This handsomely illustrated book is the exhibition catalogue. The large format allows plenty of room for the illustrations, which occupy every second page. On the facing pages are short essays written by John Clark. These are for the most part well written and interesting, but I picked up a couple of errors in the short discussion of Matthew Flinders’ chart, and so I would not like to vouch for the accuracy of the rest. Occasionally, the claims made seem mildly preposterous: Francis Meynell’s log of HMS Alligator, which records the founding of Port Essington in the Northern Territory, is said to be ‘a significant historical document … because it has never been published or copied’. Yes, but neither has my weekly shopping list.

There is a wide variety of materials included in the exhibition, ranging from paints to clothing to manuscripts, and even a few books, though not as many as might be expected in an exhibition of library materials. Highlights include a sixteenth-century manuscript depicting the Southern Cross, the manuscript journals of James Cook and Joseph Banks, and some of the early natural history art works. The exhibition began in Canberra in December 2005 and will tour to the other capitals over the next two years.