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This series focuses on Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region from the arrival of European seafarers and missionaries to the early twentieth century. Contemporary accounts document the gradual development of the European settlements from penal colonies and whaling stations to thriving communities of farmers, miners and traders with fully-fledged administrative and legal systems. Particularly noteworthy are the descriptions of the indigenous peoples of the various islands, their customs and their differing interactions with the European settlers.

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107 results in Cambridge Library Collection - History of Oceania

Page 4 of 6

Old New Zealand
  • A Tale of the Good Old Times by a Pakeha Maori
  • Frederick Edward Maning
  • Published online:
    05 May 2012
    Print publication:
    22 December 2011
    First published in:
    1863
  • First published anonymously in 1863, this classic book recounts the experiences of Frederick Edward Maning (c.1811–83), an Anglo-Irish trader who emigrated to Tasmania with his family as a boy and later relocated to New Zealand. A self-styled 'Pakeha-Maori' ('Pakeha' is the Maori word for a white New Zealander), Maning acquired land and settled down with a Maori woman, occupying a tenuous position between the two cultures. Observing that the old Maori way of life was rapidly disappearing due to the increased European presence in New Zealand, Maning endeavoured to record Maori customs and material culture before all knowledge of them disappeared. Old New Zealand is a mixture of history, autobiography and anecdote, and the author insists all the incidents and people described are real. The language is informal, and the narrative vigorous and rapid, with lively dialogues and occasional Maori phrases. A glossary explains Maori words and concepts.

The History of New South Wales
  • With an Account of Van Diemen's Land [Tasmania], New Zealand, Port Phillip [Victoria], Moreton Bay, and Other Australian Settlements
  • Volume 2
  • Roderick Flanagan
  • Published online:
    05 April 2012
    Print publication:
    08 November 2011
    First published in:
    1862
  • Having arrived with his parents from Ireland in New South Wales in 1840 as a 'bounty emigrant', the young Roderick Flanagan (1828–62) quickly developed a passionate interest in his adopted country. Following an apprenticeship with a city printer, the educated and astute Flanagan worked for a number of Australia's early newspapers, including Melbourne's Daily News and the Sydney Morning Herald, where he acquired his distinctive, journalistic approach to history. Published shortly after his early death in London in 1862, Flanagan's two-volume chronicle of New South Wales represents a lifetime of research, and demonstrates the author's balanced and unpartisan approach to politics. Picking up the narrative in 1838, Volume 2 covers the campaign for the discontinuation of criminal transportation, the origin of the Elected Council, and the political and social character of neighbouring New Zealand. This volume concludes with appendices on the economic, geographic and agricultural status of the colony.

The History of New South Wales
  • With an Account of Van Diemen's Land [Tasmania], New Zealand, Port Phillip [Victoria], Moreton Bay, and Other Australian Settlements
  • Volume 1
  • Roderick Flanagan
  • Published online:
    05 April 2012
    Print publication:
    08 November 2011
    First published in:
    1862
  • Having arrived with his parents from Ireland in New South Wales in 1840 as a 'bounty emigrant', the young Roderick Flanagan (1828–62) quickly developed a passionate interest in his adopted country. Following an apprenticeship with a city printer, the educated and astute Flanagan worked for a number of Australia's early newspapers, including Melbourne's Daily News and the Sydney Morning Herald, where he acquired his distinctive, journalistic approach to history. Published shortly after his early death in London in 1862, Flanagan's two-volume chronicle of New South Wales represents a lifetime of research, and demonstrates the author's balanced and unpartisan approach to politics. Opening with Cook's voyage of 1770, early expeditions inland, and initial encounters with aboriginal peoples, Volume 1 covers the first sixty-eight years of European immigration, and the various political, criminal and military skirmishes that shaped the new colony.

New Zealand, the `Britain of the South'
  • With a Chapter on the Native War, and our Future Native Policy
  • Charles Hursthouse
  • Published online:
    05 January 2015
    Print publication:
    24 November 2011
    First published in:
    1861
  • In October 1854 the Taranaki Herald reported the return to New Zealand of Charles Hursthouse, who 'for years past has been in England the untiring advocate of New Zealand emigration, and by his writings and lectures has materially contributed to the colonization of the settlement'. In this updated 1861 version of his 1857 book, Hursthouse promises 'a fair and honest picture of New Zealand as she is today' and expresses his belief that thousands of struggling British people from all walks of life would be 'saved' by emigrating. He describes New Zealand's history, climate, natural history, population, government, exports and markets, agricultural pursuits and trades, and includes a revealing chapter on war and 'native policy'. Hursthouse explains his own reasons for emigrating, and provides practical advice on official regulations, travel insurance, choice of ship, the best times to sail and how to keep occupied during the voyage.

The Story of New Zealand
  • Past and Present, Savage and Civilized
  • Volume 1
  • Arthur S. Thomson
  • Published online:
    05 May 2012
    Print publication:
    24 November 2011
    First published in:
    1859
  • Arthur S. Thomson (1816–60) was a Scottish military surgeon and medical scientist who was posted to New Zealand in the late 1840s. During his eleven years in the country, settlement increased and British sovereignty over the colony was extended. Thomson felt that previous historical accounts of New Zealand all demonstrated a certain political, colonial or religious bias, and decided to write his own comprehensive history of the islands, which was published in 1859. Volume 1 begins with a focus on the geography and climate of New Zealand. Thomson then describes the physical appearance of the New Zealanders, their way of life, their culture, their property laws and the origin of their (now abandoned) cannibalism. Next he describes the history of discovery and settlement by Europeans, who brought 'true civilisation' to the islands. Thomson gives especial credit to the Christian missionaries for having introduced progress and enlightenment.

The Story of New Zealand
  • Past and Present, Savage and Civilized
  • Volume 2
  • Arthur S. Thomson
  • Published online:
    05 May 2012
    Print publication:
    24 November 2011
    First published in:
    1859
  • Arthur S. Thomson (1816–60) was a Scottish military surgeon and medical scientist who was posted to New Zealand in the late 1840s. During his eleven years in the country, settlement increased and British sovereignty over the colony was extended. Thomson felt that previous historical accounts of New Zealand all demonstrated a certain political, colonial or religious bias, and decided to write his own comprehensive history of the islands, which was published in 1859. In Volume 2, Thomson continues the story of European discovery and settlement. He justifies the progress of British colonisation by arguing that it brought civilisation to the native people, fully supporting the introduction of English (property) law and the introduction of Christianity. Thomson advocates that the Maoris be taught English, as this is the only way to give them hope that they can 'rise above the hewers of wood and drawers of water'.

Te Ika a Maui
  • Or, New Zealand and its Inhabitants, Illustrating the Origin, Manners, Customs, Mythology, Religion, Rites, Songs, Proverbs, Fables, and Language of the Natives
  • Richard Taylor
  • Published online:
    05 March 2015
    Print publication:
    26 August 2010
    First published in:
    1855
  • Reverend Richard Taylor (1805–1873) was an English missionary, who wrote extensively on Maori culture and the plant and animal life of New Zealand. Taylor graduated from Queens' College, Cambridge in 1828 and was ordained as an Anglican priest the same year. After serving as a curate in the Isle of Ely, Taylor was appointed as a missionary to New Zealand for the Church Missionary Society. He arrived in Australia in 1836 and landed in New Zealand in 1839. Taylor quickly became a peacekeeper between the different Maori tribes in his district. This volume, first published in 1855, provides a detailed account of Maori mythology and culture with a description of the plant life, animal life and geology of the North Island. Taylor strongly condemns contemporary (nineteenth-century) attitudes to Maori culture and demonstrates the complexity of their society in this sympathetic book.

Land, Labour, and Gold
  • Two Years in Victoria: with Visits to Sydney and Van Diemen's Land
  • Volume 1
  • William Howitt
  • Published online:
    05 August 2011
    Print publication:
    17 February 2011
    First published in:
    1855
  • In 1852 William Howitt (1792–1879) set sail for Australia with two of his sons in order to try his luck in the goldfields of Victoria. By then he was already a prolifically published author of both prose and verse. He was only moderately successful as a gold-digger, but his account of life in the new colony, published in 1855 after his return to England, provides an extraordinary snapshot of the rapid early growth of Melbourne. Volume 1 covers Howitt's first impressions of Australia, his experiences on the journey to the diggings at Bendigo, the throngs of prospectors, the exorbitant prices charged by profiteering merchants, and the miners' protest over high government licence fees. He describes the hard life endured by the diggers and warns against women coming to the colony.

Land, Labour, and Gold
  • Two Years in Victoria: with Visits to Sydney and Van Diemen's Land
  • Volume 2
  • William Howitt
  • Published online:
    05 August 2011
    Print publication:
    17 February 2011
    First published in:
    1855
  • In 1852 William Howitt (1792–1879) set sail for Australia with two of his sons in order to try his luck in the goldfields of Victoria. By then he was already a prolifically published author of both prose and verse. He was only moderately successful as a gold-digger, but his account of life in the new colony, published in 1855 after his return to England, provides an extraordinary snapshot of the rapid early growth of Melbourne. Volume 2 considers the effects of the influx of a great number of immigrants and the continuing presence of convicts. Howitt also reflects on government policy and the draft constitution, and describes visits to Sydney and Tasmania. His colourful account includes descriptions of birds and flowers, extreme heat, and how to cope with flies.

A Lady's Visit to the Gold Diggings of Australia in 1852–53
  • Ellen Clacy
  • Published online:
    05 October 2012
    Print publication:
    08 November 2011
    First published in:
    1853
  • Mrs Charles (Ellen) Clacy (1830–1901) was a clergyman's daughter who, in 1852, travelled to the Australian goldfields. Published in 1853, on her return to England, this work, the first edition of which sold out almost immediately, is essentially a guide for prospective emigrants. It includes, within the lively narrative, practical advice on the cost of living, the labour market, gold-digging regulations, and marriage prospects. Mrs Clacy published several subsequent books, but her life remains obscure. Research suggests an illegitimate pregnancy or an absconding husband, unmentioned in the upbeat and respectable narrative, but possibly echoed by the highly coloured 'tale' of an anonymous emigrant woman, whose lover (twice) leaves her pregnant at the altar to go to the goldfields, with tragic consequences. However this relates to Mrs Clacy's actual circumstances, her writing vividly depicts the mixture of opportunity and hazard in nineteenth-century Australia, illuminating the country's early social history.

The History of Tasmania
  • Volume 1
  • John West
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    22 April 2011
    First published in:
    1852
  • John West (1809–1873) was an English-born minister who received a Colonial Missionary Society post in Tasmania in 1838. West became an outspoken opponent of the ongoing government policy of transporting convicts from Britain to Tasmania. Around 1847 a wealthy supporter approached West to write the colony's history, although it had been a British territory only since 1803. West accepted the task and, amid his campaigning and other responsibilities, completed this two-volume work which was published in 1852. It is divided between a straightforward narrative of events and thematic issues such as the treatment of the Aboriginal peoples and the issue of the convict transport system. Volume 1 covers the development of the colony, starting with the arrival of the Dutch in the seventeenth century, who named the island Van Diemen's Land, through to British control and its subsequent settlement as the colony of Tasmania.

My Home in Tasmania
  • During a Residence of Nine Years
  • Volume 2
  • Louisa Anne Meredith
  • Published online:
    16 May 2011
    Print publication:
    21 October 2010
    First published in:
    1852
  • Louisa Anne Meredith's account of her life in Tasmania was published in 1852. She was an experienced traveller, and this work is remarkable for being the first detailed account by a woman of life in the colony. Its shrewd observations and descriptive personal narrative make it an engaging read, as well as providing a valuable historical record. A keen botanist and artist, Meredith describes the island's natural life in great detail in beautiful and evocative passages. In Volume 2 she provides more anecdotes of her life, including descriptions of the animals she encounters and journeys made within the island. She also covers more social issues, looking at religion and custom in the colony among the settlers and the natives, and closing the book with an examination of Tasmania's industry and trades. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=merelo

My Home in Tasmania
  • During a Residence of Nine Years
  • Volume 1
  • Louisa Anne Meredith
  • Published online:
    16 May 2011
    Print publication:
    21 October 2010
    First published in:
    1852
  • Louisa Anne Meredith's account of her life in Tasmania was published in 1852. She was an experienced traveller, and this work is remarkable for being the first detailed account by a woman of life in the colony. Its shrewd observations and descriptive personal narrative make it an engaging read, as well as providing a valuable historical record. A keen botanist and artist, Meredith describes the island's natural life in great detail in beautiful and evocative passages. This first volume covers the journey to the island and her initial impressions of it. Her discussions of 'polite society', politics, prisoner and ex-prisoner populations, the 'white slave' issue, and her attitudes to the island's native people, also provide fascinating examples of colonial attitudes in the period and of how different cultures and backgrounds existed together on the island. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=merelo

The History of Tasmania
  • Volume 2
  • John West
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    29 April 2011
    First published in:
    1852
  • John West (1809–1873) was an English-born minister who received a Colonial Missionary Society post in Tasmania in 1838. West became an outspoken opponent of the ongoing government policy of transporting convicts from Britain to Tasmania. Around 1847 a wealthy supporter approached West to write the colony's history, although it had been a British territory only since 1803. West accepted the task and, amid his campaigning and other responsibilities, completed this two-volume work which was published in 1852. It is divided between a straightforward narrative of events and thematic issues such as the treatment of the Aboriginal peoples and the issue of the convict transport system. In Volume 2, the first ten sections discuss the early encounters with Europeans and the subsequent mistreatment of the native people in Tasmania. The remainder of the volume considers the island's development as a penal colony.

Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia, from Moreton Bay to Port Essington
  • A Distance of Upwards of 3000 Miles, during the Years 1844–1845
  • Ludwig Leichhardt
  • Published online:
    05 October 2012
    Print publication:
    08 November 2011
    First published in:
    1847
  • Published in 1847, this is a fascinating account by the Prussian explorer Ludwig Leichhardt of his 3,000-mile expedition from north to south across Australia, from 1844 to 1846. One of the most authoritative early recorders of Australia's environment, Leichhardt was also the best trained naturalist to explore Australia during this time. The expedition departed on 1 October 1844 from Jimbour, the farthest outpost of settlement on the Queensland Darling Downs. Leichhhardt describes in detail the difficulties his party encountered from the very start, the extreme weather conditions they battled, the kindness of the people they met and his close observations of the habits of the aborigines. He also presents detailed analysis of his findings of natural phenomena. After travelling nearly 3,000 miles, Leichhardt arrived in Sydney on 25 March 1846 to a hero's welcome. Engaging and historically revealing, the volume will capture the imagination of the modern reader.

Savage Life and Scenes in Australia and New Zealand
  • Being an Artist's Impressions of Countries and People at the Antipodes
  • Volume 1
  • George French Angas
  • Published online:
    05 October 2012
    Print publication:
    08 November 2011
    First published in:
    1847
  • George French Angas (1822–86) gave up a career in business to become an artist, and his interest in natural history and ethnology is apparent throughout his work. In the early 1840s he travelled to Australia and New Zealand. His paintings from this period were later exhibited and formed the basis of two important large-format books of lithographs that appeared in 1849, having been announced in this two-volume 1847 account of his travels. Volume 1 documents Angas' expeditions in South Australia, a colony his father helped to found. Angas accompanied William Giles into the Murray basin and George Grey along the south-east coast, and his observations include detailed descriptions of the way of life of the Aboriginal tribes there. The book continues with Angas' voyage to Wellington, with views of Taranaki and the Kaikouras, his first impressions of the Maori (including a haka), and his onward journey to Auckland.

Savage Life and Scenes in Australia and New Zealand
  • Being an Artist's Impressions of Countries and People at the Antipodes
  • Volume 2
  • George French Angas
  • Published online:
    05 October 2012
    Print publication:
    08 November 2011
    First published in:
    1847
  • George French Angas (1822–86) gave up a career in business to become an artist, and his interest in natural history and ethnology is apparent throughout his work. In the early 1840s he travelled to Australia and New Zealand. His paintings from this period were later exhibited and formed the basis of two important large-format books of lithographs that appeared in 1849, having been announced in this two-volume 1847 account of his travels. Volume 2 describes Angas' journey of nearly 800 miles on foot from Auckland into the volcanic interior of North Island, and the spectacular landscapes he saw there. He recounts how he 'invariably experienced hospitality and protection' among the Maori, and documents their customs, both ancient and Christianized. The book ends with Angas' impressions of New South Wales, an account of the customs of the Aboriginal tribes there, and his return to England via Cape Horn and Brazil.

Discoveries in Australia
  • With an Account of the Hitherto Unknown Coasts Surveyed during the Voyage of the HMS Beagle, between the Years 1837 and 1843
  • Volume 2
  • John Lort Stokes
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    22 September 2011
    First published in:
    1846
  • John Lort Stokes (1812–85) was a naval officer on board H.M.S. Beagle - the same ship that had carried naturalist Charles Darwin around the world in 1831–6. Stokes served on that expedition and on the following commission, which was a survey of Australia in which the crew was charged with discovering more about the largely unknown land mass. The expedition set off in 1837 and Stokes did not return to England until 1843 - after 18 years of service on the Beagle - when he began work on this two-volume account of the voyage, which was published in 1846. This work provides a detailed narrative of the journey, including interaction with indigenous peoples and observations about the natural world in Australia, making it an important source about the early years of the European colony. Volume 2 sees the expedition explore the Victoria River, and later venture north into the Indonesian archipelago.

Discoveries in Australia
  • With an Account of the Hitherto Unknown Coasts Surveyed during the Voyage of the HMS Beagle, between the Years 1837 and 1843
  • Volume 1
  • John Lort Stokes
  • Published online:
    05 January 2012
    Print publication:
    22 September 2011
    First published in:
    1846
  • John Lort Stokes (1812–85) was a naval officer on board H.M.S. Beagle - the same ship that had carried naturalist Charles Darwin around the world in 1831–6. Stokes served on that expedition and on the following commission, which was a survey of Australia in which the crew was charged with discovering more about the largely unknown land mass. The expedition set off in 1837 and Stokes did not return to England until 1843 - after 18 years of service on the Beagle - when he began work on this two-volume account of the voyage, which was published in 1846. This work provides a detailed narrative of the journey, including interaction with indigenous peoples and observations about the natural world in Australia, making it an important source about the early years of the European colony. Volume 1 covers Stokes' time exploring north-west Australia and includes illustrations of plants, insects, and reptiles.

Narrative of Some Passages in the History of Van Diemen's Land
  • During the Last Three Years of Sir John Franklin's Administration of its Government
  • John Franklin
  • Published online:
    05 June 2013
    Print publication:
    02 August 2012
    First published in:
    1845
  • The famous explorer of the Arctic region, Sir John Franklin (1786–1847) was appointed Governor of the penal colony of Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen's Land) in 1837. At first enthusiastically welcomed by the free colonists of the island, Franklin quickly became embroiled in political and administrative difficulties, and his compassion for convicts and aboriginals alike was incompatible with his duties. In 1843, colonial officials loyal to his predecessor succeeded in getting Franklin recalled by sending damaging accounts of his conduct to London. This pamphlet was Franklin's defence of his own character against these misrepresentations, but he was not to see his reputation recovered. He completed the book on 15 May 1845, just days before he departed on another Arctic expedition to search for the North-West Passage. Franklin and his entire crew died on the journey, and only many years later was the tragic fate of the expedition discovered.

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