Terra Australis

Designer: Paddock Lane Designs

Grace Notes Fabrics suggestion: Pistachio Frappe

Terra Australis is a modern cross stitch design created in the style of traditional samplers. Terra Australis is Latin for South Land and was used on maps between the 15th and 18th centuries. The alphabet sampler represents the Historical period of the British "Discovery" of Australia in April 1770 on the ship "Endeavour". The piece contains character representations of Captain James Cook and his botanist Joseph Banks. There are also some Red-coated British soldiers and a pair of convicts, since Australia was settled as a penal colony. There are examples of Australian native flora, including the Eucalyptus tree, Wattle, Waratah and Bottlebrush. The fauna represented is a gecko lizard, kangaroo and cockatoo. The ships are symbolic, but the smaller one represents the Endeavour. The verse is an excerpt from a London Post article from the period.