"The development of the new colonies of Australian and New Zealand is nurtured by the sea, commencing with arrival of the first convicts and free emigrants. Tales of tedious voyages are spiced with vivid and tragic memoried of storm, collision, fire, shipwreck, and perhaps the greatest tragedy of all - the mysterious disappearance of a ship - never heard of again. Each voyage had its own individual tale, sometimes of heroism, sometimes tragedy, of rescue or loss of life. The Tayleur was wrecked when only two days out of Liverpool, with the loss of some 380 lives. The London foundered when only three days out of Plymouth, taking with her 244 lives. The Royal Charter, on her return journey with successful gold prospectors, was only two days from her Liverpool home when she foundered off Wales with the loss of some 427 lives. Many emigrants endured the months-long voyages across icy seas, only to fall victim to the sea when within sight of a new homeland. The Dunbar came to grief within just miles of the safety of Port Jackson. The loss of the Cataraqui at the entrance to Bass Strait in 1845 remains Australia's greatest civil disaster, although some legitimate claim could be made ten years later when the emigrant ship Guiding Star failed to arrive from England, with the loss of 546 lives; all potential new Australians. The voyages of ships ploughing through seas of the Great Circle Routs between the British Isles and these distant colonies have been linked with migration, the gold rush, the growth of mercantile commerce and industry, and the evolution of ships and shipping. This book will no doubt be read with a touch of sadness, and yet with some measure of pride, reminding us that the spirit of adventure and a new life challenged and defeated the grim obstacles of travel to the far reaches of the world, sometimes a a terrible cost"--Back cover.