64SEXTANT: STATE LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES; TAYLORS: COURTESY RON AND VAL TAYLOR; COTTEE: COURTESY KAY COTTEE; BUNGAREE: ART GALLERY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA; ALLUM: PETER ROGERS
WILLIAM BLIGH (1754 –1817)
William Bligh was an outstanding
sailor, and an accomplished navigator
and cartographer. But because of an
uncompromising attitude, bad temper
and tyrannical leadership style, he is
most often remembered as the captain
of the Bounty when its crew mutinied,
and as the failed governor of New South
Wales, who was overthrown by the
military (AG 101).KAY COTTEE (1954–)
Kay was the first woman to
sail solo, unassisted and non-
stop around the world, on a
journey of 22,100 nautical
miles in 1987–1988. Over
189 days, she experienced
the beauty and terror of solo
sailing the Southern Ocean.BUNGAREE (1775 –1830)
Born among the heathland
and rainforest of Broken Bay
on the NSW Central Coast,
Bungaree became the first
known Aboriginal person to
circumnavigate Australia and
contribute to the mapping of
our coastline.RON ALLUM (1949–)
Cave-diver, engineer and deep-sea
explorer Ron Allum has played a key
role in some of the most audacious
explorations of our time (AG 110).
His Deepsea Challenger submarine
carried Hollywood filmmaker James
Cameron 11km down to the bottom
of the Mariana Trench in March 2012.ABEL TASMAN (1603–1659)
Dutchman, explorer and merchant Abel
Janszoon Tasman was the first European
to see Tasmania, and also confirm that
Australia was an island. As a skipper for
the Dutch East India Company, he was
sent to search for the unexplored south
and east lands (Australia and South
America), discovering Tasmania and
sailing along its south coast in 1642.
In 1644 he sailed to Australia’s northern
coast, which his crew mapped from
Torres Strait to Port Hedland.WOOLLARAWARRE BENNELONG
(1764–1813)
Bennelong was the first Aboriginal man
to visit Europe and return to Australia.
In late November 1789, governor Arthur
Phillip had orders to use “every possi-
ble means” to open dialogue with the
natives. Since none had ventured into
Sydney Cove, he resorted to abduction,
taking 25-year-old Bennelong from Manly
Cove. In December 1792 Bennelong
sailed with governor Phillip for England,
where he met King George III.Riding
the waves:
Travelling the oceans
PIONEERS OF SKINDIVING, underwater photography and cinematog-
raphy, Ron and Valerie Taylor opened our eyes to the wonders of marine
life and sharks (AG 93). In the early 1970s, they were approached by Steven
Spielberg to work on Jaws. They continued shooting underwater fi lms,
including Blue Lagoon, The Last Wave and The Island of Dr. Moreau. For Operation
Shark Bite, Valerie donned a chain-mail suit to see if it could protect against
bites. It did. In the 1980s and ’90s, Ron and Valerie continued to research
shark deterrents and promoted marine conservation. In 1992 they were
awarded the AGS Adventurers of the Year, and in 2003 were made Mem-
bers of the Order of Australia for their conservation eff orts.Ron and Val Taylor
(1934–2012; 1935–)
S
alt water is in our blood –
we are an island continent,
and, until recently, the only
way here was by sea. First came
Aboriginal people – more than
50,000 years ago – then Torres
Strait Islanders, Macassan traders
and European seafarers in pursuit
of spice and empire. Here are those
who mapped, studied and settled
Australia and today’s explorers
probing the ocean depths.SEXTANTS use a series of mirrors to
determine the angle between an astronom-
ical object, such as the sun or a star, and
the horizon. This one was used by Captain
James Cook, who made three major
voyages to the Pacifi c from 1768 to 1779.64 Australian Geographic