The politician, landowner and journalist W. C. Wentworth (1790–1872), was an energetic and controversial character in the early history of modern Australia. Together with Gregory Blaxland and William Lawson, he was the first to cross Australia's Blue Mountains. A well-known public figure in the colony of New South Wales, he founded a newspaper called The Australian (in 1824) and campaigned, among other things, for a free press, trial by jury, rights for emancipated convicts, public education, and a representative government. He also became extremely wealthy. In this book, first published in 1819, Wentworth argues that the Australian colonies are a better choice than the United States of America for European emigrants. The book contains a vast amount of information about the colonies of New South Wales and Tasmania, together with Wentworth's suggestions for the improvement of their government, and remains an important source for historians.