The History of New Holland from its first discovery in 1616 to the present time with a particular account of its produce and inhabitants; and a description of Botany Bay…to which is prefixed an introductory discourse on banishment, by the right honourable William Eden

.- London :Printed for John Stockdale, opposite Burlington House, Piccadilly, 1787.

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This amalgamation of accounts of exploration in Australia was compiled by William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland, 1745-1814, lawyer and statesman. He served under William Pitt, the Younger as a member of the Committee on Trade and Plantations and was President of the Board of Trade under Granville, 1806-7. In 1778 he successfully promoted an act of Parliament which ameliorated the treatment of prisoners and his espousal of the establishment of a penal colony at Botany Bay arose from a combination of pragmatism and the earnest hope that the establishment of such colonies would “enhance the comfort and add to the lights of polished society as well of their still uncivilized possessors.”

This first edition is rare and held by fewer than ten libraries in the British Isles.

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