In 1819, William Smith, with a general cargo from Montevideo to
Valparaiso, sailed further south round Cape Horn than his predecessors,
in the hope of finding favourable winds. He sighted land in 62?S. His
report to the Senior Naval Officer in Valparaiso was ridiculed, but on a
subsequent voyage he confirmed his discovery, taking surroundings and
sailing along the coast. As a result Captain Shirreff, the Senior Naval
Officer, chartered his vessel, the brig Williams, and having put Edward
Bransfield, the master of his ship, HMS Andromache, in charge, sent her
to survey the new discovery. Charles Poynter was one of the midshipmen
who sailed with Bransfield. His account of this expedition, which forms
the principal part of this volume, recently came to light in New
Zealand, and is the only first-hand account of the voyage, during which
the Antarctic mainland was sighted for the first time, that appears to
have survived. The introduction contains some remarks on the South
Shetland Islands, followed by chapters giving a brief look at the
history of the Spanish in South America and the British presence in the
area, together with the speculation leading to the search for Antarctica
and chapters on early nineteenth-century navigation and hydrographic
surveying. There were a number of second-hand accounts of William
Smith's earlier voyages, and Bransfield's expedition which appeared in
reports, journals and books at the time. These are included with brief
accounts of other voyages to the South Shetland Islands which took place
while Bransfield was in the area, to complete the picture. Poynter's
journal explains the reasons behind most of the names given to land
features, some of which were not included in the published accounts at
the time. There are also three charts and a number of views which are
reproduced together with modern photographs of the area. It also
contains a large number of geographical positions which enable a track
chart of the voyage to be produced
