In 1837 Gould also commenced to publish his "Birds of Australia," a second part of which bears the date 1833; but he soon found that he had not sufficient material to carry on the work as he wished to do. He therefore boldly conceived the notion of going to Australia with his wife, for the sole purpose of procuring the specimens necessary for the completion of his gigantic enterprise. The work was therefore stopped after the appearance of Part II. The two cancelled parts of "Birds of Australia" are amongst the rarest of his works.
Gould, accompanied by Mrs. Gould and their eldest son, left England for Australia in May, 183S, and returned August, 1840. He first landed in Tasmania, then proceeded to South Australia, and returned to Tasmania. He lastly visited New South Wales. Thence he returned home via Cape Horn, thereby completing a circuit of the Southern Seas, which greatly helped him in doing his important work amongst the Petrels, a family to which he paid especial attention.
The number of species of Australian avifauna was raised from 300 to 600 by the adventurous journey of Gould and his able assistants—a gigantic undertaking in those early days. The trip cost him £2,000 out of the £7,000 he is said to have accumulated by his former publications before leaving for Australia. On his return home, Gould at once recommenced his immortal work on the "Birds of Australia," the first part of which appeared m 1840, and in 1848 the seven volumes, with 600 plates, was completed. It is obvious that the literary finish of the letterpress was due to his able secretary, Mr. E. C. Prince. Gould always deplored the loss of three valuable lives that occurred over the production of the "Birds of Australia," namely, John Gilbert, killed by the natives in the Gulf of Carpentaria district; Johnson Drummond, also killed by a native while seeking specimens in Western Australia; and a fine young man, one of Gould's attendants assigned to him by Sir John Franklin, Governor of Tasmania, who was accidentally killed by the explosion of a gun he was removing from a boat, when launching on one of the islands in Bass Strait.
In 1851, the first part of the "Supplement to the Birds of Australia" was published, and this was finished in 1869. Between these dates, or in 1865, the exceedingly helpful "Handbook," in two volumes, appeared.
While in Australia, Mrs. Gould resided for some time with Sir John and Lady Franklin; and at Government House, Hobart, the youngest son, Charles, was born, who, strange to say, afterwards became Government Geologist for a time in his native colony.
