Rare First Editions of First Fleet Material at Melbourne Rare Book Fair

Collectors of Australiana at the Melbourne Book Fair next week will be offered significant first editions of historical works, including eyewitness accounts featuring finely detailed and hand-coloured maps, journey logs, and surveys from the First Fleet era from Peter Harrington. 

The fair, taking place July 25-27 at Wilson Hall, The University of Melbourne, also includes numerous lectures and events in the run-up to the main event as well as during the three days itself.

Among the notable first editions from Peter Harrington are some of the earliest and most significant accounts of the foundation and exploration of Australia including documents, books, manuscripts and maps directly associated with the First Fleet, the 11 ships that carried the first European settlers, including convicts, marines, and officers, to establish a penal colony in New South Wales in 1788.

These include a first edition of A Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay by Watkin Tench. Published in 1789 and priced at £12,500, the book provides the first authentic eyewitness account of the new colony, offering a vivid and valuable description of life in the settlement during its initial years. Tench, who sailed with the First Fleet as captain-lieutenant of marines, provides a detailed narrative of his explorations and discoveries, including the tracing of the Nepean River to the Hawkesbury. 

Another significant rarity is a first edition of An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island. This work by John Hunter, a captain of the First Fleet, published in 1793, provides an early account of the first years of settlement in Australia. Hunter’s journal includes detailed descriptions of exploration activities and the settlement at Norfolk Island, along with finely engraved plates and maps. Notably, this copy is extra-illustrated with a rare hand-coloured map by Robert Wilkinson showing the coastal regions of New South Wales. The book will be available at £4,500.