Ode to Oceanography: An Antique Map of Australia & Tasmania

Today’s nautical chart is an ancient 185-year-old map of Australia & Tasmania. Australia was first recorded in European records by Dutch Captain Willem Janszoon, who was sailing aboard the Duyfken. Complete maps of the continent did not exist until the 1810’s, though partial maps were available before then.

The map is moderately sized at 31.5 inches wide & 22 inches long. Shockingly for its time, the chart contains many vibrant colours such as pink, blue, teal, yellow, & orange. It contains numerous place names of different coastal settlements & towns along Australia, as well as information about local reefs, islands, & shoals.

In today’s article, we are going to examine this antique map, discuss it, & perform an analysis of it. With that being said, let’s delve into the warm tropical waters of Australia!

The Chart

A striking antique nautical chart of Australia & Tasmania designed & published by James Wyld in 1841. Credit to raremaps.com.

This chart focuses on Australia & Tasmania. Tasmania was referred to as Van Diemen’s Land, from 1642 to 1856. It was named after Anthony van Diemen, who was governor-general of the Dutch East Indies from 1636 to 1645. Tasmania was officially discovered by Abel Tasman under the commission of Van Diemen, & named the island in his honour.

The chart was produced in London, England. It showcases many islands, shoals, & even the shipwreck of the HMS Pandora in addition to the primary landmasses. The HMS Pandora was a Porcupine-class British Naval Vessel used for hunting down the mutineers aboard the HMS Bounty. The ship wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef in 1791, with 78 of the 134 stationed aboard returning home safely, & the rest suffering a watery doom. Knowing the locations of the local shoals & islands would have been significant to any sailor of the era not meeting the same fate as the crew aboard the HMS Pandora. In addition to information about local shoals, it also features information on the local topography with comments such as “Cliff goes from 40 feet to 60 feet high”, “Sandy hills sprinkled with vegetation”, & “Very low coast thinly wooded”.

It showcases dozens of place names from all over Australia & Tasmania. In Australia, it includes the 18 counties in New South Wales, & the 14 counties near Perth, then referred to as Western Australia. South Australia is depicted in the chart, though Victoria appears as an unorganized territory called “Australia Felix”. Tasmania is depicted with 9 counties on its eastern side.

The map uses information gathered from early expeditions into Australia’s interior, particularly in its depiction of what is now Victoria, then referred to as “Australia Felix”, & the southern areas of New South Wales. Some of the results hail from the early expeditions of Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell, a Scottish surveyor & explorer known for his exploration of Australia.

The chart is in fantastic condition for its time, with no creases, burns, yellowing, or brown spots.

An Analysis Of The Chart

This chart was designed & produced by James Wyld the Elder, a British Geographer & Cartographer. Born in 1790, Wyld Sr. began his career as a mapmaker under William Faden. When Faden retired, Wyld Sr. took over, acquiring many plates in the process. He often signed his work “Successor to Faden”, which can be used when attempting to distinguish his maps from his sons. He was one of the most prolific mapmakers of the era, & was named geographer to King George IV, William IV, & HRH the Duke of York. He was one of the founding members of the Royal Geographical Society in 1830, the same year his son took over his publishing house. Unfortunately, James Wyld the Elder passed away at the age of 46 on October 14th, 1836, as a result of overwork.

His son, also named James Wyld, took up the business following his passing, & would go on to be Geographer to Queen Victoria, design a globe attraction 19 meters in diameter which was placed in Leicester Square, & have a successful career in Parliament.

Interestingly, this chart was published as part of a series of maps of Australia. This series, published by Wyld’s Publishing House, began in 1833, & gradually showcased more information as more expeditions were launched into the interior & along the coastline. It is of great historical importance, & certainly played a role in the rapid development of Australia.

This chart was manufactured primarily for civilian use. What it does depict is fairly accurate, though the majority of the Australian interior is left blank.

Upon reviewing the quality, the publishing house, & time that the map was manufactured in, this chart was most likely manufactured using lithography.

Lithography is a method of printing that arose in the 1820s, & remained the most popular method of printing in both color & grayscale until the early 1960s, when more efficient methods became available. Although it has existed since the mid-1790s, it took a long time to gain popularity in Europe due to technical difficulties, & only began gaining commercial popularity in the early 1820s. It is still widely used for certain kinds of printing, such as fine art printing today; however, digital printing is far more common.

In the lithographic method, the artist will draw directly onto a printing surface, such as zinc or copper, until they are satisfied with the drawing. After this, the surface will be covered with a chemical etch, which will bond it to the surface. With this process, the blank areas will attract moisture to the plate & repel the lithographic ink, while the areas that are drawn on will hold the ink. Water is then wiped onto the unpainted areas to help prevent the ink from deviating. After the image is inked, the paper is laid over it & covered with a tympan, & the tympan is pressed down. Finally, these materials pass through the scraper bar of the litho-press. Afterward, an exact copy of what was supposed to be printed is revealed. It is extremely useful for making high-resolution prints in high quantities.

A modern photograph of Hobart, the capital of Tasmania. This photograph depicts Battery Point, Sandy Bay, the city of Hobart, & kunanyi / Mount Wellington. Credit to Loic Le Guilly.

Directories / Credits

All credit for this map analyzed today goes to Rare Maps, a California rare & antique maps store. To purchase this chart, antique atlases, or other cartographic objects, please visit www.raremaps.com. To be clear, this is not an advertisement for Rare Maps, as we do not have a partnership with them.

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