Chart of part of the South Sea shewing the Tracts & Discoveries made by His Majesty's Ships Dolphin, Tamer, Swallow, and Endeavour

A fascinating and sought-after chart of the South Pacific showing the new discoveries of Byron in 1765, Carteret and Wallis in 1767, and Cook in 1769. The tracks of each ship are marked on the map with dates and magnetic variation recordings added in places along the routes. The map extends from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Australia in the west, across the Pacific to South America and Mexico in the east.

Major European discoveries shown on this map include Tahiti (located by Wallis in 1767), Pitcairn (reached by Carteret in 1767), and the east coasts of New Zealand and Australia (both discovered by Cook in 1770. Many other Pacific Island groups have yet to be discovered, including Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji, all of which do not yet appear.

This map was published to accompany An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of his Present Majesty for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere by John Hawkesworth. It was engraved by William Whitchurch. This example is from the first edition of 1773.

[AUNZ2997]