The Explorers: Stories of Discovery and Adventure from the Australian Frontier

by Tim Flannery (Editor)

A lively collection of extraordinary stories of adventure and discovery, The Explorers tells the epic saga of the conquest and settlement of Australia. Editor Tim Flannery selects sixty-seven accounts that convey the sense of wonder and discovery, along with the human dimensions of struggle and deprivation, which occurred in the exploration of the last continent to be fully mapped by Europeans. Beginning with the story of Dutch captain Willem Janz's 1606 expedition at Cape York -- the bloody outcome of which would sadly foreshadow future relations between colonists and Aboriginal peoples -- and running through Robyn Davidson's 1977 camelback ride through the desolate Outback deserts, The Explorers bristles with the enterprise that Flannery explains as "heroic, for nowhere else did explorers face such an obdurate country."

Genres: History, Australia, Nonfiction, Travel, Science, Adventure

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Tim Flannery is one of Australia's leading thinkers and writers.

An internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer and conservationist, he has published more than 130 peer-reviewed scientific papers and many books. His books include the landmark works The Future Eaters and The Weather Makers, which has been translated into more than 20 languages and in 2006 won the NSW Premiers Literary Prizes for Best Critical Writing and Book of the Year.

He received a Centenary of Federation Medal for his services to Australian science and in 2002 delivered the Australia Day address. In 2005 he was named Australian Humanist of the Year, and in 2007 honoured as Australian of the Year.

He spent a year teaching at Harvard, and is a founding member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, a director of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, and the National Geographic Society's representative in Australasia. He serves on the board of WWF International (London and Gland) and on the sustainability advisory councils of Siemens (Munich) and Tata Power (Mumbai).

In 2007 he co-founded and was appointed Chair of the Copenhagen Climate Council, a coalition of community, business, and political leaders who came together to confront climate change.

Tim Flannery is currently Professor of Science at Maquarie University, Sydney.

Reviews

[Phoebe Amanda]

A fascinating glimpse into the diverse views, perceptions and experiences of the varied individuals who ventured beyond the colonised frontier.

The descriptions of ‘interactions’ with indigenous communities, savage strategies of manipulation and observations via a western lens, bear witness to the unraveling and destruction of ancient cultures who shaped and tended this continent.

[Ralphy]

Great idea for a book.
Fascinating reading.
There were good guys with noble intentions
There were bad guys with horrid intentions
Ultimately and largely though, the early explorers rarely took the investment in time to understand what they were “exploring’
It’s important that this is exposed
😎📚✅🥲

[Amanda Nunn]

I only had one problem with this collection of Australian exploration fragments...each snippet of diary or memoir left me wanting more.

This is a well-chosen collection of accounts from diverse viewpoints. I especially liked the rare Aboriginal account, seeing how different in tone they were from the typical European story-telling template.

I always knew the Australian outback was an unforgiving environment, but these accounts brought this home in a more personal way. Likewise, I knew that Aborigines had been treated badly, but was viscerally shocked at one of the few accounts from a woman and her casual description of the abduction of an Aboriginal woman - presumably for a servant. You can't just steal people!

The final account was well chosen - the end of an era for several reasons. The book has left me with much to think on and much to explore.

[Becky]

Tim Flannery is an excellent writer, but this book is simply a collection of passages (with his editorial comments) from ships' logs and personal journals. Many of these tell of encounters - some good, many hostile - between the aborigines and the European explorers. My criticism is that Flannery has tried to do too much, using brief excerpts that tell woefully incomplete stories. It would have been more effective to choose a few early explorers and tell a more thorough story, and thus give the reader a real taste of early Australian exploration.

[Cheryl Walsh]

Fascinating collection of primary sources on the exploration of Australia, from the early 17th century to the 1970s. While it includes the usual suspects (Tasman, Cook, Flinders, and Hume & Hovell for starters), it also includes far more people whose names are hardly familiar, including a few indigenous individuals and women. Tim Flannery's introduction to the book and to each selection provides wonderful context and sometimes humor. The wretched conditions of many an expedition are graphically depicted in the words of the people who lived through them, as well as the thrill many of the explorers found in documenting flora and fauna unknown to Europeans, or locating lands worth appropriating from indigenous peoples for settlement. There are stories of both conflict and cooperation between whites and indigenous peoples, and of both brutality and kindness. Most entries are field notes or diaries written at the time of the expeditions, but some were written later for publication. Well worth reading for anyone interested in the European conquest of Australia.

[Anna Keating]

Unfortunately lost my copy of the book. Am listing it as read, unlikely to recover it! Was going good up until that moment though, was enjoying the excerpts.

[Lucas Russell]

An interesting collection of excerpts from European explorer of Australia. It is a great introduction to some important players in the history of Australia. Now that libraries and museums around the world are scanning source documents, this is a useful list of references for anyone wanting to learn more about history to start their exploration.

[Caro]

The white explorers who tried to conquer inland Australia were mostly awful and died a lot, the end. The stories are infuriatingly repetitive and are often pretty grim, although you have to (albeit rather dubiously) admire the relentless stupidity of those involved. I guess.

[Karen Smith]

This was an excellent book to read to get a view of what the early explorers encountered as they set out to explore Australia. It was a bit labourious at times, as many of them had similar experiences, nevertheless, it was worth the read.

[Richie]

Very informative, if dry at times. Book is compiled of actual accounts of exploration spanning over three centuries. All accounts told from the perspectives of explorers.

[Atacama9006]

Very nice book about the most important explorers of Australia. Chronological order of exploration. Great intoduction to Aborigens and history of Australia.