Naval officer, hydrographer, explorer, founding Surveyor General, settler and father, John Septimus Roe helped make Western Australia what it is today.
Roe’s early education at Christ’s Hospital and training as an officer in the Royal Navy and his work for the Admiralty Hydrographic Office developed his talent for sketching.
His field notes and sketches are typically accurate and objective. They are a record of the area at first contact by European settlers. The landscapes and waters, the aboriginal people and their place names, as well as the plants and animals of the south west of Australia were all noted by Roe.
Roe’s expedition reports, field notes and maps have been annotated, summarised and indexed in The Western Australian Explorations of John Septimus Roe 1829-1849. The reports are complemented by expert analyses of native plant species, native animal species, and navigation and surveying.
This tenth volume in the Western Australian Exploration series is a companion volume to Western Australian Exploration Volume 1 1826-1835 and Western Australian Exploration 1836-1845.
Kim Epton
Series Editor