Australia — Bass Strait (1843) — HMS Beagle Survey

Australia — Bass Strait (1843) — HMS Beagle Survey

A sweeping hydrographic portrait of the world’s most dangerous passage

Before steam, before GPS, before charts could be corrected at the press of a button, the waters between mainland Australia and Tasmania were among the most feared on Earth. This magnificent 1843 Admiralty chart of Bass Strait, surveyed by Commander John Lort Stokes and the officers of HMS Beagle and engraved by J. & C. Walker, represents the moment when these treacherous seas were finally measured, sounded and made safe for navigation.

Published in London in 1844 by the British Admiralty Hydrographic Office, this was one of the most important nautical charts ever produced for southern Australia — the definitive guide for captains threading their way through reefs, tides, shoals and hidden anchorages between Victoria and Tasmania.

This is not a decorative map.
It is the blueprint that opened Australia’s southern coast to the world.

⚓ What This Chart Shows

This master Admiralty chart lays out Bass Strait with extraordinary precision and authority.

• The full Bass Strait — from Victoria’s southern coastline to northern Tasmania

• Hundreds of bathymetric soundings — showing depth and seabed profile

• Coastlines drawn from direct survey by HMS Beagle

• Shoals, reefs and navigation hazards marked for safe passage

• Prime meridian of Greenwich — true Admiralty navigation standard

• Relief shown by hachures and spot heights along the coast

Inset harbour plans provide vital detail for vessels seeking shelter or anchorage.

🗺️ Inset Charts Included

This chart is effectively a full navigation atlas of Bass Strait, including highly detailed harbour and anchorage plans:

• Entrance to Port Phillip — the gateway to Melbourne

• Twofold Bay — critical NSW anchorage

• Refuge Cove — storm haven on Wilsons Promontory

• Franklin Road

• Port Dalrymple (Launceston)

• Hunter Island anchorages

• Flinders Island west coast anchorages

• Kent Group

• Coves in Murray Pass

• Waterhouse Anchorage

• Swan Island Anchorage

Each inset is drawn at a larger scale for real navigational use.

🧭 Why This Chart Works

Most maps show where places are.
This shows how ships survived getting there.

• Surveyed by HMS Beagle — one of history’s most famous hydrographic vessels

• True Admiralty production — Britain’s gold standard of navigation

• Extraordinary technical detail — soundings, hazards, anchorages

• Historic authority — the chart used by mariners in the age of sail

• Museum-grade engraving — dense, beautiful, and purposeful

This is the chart that made Bass Strait navigable, commercial and safe.

✨ Premium Finishes

Every Bass Strait (1843) Admiralty Chart is printed in Australia using archival production methods that preserve every fine line, depth figure and engraved detail.

📐 Size

1000 mm (W) × 680 mm (H)
A commanding landscape format that reproduces the authority and detail of the original Admiralty sheet.

🎯 Ideal For

• Maritime and naval history collectors

• Yacht clubs and sailing institutions

• Museums and libraries

• Architects, designers and heritage interiors

• Anyone who loves Australia’s maritime story

🤝 Our Commitment

• Printed in Australia with professional colour management

• Archival pigment inks for long-term stability

• Premium laminates and canvas for durability

• Natural timber hang rails for elegant presentation

• Hand-checked and carefully packed before dispatch

Bass Strait claimed thousands of ships before it was mapped.
Choose your finish and bring the chart that conquered it onto your wall.