This ornate map of the Straits of Magellan, Tierra del Fuego and the mythical land of Magellanica was originally published by Jan Jansson in 1657. The map was republished in Atlas terrestris, or, A book of mapps, by John Seller (1658-1698), around 1670. The decorative elements include scenes of Native Americans hunting rheas, a native American family group, penguins and other birds, ships, spears, bows and arrows, shells, and angels. The items in the image are identified in a key at the top of the map.

Digital order no: a5298001

Magellan circumnavigated the globe between 1519 and 1522. He sailed from east to west through the Magellan Straits, which he named the Channel of All Saints. In 1766 the British Admiralty commissioned Samuel Wallis and Philip Carteret to lead an expedition into the South Pacific to search for the theoretical southern continent. From December 1766 through to April 1767 they charted the bays and inlets of the Magellan Straits. This manuscript chart is from a set of Carteret’s charts acquired by Sir William Dixson and bequeathed to the Library in 1952.

Digital order no: a3759001

An original manuscript chart of Captain Cook’s relating to his second voyage, 6 February 1772. On the back of the map it states ‘Captain Cook's opinion of the rout the Resolution and Adventure ought to take to explore the Southern Ocean, humbly submitted to the consideration of the Earl of Sandwich’. The proposed route of the Resolution and Adventure is marked in yellow. Acquired through the New South Wales Agent General in London in 1922

Digital order no: a127069

This jigsaw puzzle has been created from a hand-coloured double hemisphere map of the world. The map has been mounted on wood, backed with paper and dissected into 62 pieces to form a jigsaw puzzle. The puzzle is housed in its original oak box with a sliding lid. A key map with the publisher’s details has been mounted on the reverse of the lid. The map shows the routes of several notable explorers, namely Quiros (1605), Davis (1686), Bering (1741), Anson (1740–42), Wallis, and most importantly, ‘the track of Cook’ on his first voyage (1768–1771), on which he charted New Zealand and the east coast of Australia. Jigsaw puzzles date only from the 1760s and this is the earliest known example of a jigsaw puzzle held in Australia which uses a map of the world.

Digital order no: a4155001

This detailed map is divided into three sections describing the Polar Regions. It was engraved by Andrew Bell and published by J Balfour around 1795. The map also shows the route of Captain James Cook's 2nd voyage and Captain Phipps voyage to the North Pole in 1773.

Digital order no: a5029001

This is a manuscript chart of the South Shetland Islands with ink wash coastal views. Captain William Smith, on the British merchant ship Williams of Blyth, sighted these islands on 17 February 1819 on his voyage from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso. On 17 October, on his return from Montevideo, he landed and claimed the land for the Crown.

Digital order no: a5269001

This is a manuscript chart of the South Shetland Islands with ink wash coastal views. Captain William Smith, on the British merchant ship Williams of Blyth, sighted these islands on 17 February 1819 on his voyage from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso. On 17 October, on his return from Montevideo, he landed and claimed the land for the Crown.

Digital order no: a5200001

In December 1821, British sealing captain George Powell and American sealer Nathaniel Palmer explored and charted an unknown archipelago of islands east of the South Shetland Islands. The ‘Powell’s Islands’ were later named the South Orkney Islands.

Digital order no: a5024001

This map shows discoveries in both the arctic and the antarctic seas. The existence of ‘fields of ice’ are noted on the tracks of the various voyages. The publisher, James Wyld, was apprenticed to William Faden, taking over the business in 1823. He eventually became Geographer to His Majesty (George IV and William IV) and HRH the Duke of York. Wyld began a dynasty of well known map publishers and was a founding member of the Royal Geographical Society in 1830

Digital order no: a5032001

In 1819 Czar Alexander I of Russia authorised an expedition to the south polar region. On 26 January 1820, Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen crossed the Antarctic Circle, becoming the first to do so since Cook in 1773. Bellingshausen circumnavigated the Antarctic territory, coming to within 20 miles of the mainland

Digital order no: a5088001

The voyage of the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842) was a political initiative by American domestic sealers looking for new hunting territories. The expedition, led by Charles Wilkes, charted 1000 km of Antarctic coastline before being blocked by a tongue of ice — now known as the Shackleton Ice Shelf — stretching into the sea.

Digital order no: a1528724

Between 1837 and 1849 a French Antarctic expedition was led by Captain Dumont d’Urville. The expedition had been commissioned by King Louis-Philippe to look for new discoveries at High latitudes. The expedition made discoveries south-east of the Antarctic Peninsula and then sailed west into the Pacific. After stopping at Tasmania they sailed south to Antarctica, naming the area of Terre Adélie after d’Urville’s wife

Digital order no: a5184002

Between 1839 and 1843 Captain James Clark Ross led an expedition sponsored by the British Association for the Advancement of Science and the Royal Society. HMS Erebus and Terror sailed through ice to the Ross Sea, discovering the Ross Ice Shelf and Victoria Land.

Digital order no: a5201001

This hemispherical chart is centred over the Antarctic Ocean and shows ice flows and the seasonal movements of major icebergs. The information was compiled from the voyages of Cook, 1772-5, Bellingshausen, 1819-21, Weddell, 1822-4, Foster, 1828-9, Biscoe, 1830-2, Balleny, 1839, D'Urville, 1839, Wilkes, 1839, and Ross, 1841-2-3.

Digital order no: a5263001

By the mid 1890s, Europe was poised to take a serious national interest in Antarctica, driven by the economic opportunities of whaling, science and territorial interests. The catalyst was Clements Markham, President of the Royal Geographical Society and convenor of the International Geographical Congress, held in London in 1895. Markham lobbied for naval involvement and government funding for national expeditions, ushering in the heroic age, an era of 20th century Antarctic exploration.

Digital order no: a5170001