Guide to the Sketches created by Thomas Baines (as filmed by the AJCP), 1855-1856

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Summary

Collection number:

M397

Creator:

Baines, (John) Thomas

Extent:

54 items

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:

Four albums of watercolours, wash paintings and pencil drawings by Thomas Baines produced while serving on the North Australian Exploring Expedition, July 1855 – March 1857.

Biographical / Historical:

(John) Thomas Baines (1820-1875) was born in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, and was apprenticed to a coach painter. In 1842 he emigrated to South Africa and worked in Cape Town as a scenic and portrait painter and he was later an official war artist in the war against the Xhosa tribes in 1850-52. He returned to England to supervise the publication of Scenery and events in South Africa (1852).

In March 1855 Baines ailed to Australia to take up the position of artist and storekeeper on the Northern Australian Exploring Expedition led by A.C. Gregory. The party, comprising 18 men and 50 horses, left Sydney in July 1855 on the barque Monarch and the schooner Tom Tough. They sailed through Torres Strait and reached Entrance Island at the mouth of the Victoria River on 15 September 1855. The Monarch then departed for Singapore. From two bases on the Victoria River, Gregory and his companions proceeded to explore the interior. In April 1856 Baines accompanied Gregory and two others on a foray in which the Baines River was discovered. In June 1856 Gregory began a mounted journey to Moreton Bay, sending Baines and a small detachment on the Tom Thumb to Timor to obtain supplies. Baines was forced to sail west to Surabaya to have the boat refitted. The main mast was broken and he decided to abandon the Tom Tough and purchased a brigantine. In October 1856 the party began the return voyage to Australia. Baines did not reach the Albert River until 17 November 1856 and he found that Gregory had left two months earlier. On 27 November 1856 Baines departed on the return voyage along the west coast of Australia, stopping at Albany, and reaching Sydney on 31 March 1857. He presented a number of artefacts from northern Australia and the East Indies to the Australian Museum.

In 1858 Baines returned to South Africa and accompanied David Livingstone on a journey along the Zambesi. In 1861-62 he undertook an expedition to South West Africa with James Chapman, which led to the publication of his book Explorations in South-West Africa in 1864. In 1869 he led an expedition, on behalf of the South African Goldfields Exploration Company, to the Matabele king Mzilikazi. In 1871 he was granted a concession to explore for gold between the Gweru and Hunyani rivers. He died at Durban in 1875.

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:: Available for Access.
Conditions Governing Use:: Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.