First Chart of the East Coast of Australia

"A Chart of New South Wales, or the East Coast of New-Holland. Discover'd and Explored by Lieutenant J: Cook, Commander of His Majesty's Bark Endeavour, in the Year MDCCLXX", Cook, James (Capt.)

Captain James Cook (1728-1779) is best known for his three voyages to the Pacific (1768-71; 1772-75; and 1776-79). His discoveries radically changed the western understanding of the world in the late 18th century. He was the first to circumnavigate and chart New Zealand and provided the earliest European accounts of exploration along the eastern coast of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands. On February 14th, 1779, he was killed on Hawaii after attempting to kidnap the chief of the island.

Many contemporary accounts of Cook’s voyages, including charts and engravings, appeared in the late 18th century. The first official account of Cook’s first voyage was published in 1773 by John Hawkesworth in Volumes II and III of An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of His Present Majesty for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere... William Strahan and Thomas Cadell published the first official accounts of the second and third voyages in 1777 and 1784. Accounts of his exploration were subsequently translated into French, German, and Dutch.

This is the first published chart of the east coast of Australia from Captain James Cook's first Pacific voyage in 1768-71. The map shows the routes of the Endeavor with names bestowed by Cook, including Botany Bay, which was named for the large quantities of plants located there. The chart is oriented with north to the right by a delicate fleur-de-lis, and soundings are located along the route. Engraved by W. Whitchurch and published by John Hawkesworth in his Account of the Voyages Undertaken...in the Southern Hemisphere, which details the explorations of Commodore Byron, Captain Wallis, Captain Carteret, and Captain Cook.

References: Tooley (Australia) #325; Shirley (BL Atlases) G.HAWK-1a #26.

Condition: B+

A nice impression on a sheet with a coat of arms watermark. There is a binder's trim at lower right and an associated 1" binding tear that has been archivally repaired. Issued folding with an extraneous crease at bottom right. (The bluish hue along the fold lines in the image is caused by our scanner and is not on the physical map.)