Section H. 



GEOGRAPHY. 



President of the Section 

 CAPTAIN PASCO, R.N. 



1.— ON AN OLD MANUSCRIPT CHART OF 

 TASMANIA IN THE RECORDS OF THE INDIA 

 OFFICE. 



Bi/ A. MAULT, Hobfirt. 

 (Two Map.s.) 



While searching in the Indian Museum of South Ken- 

 sington for some other charts connected with Tasmania, my 

 attention was called to the second edition of Sir George 

 Birdwood's Official Rejjort on the old i-eeords of the India 

 Office. Looking through it I found on page 77 the follow- 

 ing entry : — " 1643. A draught of the South Land lately 

 discovered." It is described as a rough sketch, much 

 damaged, and only held together by being backed with gold- 

 beater's skin : and a foot-note adds that this must be a 

 draught either of Van Diemen's Land discovered by Tasman 

 in 1642, or of New Zealand. Through the kindness of Sir 

 G. Birdwood and of Mr. Dan vers, the Registrar and 

 Superintendent of Records at the India Office, I was per- 

 mitted to see and make an exact tracino- of this '' drauo^ht," 

 which 1 at once recognised as being a chart of the discoveries 

 made by the Heemskirk and ZeeJiaan under the command of 

 Abel Tasman in 1 642, and representing the same extent of 

 the coastline of Van Diemen's Land as that on the charts 

 given by Valentyn and by Burney as taken from Tasman's 

 own. From this tracing I have reproduced \x\ fac simile the 

 accompanying " draught." 



The " draught " is on paper, and is in the condition 

 described in Sir George Birdwood's report. It has endorsed 

 upon it, in writing of the style of the middle of the seven- 

 teenth century — " A Draught of the South Land lately 

 discovered, 1643." I do not think there c^n be any don))t 

 but that this encfoi'senient was written by an Englishman ; 



