Author(s): Jim Haynes

Non Fiction

The deep blue sea has been an endless source of inspiration, wonder and imagination to explorers and writers alike. Australia's history and national character has been defined by the fact that we live on an isolated island continent girt by sea. Best Australian Sea Stories is full of fascinating history, drama, surprises and human interest. The stories trace the maritime history of Australia from the earliest times to today. From first-hand accounts of voyages from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to modern accounts of refugee 'boat people', the book is a dazzling compendium of the famous and obscure, the brave and the jinxed, human achievement and tragedy. From the mystery of the mahogany ship and the Dieppe map, which point to Portuguese discovery of Australia's entire east coast in 1522, to the poignancy of Matthew Flinders' wife waiting nine years while he charted the coast of the land he named 'Australia', survived shipwrecks and became a political prisoner of the French, this book is full of human interest and amazing stories of bravery and endeavour, war and salvation.