Map For Mr. Pennants Outline of the Globe. Vol. IV. 1800.

Rare map of Australia by Thomas Pennant and one of the earliest to note the possible existence of Bass Strait. The recent discovery of the strait between mainland Australia and Van Diemen&#8217s Land by Matthew Flinders and George Bass in the Norfolk in October 1798, is indicated by a dotted line and a notation stating &#8216Supposed New discov&#8217d. Straits’. Flinders&#8217s chart, which showed Bass Strait, was first issued by Aaron Arrowsmith on 16 June 1800 in Observations on the Coasts of Van Diemen&#8217s Land, on Bass&#8217s Strait and its Islands. The probable existence of the strait was first suggested following reports from the survivors of the Sydney Cove which had been wrecked in February 1797 on Preservation Island off Tasmania. When the master of the ship arrived in Sydney, he reported conditions around Van Diemen&#8217s Land which suggested the presence of a channel between the mainland and Van Diemen&#8217s Land. In response, Governor John Hunter wrote to Joseph Banks in August 1797, expressing his belief in a strait and George Bass was subsequently sent to explore the coast in a whaleboat. After reaching Wilsons Promontory and Western Port in January 1798, bad weather and a lack of provisions forced Bass to return to Sydney, but not before he had observed the long south-westerly swell and rapid tide which confirmed his own belief in the strait. Numerous other discoveries are noted including one on the northwest coast near present-day Port Hedland named &#8216A Passage in the Opinion of Dampier&#8217 and another recording the visit by George Vancouver to King George Sound in 1791. The map appears in volume four of Pennant&#8217s travel accounts which is &#8216the only published outcome of twenty-two manuscript volumes of imaginary travels throughout the world&#8217. The last volume includes a short history of Australia and Norfolk Island, including this folding map of New Holland, and an account of New Guinea. Hill contends that &#8216the first two volumes in this set though they are highly regarded, are not rare however, the third and fourth volumes are quite scarce&#8217. From volume four of Pennant&#8217s Outlines of the Globe: The view of the Malayan Isles, New Holland, and the Spicy Islands. References: Ferguson 278, Hill 132