An extraordinarily rare 17th century Spanish document – considered amongst the most valuable of all printed Australiana – has just been acquired by the State Library of NSW and is now on public display.
Fernandez de Quirós Memorial No. 1, 14 Dec 1607, Madrid, the first and oldest of 14 known printed Memorials to King Phillip III of Spain, was purchased from a private collector for $1 million thanks to the support of the State Library Foundation.
According to State Librarian John Vallance: "The Quirós Memorial No. 1 is the earliest example of a sponsorship request and is considered the 'holy grail' by many Australian collectors!"
Pedro Fernandes de Quirós (1563–1615) was best known for his participation in Spanish voyages of discovery in the Pacific Ocean. In 1606 he landed on a large island (Vanuatu) which he mistook to be the famed great Southern Continent and named it Austrialia del Espiritu Santo.
Determined to further explore the existence of a southern continent, Quirós wrote at least 50 memorials (or 'sponsorship' requests) addressed to the Spanish King desperately seeking Royal support to fund his next expedition. At least 14 of the memorials were printed between 1607 and 1614 at Quirós' personal expense for presentation at the Council of the Indies.
The State Library holds the largest number of printed Quirós Memorials known to exist in a single public collection.
In Memorial No. 1 Quirós gives a detailed account of the 1605-1606 expedition, providing a description of the voyage and the discoveries.
According to the Library's head curator Maggie Patton, "The Memorials document one man's obsession to solve the mystery of the Great South Land – each Memorial becoming a little more desperate, mounting increasingly exaggerated arguments in the hope of convincing the Spanish King with the promise of untold riches, including gold, silver and spices, for Spain and souls for the Church."
The Quirós Memorial No. 1 will be on display at the State Library until 6 December, along with a selection of other landmark acquisitions made by the Library over the last 30 years with the support of the State Library Foundation.
Maggie Patton is
