On the cover this month
attributed to William Hodges (1744–1797)
Dodo and Red Parakeet c.1773
oil painting on academy board;
23.0 x 27.5 cm
Rex Nan Kivell Collection NK5827
Pictures Collection
nla.pic-an2256824
The dodo (Raphus cucullatues) was native only to the island of Mauritius. The first Europeans to see it were the Portuguese around 1505 but, because it was clumsy and flightless, the dodo was easy prey for people and for feral animals introduced to the island. By the end of the seventeenth century, both hunting and the destruction of its forest habitat had driven the dodo to extinction. The National Library of Australia’s Mauritius Collection includes the famous 1848 text The Dodo and Its Kindred by H.E. Strickland and A.G. Melville, who describe the dodo and other extinct birds of the Mauritius, Rodriguez and Bourbon Islands. See story
July 2007 Volume XVII Number 10
The Baudin Expedition In Australia, 1800–1803
Nicole Starbuck describes the Baudin expedition, which gave France its most comprehensive introduction to New Holland, and whose crew members observed our country with a different eye to that of the British
Seeing Civilisation and Savagery: Mapping Our History
Caitlin Murray examines nineteenthcentury American, French and Australian maps, and the ways in which they represented people according to whether they were ‘superior’ or ‘inferior’
Trans-national links to our national story
Sarah de Santis investigates the influence of trans-national racial ideology on Australian immigration policies
A Very Serious Occupation: Tennis and Our First Davis Cup Win
Ian Warden describes the personalities and game of the men in the winning Australasian team at their first Davis Cup held a century ago
Tropical Island Treasure: the Mauritius Collection
Helen Morgan explores the Library’s rich collection of books, journals and manuscripts from Mauritius, acquired in 1968 after the death of Mauritian collector, André de Chapuiset Le Merle
Friends
A regular news page about the activities of the Friends of the National Library of Australia
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