Map for Mr Pennants Outline of the Globe, vol IV, 1800

Acquired From: Gowrie Galleries

Colouring: Uncoloured

Condition: Fair

Date Acquired: 6/3/2006

Dealers ID No.: M407 (STK 65.23)

Description: Unrecorded early map of Australia, one of the two appearances of the presumed existence of Bass Strait, reflecting knowledge of the Strait prior to its "discovery" by Matthew Flinders, 1798-1799.nBass Strait was named after George Bass after he and Matthew Flinders passed through it while circumnavigating Van Diemen's Land (now named Tasmania) in the Norfolk in 1798-99. At Flinders' recommendation the Governor of New South Wales, John Hunter, in 1800 named the stretch of water between the mainland and Van Diemen's Land "Basses Strait".[2] Later it became known as Bass Strait.nThe existence of the strait had been suggested in 1797 by the master of the Sydney Cove when he reached Sydney after deliberately grounding his foundering ship and being stranded on Preservation Island (at the eastern end of the strait). He reported that the strong south westerly swell and the tides and currents suggested that the island was in a channel linking the Pacific and southern Indian Ocean. Governor Hunter thus wrote to Joseph Banks in August of 1797 that it seemed certain a strait existed.nThe Official Account of Flinders' voyage appeared in Observations on the Coasts of Van Diemen's Land, published in London in 1801. According to Robert Clancy, there were only two appearances of the "supposed strait" prior to Flinders, the present map and a map by Aaron Arrowsmith, published in 1798.nThis early map of Australia notes the presumed existence of Bass Strait prior to its official "discovery" by Captain Matthew Flinders in 17981799. While the map erroneously shows Tasmania as connected to mainland Australia, it notes the supposed newly discovered straits.nBass Strait, named after surgeon and explorer George Bass, was formally identified during Matthew Flinders and George Bass's circumnavigation of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) aboard the sloop Norfolk in 179899. Acting on Flinders' recommendation, Governor John Hunter of New South Wales officially named the waterway "Basses Strait" in 1800, a name later simplified to "Bass Strait."nThe possibility of the straits existence was first proposed in 1797 by Captain William Clark, master of the ship Sydney Cove. After deliberately grounding his foundering ship on Preservation Island at the eastern end of the strait, Clark noted strong southwesterly swells, tides, and currents, which suggested a channel connecting the Pacific Ocean and the southern Indian Ocean. Governor John Hunter, convinced by this evidence, wrote to naturalist Sir Joseph Banks in August 1797, asserting the probable existence of the strait.nThe official account of Matthew Flinders' voyage was later published in Observations on the Coasts of Van Diemen's Land in London in 1801, solidifying the understanding of Bass Strait and its geographical significance.

Mapmaker: Pennant, Thomas (1726-1798)

Price: A4,400 plus gst

Primary Category: Southern Continent

Purchase Reference: Inv. 2988

References: The existance of this map was unknown to Tooley, although it appears inDewez (1994), The Printed WorldDewez (1994), The Printed World, pg 16, map 128

Technique: Book

This state: 1800, Unrecorded