AustLit

Nineteenth-Century Travel Writing

John Lort Stokes (1811-1885), was an explorer and hydrographer who served the brig, Beagle, for eighteen years. He accompanied Charles Darwin’s voyage (1833-36), and later John Wickham navigating Australian waters. Stokes wrote Discoveries in Australia as a scientific documentation of the Australian colonies. He travelled to Australia as a part of the Royal Navy, recording the voyage via Africa, before landing in Western Australia. In a detailed manner, Stokes describes his travel and exploration on sea and land, as well as the Aboriginal populations, the Australian bush, flora and fauna. Although written in diary form, its tone was more practical than conversational.