Rare, c.19th hand coloured engraving of the Gang-Gang
This is the first engraved illustration of the Gang-Gang from the account and specimen collected from Churchill Island in 1801 by James Grant (1772-1833) during his survey of Western Port, in the Lady Nelson.
The specimen was sent to Thomas Davies a military officer, naturalist and artist who was elected in 1781 a fellow of the Royal Society. Lieutenant James Grant was given command of the Lady Nelson with the instructions to sail her to Sydney and hand her over to Matthew Flinders. He left Portsmouth on 17 March 1800 and while at Cape Town Grant received additional orders to search and sail through the recently discovered Bass Strait from the west. He made landfall on the Victorian coast near Mt Schank and Mt Gambier which he named and proceeded to chart the coast to Wilson’s Promontory. He sailed through Bass Strait becoming the first to do so from west to east and confirming a new route for shipping to the east coast and so avoid having to sailing south around Van Diemen’s Land. He also gave names to, Cape Banks, Cape Bridgewater, Cape Nelson, Cape Sir William Grant, Lawrence Islands, Lady Julia Percy Island, Portland Bay, Cape Otway, Cape Patton, Cape Danger, Governor King’s Bay, Cape Liptrap, King George’s Sound and Glennies Island.
Modern binomial name: Callocephalon fimbriatum
First described: Grant, 1803
Distribution: VIC, ACT, NSW
From: Grant, J., The Narrative of a Voyage of Discovery, performed in His Majesty’s Vessel The Lady Nelson, of sixty tons burthen, with sliding keels, in the years 1800, 1801, and 1802, to New South Wales.
References:
Ferguson, J. A. Bibliography of Australia Volumes 1-8, Canberra 1976 : 375.
Hill, J. The Hill Collection of Pacific Voyages. San Diego 1974 : 718.
Sabin, J. A Dictionary of Books Relating to America, from its Discovery to the Present Time. New York. (1936) 1967 : 28306.
Wantrup, J. Australian Rare Books. Sydney, 1987 : 75.
Collections:
State Library Victoria: RARELTF 919.44 G76
State Library New South Wales: 991011580389702626
National Library New Zealand: NLNZ ALMA 9911823113502836
University of Newcastle: Q994.02/29 B
