ISSN 1443-0568 | no. 73 | February 2005
Significant Maps by Determined Explorers
The National Library recently acquired a very important manuscript map of Beautemps-Beaupré, known for the accuracy of his fine charts, drew the map while at the Cape of Good Hope on his return voyage. The route taken by D’Entrecasteaux is charted in blue ink and places recognised by the expedition are highlighted in crimson ink. After D’Entrecasteaux died, near Java, Lieutenant Rossel took command and instructed Beautemps-Beaupré to prepare three sets of charts to ensure ‘the essential part of this expedition’ returned to
Two other significant acquisitions transport us to a century later, from uncharted waters and coastlines to the wilderness and the uncharted desert country of Western Australia. The Library now owns an important pair of wall maps detailing the first and second expeditions in Western Australia of the young pioneer and explorer David Carnegie who was killed in Nigeria at the age of 29. One is a manuscript wall map of Carnegie’s first expedition in 1894, when he ventured into unknown country with an experienced bushman and three camels. Prospecting as they went, they travelled 850 miles in 90 days and found gold at Niagara Creek, near Kookynie, Western Australia. The map illustrates the terrain in minute detail, including the vegetation, minerals, and sources of water. The freehold properties of the Hampton Mining Company and places such as Hampton Plains, Victoria Springs, Mount Shenton, and Mount Ida are shown on this pen and ink manuscript map. A lithographed wall map, the second of the pair, shows Carnegie’s most important and ambitious 1896–1897 expedition. With four men and nine camels, the 25-year-old Carnegie set off in July 1896 to cross Western Australia from south to north. His aims were threefold: to discover gold, to explore the country between the routes of Warburton in 1873 and John Forrest in 1874, and to assess the prospects of a direct stock route between the Kimberley district and Coolgardie. For 13 months they travelled over 3000 miles in the first south-to-north and north-to-south crossings of Western Australia’s interior. They discovered no gold, pastoral lands, or passable stock route but a valuable survey and an expedition map were created. Carnegie’s outstanding work in one of |
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