Publisher's Synopsis
Ever since classical times, when men first imagined a great continent in the southern hemisphere, the idea of Terra Australis has kept a firm hold on European imaginations.;This volume gives a comprehensive history of the various theories and speculations that occupied the minds of Europeans, and describes the expeditions and discoveries achieved by British, Portuguese and Dutch explorers.;The Dieppe maps, which first marked the continent of Australia as a Portuguese discovery, are reproduced in their entirety for the first time. Two final chapters cover the reality of New South Wales and the emergence of the continent.
