Comparisons of original work with former charts were no longer possible.

The ship was entering un-navigated waters, and the coasts delineated were new to the world's knowledge.

The quickening of the interest in the work in hand, which touched both officers and men of the expedition, can be felt by the reader of Flinders' narrative.
There was a consciousness of having crossed a line separating what simply required verification and amplification, from a totally fresh field of research.

Every reach of coastline now traversed was like a cable, long buried in the deep of time, at length hauled into daylight, with its oozy deposits of seaweed, shell and mud lying thick upon it.
Contingent upon discovery was the pleasure of naming important features of the coast.

It is doubtful whether any other single navigator in history applied names which are still in use to so many capes, bays and islands, upon the shores of the habitable globe, as Flinders did.