The VICTORIA  was built in London for the government of Victoria, Australia. She was intended for harbour defence but took part in New Zealand's Taranaki War, rescue missions and as a general patrol vessel in Bass Strait.
Four views.
Barren Isld   Barren Peak
Clark Hill   Clark Isld
Swan Pt   Swan Isld
Waterhouse Isld
 
Published in The Illustrated Australian News. 1875.
 
Wood engraving.
 
237 x 202 mm.
 
Wood engravings were first produced in Europe in the fifteenth century. During the late eighteenth century the process was reintroduced and used for inexpensive illustrated books. The nineteenth century publishing phenomena of the illustrated newspaper was made possible by use of the technique. The process allowed for the illustration and the text to be printed by a single pass through the printing press using the letterpress method.  It also made it possible for several engravers or even a team to produce and work on a single illustration at the same time.

All the major artists of the period contributed to the illustrations. Some papers acknowledged the artists on the plates but The Australasian Sketcher appears to have had a policy of anonymity. Where known, we have included the artist’s name.