Charles Sturt and Captains Stokes' expedition to the Northern Territories in Australia - 1855 - Melbourne printing - Bound by Sangorski and Sutcliffe

NORTH AUSTRALIAN EXPLORING EXPEDITION:

"Copy Correspondence. Laid upon the Council Table by the Colonial Secretary, by command of His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, and ordered by the Council to be printed.

-Printed in Melbourne by John Ferres, Government Printer, 6 February 1855

-Foolscap folio: complete 16pp

-Printed on blue Parliamentary paper (Vic. Parl. Paper No. A-53). 

-A nice copy bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe in blue quarter calf over blue boards, spine lettered in gilt. Olds stains to boards.

This is the first and only edition of the official correspondence relating to the proposed North Australian Exploring Expedition. It includes letters to the Governor from Captain Stokes, Charles Sturt, and other leading figures of Australian inland exploration. These papers  are the official government documents for the expedition planning phase. Routes, command structure, logistics, and provisions and discussed in these papers. The document shows Melbourne’s attempt to position itself at the forefront of exploration in the years preceding Burke and Wills