The Fatal Impact: An Account of the Invasion of the South Pacific 1767-1840 (Penguin Classic History S.)

When Captain Cook made his landfall on Tahiti in 1769, the population was around 40,000 people; half-a-century later, the figure was down to nine thousand. When Captain Phillip's first fleet of eleven ships carrying about eight hundred convicts sailed into Botany Bay in 1788 the aborigines were virtually the only human beings on the Australian continent; today they have been reduced to around 250,000 in a population of over 18 million. When Cook discovered South Georgia, he was amazed by the wealth of bird and marine life; in the ensuing fifty years the killing of whales and seals reached such a pitch that there was virtually nothing left to kill. Ironically, in each case, it was the humane Captain Cook who was to cause the fatal impact.

Alan Moorehead was born in Australia. He was a brilliant war reporter in the North African campaign in WW2. His other books include GALLIPOLI, THE WHITE NILE and THE BLUE NILE.