54915 Adelaide, Government Printer, 1864. Octavo, (vi), 46 pages. Original fawn wrappers (repeating full title-page details); very slight loss to the head and foot of the spine; top edge of the rear cover very slightly chipped; first and last (blank) leaves lightly foxed; old ink initials on the first (blank) page; an exceptional copy really (with two pairs of leading edges unopened). The preface, dated Penola, 8 September 1864, puts the item in perspective: "I should wish to offer an excuse here for attempting to describe a country in which I have never been. I am acquainted with only one book written expressly on North Australia, and that is the work of Mr Earl [see item 16 in this list]. Had it been published in the Colony, I should never have presumed upon my present task; but it was scarce in Adelaide, and, under any circumstances, was perhaps a little too dear for general circulation ... My qualifications were, that in attempting a History of Australian Exploration, I had not only read and re-read, but copied and condensed, the accounts of every exploration yet made upon the north coast ... (and) I have consulted every work I could find in which North Australia has ever been mentioned". There are eight chapters: Discovery and Exploration, Physical Geography, Mineralogical Features, The Rivers of the North Coast, Climate, Natural History (Aborigines - Zoology), Geology and Mineralogy, and Botany, plus concluding remarks. Nothing has been left to chance: "The underclothes should not be changed too often, because it causes excessive perspiration". $825.00AUD
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