Early Navigators of Bass Strait 1770-1803
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140°00' 30' 141°00' 30' 142°00' 30' 143°00' 30' 144°00' 30' 145°00' 30' 146°00' 30' 147°00' 30' 148°00' 30' 149°00' 30' 150°00' 30' 151°00' Nundadjali Pirtpirt BIDAWAL wurrung TAUNGURUNG Krauatungulung THAWA BUANDIG 30' 30' DJAB WURRUNG Brabralung 37°35'S WOIWURRUNG 150°10'E Wooloo WATHAURONG Wannon Falls GUNNAI woorroong (Bung Bundjil) Kee Keerray woorroong woorroong DHAUWURD Braiakaulung B 38°00' WURRUNG Koornkopanoot OO 38°00' NWU Dhauwurd Merrang TYAKOORT X (Mirrang) RR Ruby Rock UN wurrung WOORROONG G 38°10'S 140°57'30"E Peek (Tarrone\Yaang) 38°15'S KEERRAY - Tatungalung 140°57'E woorroong GULIDJAN WOORROONG Wirngilgnad 38°26'S Lawrence Rocks 140°53'E dhalinanong 30' The Nobbies 30' Seal Rocks Brataualung 38°35'30"S 140°44'37"E GADUBANUD 38°40'48"S 140°40'44"E 39°00' 39°00' Seal Rock 39°12'S Forty Foot Rocks 142°30'E 39°12'S 150°00'E Cutter Rock Crocodile Rock Devils Tower Anvil Rock Big Rock Judgment Rocks 30' Sugarloaf Rock 30' Endeavour Reef Bass Pyramid 39°50'S 142°00'E 40°00' 40°00' North Brig Rock This map shows the routes of the navigators who, passing near or through Bass Strait between 1770 and 1803, South Brig Rock charted the coast of Victoria and northern Tasmania and the islands in Bass Strait. At the time, Tasmania and Victoria were well-populated with Aborigines. So, to put the navigators' activities into proper context, Seal Rock a selection of contemporary Aboriginal placenames is given, illustrating the wealth of the extent and complexity of Aboriginal naming systems along the Victorian and Tasmanian coastlines at the time these navigators were exploring Bass Strait. The first European known to reach Bass Strait was James Cook in the Endeavour, who approached from the east in 1770. He named three features on the far eastern Victorian coastline before proceeding up the eastern coast of Australia. The identity of these three features has been the subject of much discussion, but Aboriginal Language Area or Grouping a detailed investigation by the eminent surveyor Brigadier Lawrence FitzGerald in the early 1970s seems to GUNNAI have convincingly resolved the issue. Reid Rock Brabralung Aboriginal Dialect Eighteen years after Cook's visit, a convict settlement was created at Port Jackson (Sydney). Until the existence of Bass Strait was established in the late 1790s, all ships approaching Sydney from Europe (and Aboriginal Placename the Cape of Good Hope and India) did so via the southern coast of Tasmania. French Names appear on the original navigation charts Once Bass Strait had been discovered, Bass Strait offered a shorter route between Sydney and the outside to nominate the existing features world. But Bass Strait is hazardous to shipping because of its many islands and rocky outcrops, and strong currents and winds, and there was an urgent need to chart the location of these features. Signifies the separation or reunion of two or three vessels The routes of the incomparable Matthew Flinders are portrayed as shown on his charts. State Border Where the waters were shallow or the coastline intricate, geographers and surveyors were sent from a Black Pyramid Rock mother ship in dinghies and other small craft to assist with the charting. The routes of the more extensive of these trips in small craft have been added to the map, where space allowed. 30' 30' Moriarty Rocks Although much of the charting was carried out under official authority, some discoveries were made by merchant ships. For instance, John Black in the Harbinger discovered a group of islands which he named the Hogan Group after the owner of his ship, Michael Hogan. Within the Hogan Group is a small island that straddles the Victorian/Tasmanian State border - the only land border between the two States! In addition to the numerous British vessels that explored Bass Strait in this period, a very significant French expedition under Nicolas Baudin (in the Geographe, Naturaliste and later Casuarina) carried out extensive scientific work in the region. Occasionally two, or all three, of the French vessels would proceed together, in which case the route of only one vessel is shown. This explains, for instance, why there is no route shown for Emmanuel Hamelin's Naturaliste for the period 1 to 7 December 1802. The accuracy of the plotting of the navigators' routes varies, depending on the quality of the charts that the navigators have left behind. In the case of the longboat from the Sydney Cove, the route is marked p.d. to indicate 'position doubtful' . Greg Eccleston, BSurv, MA, LS (Retired), FRICS, FRGS 1 December 2010 George Rocks To access the following reference material associated with this map: - Some References for Routes of Early Navigators 1770 - 1803 SCALE 1 : 500 000 - Indigenous Language Areas and Placenames visit the Publications page on the website of the Australian and New Zealand Map Society, www.anzmaps.org 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 KILOMETRES PEERAPPER 41°00' 41°00' 0 10 20 30 40 50 NAUTICAL MILES Many people have assisted with the production of this map. In particular, we thank the Surveyors-General of MAP PROJECTION : Lambert Conformal Conic TYERRERNOTEPANNER Victoria (John E. Tulloch) and Tasmania (Peter Murphy), Geoscience Australia, and the Australian Hydrographic GRS80 Ellipsoid using the Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994 (GDA94) Service, for digital and other data; Eleanor Galvin, Senior Reference Librarian and other staff of the Australian Central Meridian of Longitude 145°E Standard Parallels of Latitude 36°S and 38°S Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies; the Governing Committee of the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages, especially Paul Paton, Program Manager; Ian Morrison, Senior Librarian (Client & Collection Services), Heritage Collections, State Library of Tasmania; Judith Scurfield, Map Librarian, State Library of Victoria; and the Victorian Steering Committee of Australia on the Map 1606 - 2006 (Patron, Commodore Dacre Smyth, President Emeritus Professor Victor Prescott), who supported the initial suggestion " This publication may be of assistance to you, but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication for this map. The routes of the navigators were provided from various sources by Greg Eccleston. Associate is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, Professor Ian D Clark checked the Aboriginal placenames, while Dorothy Prescott AOM reviewed the loss or other consequences which may arise from relying on any information contained in this publication" cartographic detail and gave helpful advice on layout. The cartography was undertaken by Rolando Garay, Cartographer, under the direction of Peter Millman, former Manager and Vanessa Cassar, Manager, c The State of Victoria, Department of Sustainability and Environment, 2010 PYEMMAIRRENER Crown Survey Approval, Office of Surveyor-General, Victoria. PRODUCED BY CROWN SURVEY APPROVAL, OFFICE OF SURVEYOR - GENERAL, VICTORIA. TOMMEGINNE 140°00' 30' 141°00' 30' 142°00' 30' 143°00' 30' 144°00' 30' 145°00' 30' 146°00' 30' 147°00' 30' 148°00' 30' 149°00' 30' 150°00' 30' 151°00'.