1865 Discovery In Australia Tas & NZ by W Howitt Antique Australian History Book

Particularly valuable is Howitt's attention to the progression of inland exploration in Australia and the parallel developments in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) and New Zealand, offering readers a comparative view of settlement and expansion across the region. The inclusion of maps derived from official sources—of which two are present here (New Zealand and Tasmania)—adds an important visual dimension, illustrating the geographical knowledge of the time and the gradual filling in of previously unknown territories. The narrative reflects Victorian-era perspectives, combining admiration for exploration with the period's characteristic assumptions about empire and progress.

Issued in two volumes by Longman in London, this 1865 edition stands as a significant historical work of colonial literature, appealing both as a reference and as a collectible set. Despite the absence of the Australian map, the survival of the New Zealand and Tasmania maps enhances its desirability, particularly for collectors of Australian exploration, colonial history, and early cartographic material, as well as those interested in the literature of 19th-century discovery."