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1814 - Chart of Terra Australis. Sheet III, East coast (South Queensland, Fraser Island)
| Map maker | Size | Map ID | Condition |
| Matthew Flinders | 890 x 600 mm | D1 / M340 / I312 | Very good. First edition. Left margin narrow. |
 | Ask about this item | | SOLD |
The rare first edition chart by Matthew Flinders printed before the admiralty began publishing the chart. Shown is the Queensland coast between Wide Bay (near Noosa Heads) and the Flat Isles (south of Mackay), showing the tracks of Norfolk in 1799, Investigator in 1802 and Porpoise, Cato, Bridgewater, Cumberland, Rolla and Francis in 1803 with an inset of Bustard bay to the Keppel Islands. Interestingly Fraser Island is depicted as a peninsula and not an Island as Flinders could not determine if the landmass was connected to the mainland or not.
Matthew Flinders (1774-1814) was an accomplished navigator and cartographer, having circumnavigated the Australian continent, proved that Tasmania was not joined to the mainland, and played a major part in the naming of Australia. Despite Flinders’ short life he accomplished some exceptional feats. His charts were of a particularly high standard and though published in 1814, many continued to be republished and used until recent years. Flinders’ most famous chart was of the Australian continent, published in 1814, which is famously named ‘General Chart of Terra Australis or Australia’. It was the first prominent chart to specifically label the continent as Australia. Sadly, Flinders journeys were marked by some disappointments including shipwrecks, poor vessels, and most notably his six year imprisonment by the French on Mauritius. His imprisonment meant that he was not the first to publish the newly discovered regions of Australia or a ‘complete’ map of the continent. However in 1814 shortly before his death his famous atlas was released with 16 charts detailing a majority of the Australian coastline.
View map online on http://www.antiquemapart.com/map/340