A History of Australia, Volumes 1-2

For centuries the mystery of the 'Terra Australis Incognita' had attracted people of many lands and cultures. The first inhabitants, driven there by hunger and more powerful enemies, had found their way to its southernmost parts, to be left there undisturbed to develop their way of life. Then, in the search for gold and spices, for souls to convert, for new lands to conquer, others were led nearer and nearer to its shores. The long quest for a Terra Australis ended in the coming of European civilization to Austral-Asia."