Item #80145 The Northern Territory of South Australia. J. G. KNIGHT.
The Northern Territory of South Australia
The Northern Territory of South Australia

The Northern Territory of South Australia

Adelaide, E. Spiller, Government Printer, 1880.

Octavo, 55 pages.

Original flush-cut quarter cloth and card covers, with the title page details repeated on the front cover; cloth a little flecked and slightly sunned and rubbed; card a little tanned, mottled and lightly marked; minimal signs of age and use; an excellent copy.

At the time of publication, the author was Chief Warden of the Goldfields of the Northern Territory. 'This pamphlet is published by permission of the Government of South Australia; but it is only proper to state that the recommendations herein made, especially with reference to the formation of a railway, have not yet been considered by the Ministry, and must therefore be only regarded as the individual views of the author. A portion of the matter in the following pages was compiled by me' for Harcus's 'South Australia', published in 1876; it 'incorporated some useful papers written by residents there'.

That book also contained an important chapter on Central Australia, incorporated here with additional material. To quote Harcus: 'the following interesting and well-written account of Central Australia, along the line of telegraph, has appeared in the "Register". The writer, Mr J.A. Giles, is well acquainted with the whole of the country which he describes. It is the best and most trust-worthy account of Central Australia which has yet been published'. Knight remarks that it 'affords an excellent insight into the vast tract of country'. The article takes up most of the 17-page chapter; it refers on occasion (and thus eliminates any misattribution) to Alfred Giles, the explorer with strong telegraph line credentials. It is augmented with a page of quotations from Charles Winnecke's 1879 Herbert River expedition reports. Ferguson 11231 (pretty light on detail, even to the extent of not recording the binding).

Item #80145

Price (AUD): $650.00