The Farthest Coast - Paperback

by Campbell Macknight (Author)

Northern Australia was once one the most remote areas of the world. To all its early visitors-Macassan fishermen, white explorers, soldiers, government officials, settlers and missionaries-it was their farthest coast. For all it was an alien and difficult place to reach.

Campbell Macknight outlines the history of the exploration and settlement of the coast from the Gulf of Carpentaria west to the Kimberleys in his introduction. He suggest it is a geographical unit very different from the rest of Australia.

His selections from the writings of early visitors are exciting and interesting for their own sakes, and an invaluable guide to a region of growing economic and strategic importance.

Author Biography

Campbell Macknight taught in the History Department, Faculty of Arts at the Australian National University for many years before becoming Professor of Humanities at the University of Tasmania in Launceston in 1994. He retired back to Canberra in 2000 and has continued his research, writing and editing since then.