Thomas Baines: Exploring Tropical Australia 1855 to 1857
Edited by Jane Carruthers, Lindy Stiebel

Thomas Baines: Exploring Tropical Australia 1855 to 1857 focuses on a little known but fascinating contribution by Baines to Augustus Gregory's North Australian Expedition: the artist–explorer's audacious attempt, in an open longboat with two companions, to link up with Gregory at the Albert River at the southern end of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Here, for the first time, the remarkably accurate map that Baines compiled of this voyage and extracts from his accompanying manuscript journals are evaluated and published. The hardships suffered by these men, their courage in dangerous waters and their encounters with Aboriginal Australians provide detailed insights into the complexities of Australian mid-nineteenth century history.