The special issue. Only fifty signed copies were prepared of this deluxe issue, signed and numbered (No.45) by Dr. Edward Duyker, author of The Dutch in Australia, who wrote the introductory essay for the publication.

The special issue. Only fifty signed copies were prepared of this deluxe issue, signed and numbered (No.45) by Dr. Edward Duyker, author of The Dutch in Australia, who wrote the introductory essay for the publication.

Fifth publication in the Australian Maritime Series.

It was nutmeg and pepper that drove the wealthy and powerful Dutch merchant Isaac Le Maire to try to break the VOC monopoly on trade routes to the East Indies, and inspired him to mount an expedition that would forge a new route to the lucrative spice sources via the southern-most tip of America, through uncharted and dangerous waters. Influenced by the famous voyage of Pedro Ferdinandos de Quirós, the Portuguese navigator who believed he had touched upon Terra Australis, the great southland, Le Maire set up The Australian Company (Australische of Zuid Compagnie). The expedition he mounted had a dual goal: to chart a new course to the Pacific and to find the great southern continent.