The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay, with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson & Norfolk Island... to which are added the Journals of Lieuts. Shortland, Watts, Ball & Capt. Marshall...
Printed For John Stockdale: London 1789 1st Edition
A Rare & Significant Book -
The Official First Published Account Of The First Fleet & The Founding Of Australia. Complete With ALL 55 Plates As Called For Including Charts, Illustrations etc.
This copy contains early states of the 'Kangooroo' and 'Wulpine Oppossum' plates (captions were later changed to 'Kanguroo' and 'Vulpine'). Includes "List of Convicts" - giving names, location and date of convictions, and length of sentence - the basic source for all First Fleet genealogy.
Provenance:
Ex William Lacon Childe of Kinlet
& G. & N. Ingleton
"The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay stands among the most important books in Australian history, being the official first published account of the First Fleet and the establishment of Britain's first settlement at Port Jackson. Compiled from Governor Arthur Phillip's journals and official papers, it provided contemporary readers with the earliest authoritative narrative of the expedition that laid the foundations of modern Australia. Published in London only a year after the arrival of the fleet, it remains one of the great landmark publications relating to the discovery, settlement, and early administration of New South Wales.
Lavishly produced in large quarto format, the work was intended to showcase Britain's newest colonial possession to an eager European audience. The volume contains an engraved portrait of Governor Phillip, an engraved title page, seven folding charts and maps, and forty-six engraved plates depicting landscapes, Aboriginal people, native animals, birds, fish, plants, and important scenes associated with the settlement. Many of these illustrations represent the first published images of Australian subjects and remain invaluable records of the continent at the moment of European colonisation.
Beyond its historical significance, the book is one of the foundational works of Australian natural history. Drawing upon observations made during the voyage and in the colony's earliest months, it introduced European readers to a remarkable array of previously unknown Australian flora and fauna. The engravings and descriptions contained within its pages provided some of the earliest scientific and artistic representations of Australia's unique environment, helping to shape international understanding of the continent for decades to come.
The work is further enriched by the inclusion of journals and discoveries made by Lieutenants Shortland, Watts and Ball, together with Captain Marshall, broadening its scope beyond Phillip's own narrative. These supplementary accounts document exploration, navigation, and the practical realities of establishing a settlement at the farthest reaches of the British Empire. The celebrated folding charts, including the early plan of Port Jackson, are among the most important cartographic records of Australia's formative colonial period.
This particularly desirable copy retains all seven folding engraved charts and all forty-six engraved plates (+ frontis & vignette), complete as issued. It also carries the distinguished engraved bookplate of William Lacon Childe of Kinlet and the later bookplate of noted Australian collector G. & N. Ingleton, adding a significant and highly appealing provenance. As the official first edition account of the First Fleet and the founding of Australia, complete examples of this calibre remain among the most sought-after treasures of Australian historical and colonial literature."
