Cirrus@Austlit

19th-Century Australian Travel Writing

Explorer and surveyor George William Evans (1780-1852) published a descriptive account of Van Diemen's Land in the emigrant guide A Geographical, Historical, and Topographical Description of Van Diemen's Land. The work is divided into historical, natural, and civil geography of the colony. The advertisement by the editor noted the competition between Evans' work and a similar work by Lieutenant Charles Jeffreys (Geographical and Descriptive Delineations of the Island of Van Diemen’s Land,1820, said to have been constructed largely from Evans’ manuscript). This emigrant guide was reprinted as a French edition in 1823, and in a slightly revised version with the title History and Description of the Present State of Van Diemen's Land in 1824. Both editions published in English include information from the General Muster books and a list of civil establishments.