The Naval Pioneers of Australia

A chronological account gathers the voyages, surveys, and administrative actions of seafarers who opened and governed the Australian coasts, beginning with early Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch contacts and moving through Dampier, Cook, and the naval captains who led the first penal settlement. It examines successive naval governors' efforts to secure supplies, map shores, and adapt maritime techniques to local conditions; discusses the role of marines and the New South Wales corps; recounts explorations by Bass and Flinders, Flinders' captivity, and the Bounty mutiny and Bligh's governorship; and concludes by assessing the colony's maritime development.