"Until 1606 the Great South Land was a mystery to Europeans. When Dutchman Willem Janszoon, captain of the Duyfken, landed at Cape York 400 years ago he thought he was in New Guinea. By the time Matthew Flinders' charts were published in 1814 Australia had emerged on the map and in name. This book tells the stories of the seafaring explorers, the shipwrecks, mutinies and daring escapes that came after Janszoon, including the voyages of Torres and La Perouse, Dampier, Cook and D'Entrecasteaux. These are tales of adventure, discovery and navigational triumph in the face of hardship, starvation and disaster at the far end of the world."--Jacket.