The Nutmeg of Consolation by Patrick O'Brian


Geography in the Nutmeg of Consolation by Patrick O'Brian


The Nutmeg of Consolation is the fourteenth book in the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. Like the others, this was the third time I have read it, - the first time was in 1995. Earlier postings on this series begin here.
I have been trying to follow the geography this time through, with the help of Harbors and High Seas, by Dean King.
The book starts out with them marooned on an island in what is now Indonesia. The island is beween Bangka and Biliton.



They are soon rescued and taken to Batavia, which is now Jakarta. Jakarta is located on the northern coast of the island of Java.



They spend some time in Batavia, while a new ship, The Nutmeg of Consolation is readied for them, but when the sail, it is through the Salibabu Passage (marked with an arrow).


They rendezvous there with the Surprise, and Aubrey and Maturin leave the Nutmeg, which then heads north to Canton. The Surpise continues on to Australia (which they call New Holland). On their way they stop at Sweetings Island, which is fictional but supposed to be near the equator, somewhere north of the Solomon Islands. Turning south, they stay off the coast of Australia to avoid the Great Barrier Reef, and pull into Sydney Cove, a penal settlement in Port Jackson, a harbor at the mouth of the Parramatta River. It is now in the heart of the city of Sydney. This map shows the location of Sydney in Australia and is from LonelyPlanet.com.



This map shows Sydney's location on the south shore of Port Jackson. It was found at Worldexecutive.com.


This map show Sydney Cove's location in the city of Sydney. It was also found at Worldexecutive.com.



When the book ends, they have just left Sydney.

Posted: Sat - January 31, 2004 at 02:00 PM          

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