal clearances there.

Labour and Industry in Australia
  • From the First Settlement in 1788 to the Establishment of the Commonwealth in 1901
  • Volume 1
  • T. A. Coghlan
  • Published online:
    05 August 2011
    Print publication:
    02 May 2011
    First published in:
    1918
  • Sir Timothy Coghlan (1855–1926) was the statistician for New South Wales from 1886. He produced the world's first example of national financial accounts, and is regarded as Australia's first 'mandarin'. His advice was sought by state and federal governments on matters as diverse as tax, public sanitation and infant mortality. In 1905 he took up an appointment as a New South Wales government agent in London, remaining there for the rest of his life. First published in 1918, this monumental book is Coghlan's very personal history of Australia, embracing materials, population growth, trade and land. Population growth and its importance for economic prosperity had always interested Coghlan. In Volume 1, he emphasizes the initial difficulties presented to economic growth by a population consisting mostly of convicts. With many statistical data, he also explores early immigration, trade, land distribution and attempts at agriculture.

Labour and Industry in Australia
  • From the First Settlement in 1788 to the Establishment of the Commonwealth in 1901
  • Volume 2
  • T. A. Coghlan
  • Published online:
    05 August 2011
    Print publication:
    02 May 2011
    First published in:
    1918
  • Sir Timothy Coghlan (1855–1926) was the statistician for New South Wales from 1886. He produced the world's first example of national financial accounts, and is regarded as Australia's first 'mandarin'. His advice was sought by state and federal governments on matters as diverse as tax, public sanitation and infant mortality. In 1905 he took up an appointment as a New South Wales government agent in London, remaining there for the rest of his life. First published in 1918, this monumental book is Coghlan's very personal history of Australia, embracing materials, population growth, trade and land. In Volume 2, covering the period to the late 1860s, Coghlan again highlights population growth, and in particular the role of the state and colonies in organizing immigration, as a key factor in the development of the economy. A theme throughout this volume is the growing independence and confidence of each individual state.

Page 5 of 6