AustLit

19th-Century Australian Travel Writing

Ernest Favenc (1845-1908), explorer, journalist and historian, and writer first published his travel narratives in the Sydney Morning Herald, before publishing them as The Great Austral Plain, Its Past, Present and Future. Providing a description of the heart of Australia, and written in the second person, the reader travels across the topography of the country with the author, from the deserts to the lakes. Favenc established his account of the colonies by presenting a history of exploration, which was then followed by his own descriptions of the flora and fauna of the country. According the Australian Dictionary of Biography, Favenc had expert knowledge at bushcraft and a unique knowledge of Queensland. He was supported by the New South Wales government to write the reference book History of Australian Exploration 1788-1888.