Northmost Australia, Volume II

By Robert Logan Jack

How do explorers' claims survive when their routes, measurements and conclusions are tested against the land itself? Across Cape York Peninsula, rivers, ranges, watersheds and coastal districts become evidence in a searching account of three centuries of Australian exploration history. Expedition narratives are set beside later maps and geological findings, revealing how northern Queensland was surveyed, interpreted and drawn into colonial development. The work follows explorers and surveyors through country where environmental hardship complicated every attempt to chart terrain or assess its resources. Robert Logan Jack and other prominent figures emerge through their reports, observations and competing geographical records rather than through legend alone. Particular attention is given to the discovery and development of goldfields, where geological assessment, commercial ambition and the practical demands of surveying converged. Natural history and economic history broaden the enquiry beyond individual journeys, showing exploration as both an encounter with unfamiliar country and an instrument of expansion. Beneath the maps and mineral reports lies a more troubled human history. The account examines Aboriginal and Polynesian labour in pearling, b che-de-mer fisheries and sugar plantations, while confronting Indigenous resistance, colonial violence and the costs concealed within narratives of progress. By connecting cartographic evidence, expedition testimony and economic change, this documentary nonfiction work presents northern development as a contested process shaped by knowledge, extraction and survival. This book was out of print for decades and is now republished by Alpha Editions. It has been restored for today's and future generations. This edition is not just a reprint - it's a collector's item and a cultural treasure.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9377783011
• ISBN13: 9789377783013
• Release Date: November 2026
• Publisher: Alpha Edition
• Length: 506 Pages
• Weight: 1.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"