Australia — East Coast, Port Stephens (1845)

A master Admiralty survey by Captain P. P. King, RN

Before marinas, before chart plotters, before Newcastle became Australia’s great coal port, there was Port Stephens — one of the safest and most important natural harbours on the New South Wales coast. This magnificent 1845 British Admiralty chart, surveyed by Captain Phillip Parker King, RN and engraved by J. & C. Walker, captures the port at the moment it became a strategic maritime gateway.

Published in London in 1847 by the Hydrographic Office of the Admiralty, this chart was created to guide naval and merchant vessels through the shoals, channels and anchorages of Port Stephens with absolute precision.

This is not a decorative map.
It is the document that made Port Stephens navigable.

⚓ What This Chart Shows

This beautifully engraved Admiralty chart reveals Port Stephens in full operational detail.

• The complete harbour and approaches of Port Stephens

• Hundreds of bathymetric soundings showing safe depth and hidden dangers

• Sandbanks, shoals and navigation channels precisely plotted

• Coastal relief shown by hachures and spot heights

• Anchorage areas, headlands and shoreline features

• Greenwich prime meridian reference — true Admiralty standard

This was the chart trusted by captains entering one of Australia’s most valuable natural ports.

🗺️ Inset & Sailing Information

This chart includes the vital aids that made it a true working document:

• Inset: View of the Entrance of Port Stephens — a coastal profile to visually confirm your approach

• Indexed sailing directions printed below the map — telling mariners how to enter, anchor and manoeuvre safely

Together, they turn the sheet into a complete 19th-century navigation manual.

🧭 Why This Chart Works

Most coastal maps show where places are.
This shows how ships actually reached them.

• Surveyed by Captain Phillip Parker King — Australia’s greatest early hydrographer

• True British Admiralty production — the gold standard of navigation

• Extraordinary technical detail — soundings, shoals, channels and anchorages

• Historic authority — used by naval and merchant vessels in the age of sail

• Museum-grade engraving — dense, precise and beautifully balanced

This is the chart that transformed Port Stephens from wilderness into working harbour.

✨ Premium Finishes

Every Port Stephens (1845) Admiralty Chart is printed in Australia using archival methods to preserve the fine engraving, depth figures and historic character.

📐 Size

1000 mm (W) × 750 mm (H)
A commanding landscape wall format that reproduces the authority, clarity and fine detail of the original Admiralty sheet.

🎯 Ideal For

• Maritime and naval history collectors

• Yacht clubs and sailing organisations

• Museums and libraries

• Architects and heritage interiors

• Anyone who loves Australia’s coastal history

🤝 Our Commitment

• Printed in Australia with professional colour management

• Archival pigment inks for long-term stability

• Premium laminates and canvas for durability

• Natural timber hang rails for elegant presentation

• Hand-checked and carefully packed before dispatch

Port Stephens was one of the keys to Australia’s east coast.
Choose your finish and bring this great Admiralty chart onto your wall.