Narrative of the Expedition of the Australian Squadron to the South-East Coast of New Guinea, October to December, 1884

Bathurst : Robert Brown, 1984. Folio (approx. 425 x 345 mm), blue leather, lettered in gilt, all edges gilt, in gilt-lettered slipcase. Facsimile of the 1885 edition which commemorated the raising of the British Flag in Port Moresby in 1884.

“The Imperial Government … decided to take steps to establish a Protectorate over that part of the southern shores of New Guinea to the east of the territory claimed by the Netherlands, with the double object of preventing any foreign occupation of the country, and of protecting the inhabitants from aggression…”

This declaration of the expedition’s objectives belies the tone of much of Erskine’s Narrative, which quite naturally evokes the exotic landscape and native way of life without over-focusing on the official ceremonies. Similarly Erskine’s own speech, considered for many years as a “Declaration of Rights for New Guinea”, contrasts strongly with the text of the Proclamation itself – it looks ahead to the real benefits that the tribesmen might expect and is very specific with regard to the protection offered by Her Majesty Queen Victoria: “look upon white persons whom the Queen permits to reside amongst you as your friends….”

However, it is the photographs themselves, attributed to Augustine Dyer (1873-1923) of the NSW Printing Office, which are of prime importance. The album is principally a visual record, a piece of photo-reportage, unmatched by any comparable work of the period. No other account is so lavishly illustrated with so many and such large photographs, and manages to weave topography and official ceremony into one photographic narrative (Gael Newton, ‘Shades of Light : photography and Australia 1839-1988’, p 58). In addition to the five hundred copies produced for presentation, a special copy was delivered to Her Majesty the Queen as “a keen supporter of photography”.

A handsome facsimile of the original edition.