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Great South Land

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Great South Land

By: Rob Mundle
Narrated by: Paul English
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About this listen

For many, the colonial story of Australia starts with Captain Cook's discovery of the east coast in 1770, but it was some 164 years before his historic voyage that European mariners began their romance with the immensity of the Australian continent.

Between 1606 and 1688, while the British had their hands full with the Gunpowder Plot and the English Civil War, it was highly skilled Dutch seafarers who, by design, chance or shipwreck, discovered and mapped the majority of the vast, unknown waters and land masses in the Indian and Southern Oceans.

This is the setting that sees Rob Mundle back on the water with another sweeping and powerful account of Australian maritime history. It is the story of 17th-century European mariners - sailors, adventurers and explorers - who became transfixed by the idea of the existence of a Great South Land: "Terra Australis Incognita". Rob takes you aboard the tiny ship, Duyfken, in 1606 when Dutch navigator and explorer Willem Janszoon and his 20-man crew became the first Europeans to discover Australia on the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria.

In the decades that followed, more Dutch mariners, like Hartog, Tasman, and Janszoon (for a second time), discovered and mapped the majority of the coast of what would become Australia. Yet, incredibly, the Dutch made no effort to lay claim to it or establish any settlements. This process began with British explorer and former pirate William Dampier on the west coast in 1688, and by the time Captain Cook arrived in 1770, all that was to be done was chart the east coast and claim what the Dutch had discovered.

©2015 Rob Mundle (P)2015 Bolinda
Australia, New Zealand & Oceania Expeditions & Discoveries Maritime History & Piracy Oceania Explorer Pirate Sailing

Critic Reviews

"A master of the maritime narrative." ( The Sunday Age)

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Really Terrific... Really

how good was this... again an amazing book by Rob that's makes you feel like you're there and you learn soooo much thanks

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Australian history at its best

Great story with excellent research throughout. A must read for all Australian's. will search for more like this

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great read/liston

would higjhly recomend any of Robs books. shame some of his older books like "Fatal Storm" are not audio books they would be an awesome listen on my long drives

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I'm sorry it came to an end.

Thoroughly enjoyable and memorable. A most enjoyable history lesson read by a master in English.

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Enlightening

This was fascinating, particularly loved Dampier’s story, wow what a remarkable life and I’m amazed we don’t know more about him. Wonderful narration as well.

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