1. Australia
2. Cartography
3. Environment
4. Exploration
5. First Nations people
6. Geography
7. History
8. Seas and oceans

‘Putting Australia on the Map’ is a traditional-style nonfiction picture book featuring a page of text opposite a page of illustrations. The illustrations include a plethora of historical maps of Australia that have been sourced from the archives of libraries such as the National Library of Australia, and from the public domain.

The detailed but engaging text chronologically traces the attempts to create a map of the whole of Australia––the elusive ‘Great South Land’. As the title of the book indicates, the emphasis is on geography and cartography––the act of mapmaking––rather than on exploration.

Fittingly, the introduction begins by noting that Australia’s First Nations people made the dangerous journey to Australia over 50,000 years ago. Wilkinson then traces depictions of the Australian continent on maps from as early as AD150 through to Matthew Flinders filling in the missing jigsaw puzzle pieces with his circumnavigation of Australia in the early 1800s.

Wilkinson’s highly readable narrative also documents ongoing European contacts with Indigenous people, especially from the 1700s on. She records how William Dampier, the first Englishman to encounter Indigenous people, was perplexed by their lack of interest in or admiration for the British way of life and their possessions. As Wilkinson notes, ‘He didn’t know that Australia’s First Nations People had tens of thousands of years of experience managing their land, which provided them with everything they needed.’

Wilkinson also documents James Cook’s first encounter with Aboriginal people on the uncharted east coast of Australia, including firing muskets at them and basically ignoring their existence by declaring the land ‘terra nullius’––nobody’s land––and claiming it for Britain.

‘Putting Australia on the Map’ is illustrated with strikingly designed maps from the 1400s through to the 1800s. A glossary and index complete the package in this beautifully designed book, written by the award-winning author Carole Wilkinson, who is best known for her ‘Dragonkeeper’ series.

1. Reading Time March 13, 2020. Review by Angela Brown of ‘Putting Australia on the Map’ by Carole Wilkinson https://readingtime.com.au/putting-australia-on-the-map/
2. Wild Dog Books Teachers’ Notes for Putting Australia on the Map’ by Carole Wilkinson http://wdog.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/PAM_TN_2020.pdf
3. National Library of Australia November 5, 2013. ‘Putting Australia on the Map’ by Martin Woods, Curator of Maps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw0xq7vT_z4
4. Oz Lit Teacher July 25, 2021. Carole Wilkinson interviewed by Narissa Leung https://www.ozlitteacher.com.au/2021/07/25/interview-with-author-carole-wilkinson/
5. ReadPlus March 1, 2020. Review by Wendy Jeffrey of ‘Putting Australia on the Map’ https://www.readplus.com.au/reviews/putting-australia-on-the-map-by-carole-wilkinson