1788 - Establishment of New South Wales under Arthur Phillip. Its jurisdiction covered most of eastern Australia to 135°E.

1825 - Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) separated from New South Wales. The western boundary of New South Wales was extended to longitude 129° East

1836 - The Province of South Australia was established as a planned free-settler colony. Swan River Colony established in 1829, changing its name to Western Australia in 1832.

1851 - Creation of Victoria from the southern districts of New South Wales during the gold rush era.

1859 - Establishment of Queensland from the northern districts of New South Wales, further reducing its extent. Modern day Northern Territory was still under New South Wales until 1863 and under South Australia afterwards.

1911 - Transfer of the Northern Territory from South Australia to the Commonwealth. The western border of South Australia was fixed at 129°E in 1862.

From a map nerd to other map nerds. You might be interested in my map making.

I started making maps less than a year ago. I upgraded my GIS and cartography skills with each map.

When I started, it was really difficult to make changes to my maps. Most of the shapes were hand places.

Until I discovered what GIS is. Now all my maps are georeferenced and fully vectors. Even if they don't have to me. Adding and removing data or changing projections is simple.

I use mostly Illustrator, because the tools are just outmatched. I can't create the visuals I want with GIS tools like QGIS.

But Illustrator is very slow with big data sets. So I do most heavy GIS processing in QGIS. Like extracting topography from DEM. I tool raster DEM data and made vectors with elevation steps.

I've been playing around with DeckGL and MapBox. Eventually I want to make all my maps interactive. But it will take me a while.

I wanted to share this Empire of Japan map I've been working on. It's about the rise and fall of the Imperial Japan, starting from the late 19th century and ending with WWII in 1945. The history and scale of the Japanese Empire's expansion is crazy and I'm still working on it.

To give some context:

- The early expansion - The first Sino-Japanese War, Russo-Japanese War, annexation of Taiwan and the Korean peninsula.

- The mainland campaign - Invasion of Manchuria (establishing a puppet state) and the Second Sino-Japanese war.

- Expanding south - Taking Pacific islands and South-East Asian nations.

Rivers play a huge role on nation formations.

Major river basins mapped over US land acquisitions and cessions.

These map closely with rivers and basins:

- The 13 colonies

- Louisiana purchase

- Mexican cession

- Oregon Treaty

- British and Spanish cessions

I created this map series showing the territorial shifts during the Reconquista from 910 to 1212.

Small northern Christian states like Kingdom of Leon, Kingdom of Navarre, Kingdom of Castile and Kingdom of Aragon gradually moved back into southern territories ruled by Al-Andalus.

Early on, the Christian kingdoms were small and fragmented, while muslim ruled Iberia was unified under the Emirate of Cordoba.

By 1037, Al-Andalus was fractured into smaller more vulnerable states.

The turning point, the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa accelerated Christian advances.

The Saqaliba slave trade is one of the least discussed parts of European history, yet it played a major role in the economic and cultural connections between Eastern Europe, the Viking world, and the Islamic Caliphates.

I created this historical map of the 10th century slave trade routes in Europe, based primarily on accounts from Ibn Fadlan and The Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North.

What the map shows:

• The origin regions of the Saqaliba (Slavic peoples) in Eastern and Central Europe
• Major trade routes used by Varangians (Vikings) along rivers like the Volga and Dnieper
• Key trade hubs connecting Europe to the Abbasid Caliphate
• The flow of enslaved people from Northern and Eastern Europe into Islamic markets

Historical context:

In the 10th century, Viking traders (Varangians) were deeply involved in long-distance trade networks stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Middle East. Alongside furs and silver, slaves were one of the most valuable commodities.

Travelers like Ibn Fadlan documented these routes and encounters, giving us rare insight into:

• Norse traders operating far beyond Scandinavia
• Cultural exchanges between vastly different civilizations
• The human cost behind early medieval trade networks

How did a people from Scandinavia end up sacking Rome and ruling Spain?

The Goths undertook one of history's most epic migrations, and their journey forever changed the map of Europe.

Here is a breakdown of their migration route shown on the map:

1. Scandinavian Origins (1st Century CE)
The story begins in southern Sweden (Götaland). From there, early Gothic tribes crossed the Baltic Sea, establishing the Wielbark and Przworsk cultures in modern-day Poland. This was the first major step in a trek that would define Late Antiquity.

2. The Split at the Black Sea (~200 CE)
By the 3rd century, the Goths had migrated southeast to the Black Sea, forming the vibrant Chernyakhov culture. This is a pivotal moment in history: here, the Goths split into the two main groups that would forge separate destinies:

• The Visigoths (Western Goths)
• The Ostrogoths (Eastern Goths)

Before founding their famous kingdoms, they were fearsome raiders. Gothic fleets launched daring naval raids deep into Roman territory, sacking cities in modern-day Turkey and Greece (like Ephesus and Trebizond).

3. The Hunnic Invasions & The Sack of Rome (~375 CE - 410 CE)
Everything changed when the Huns stormed in from the eastern steppes. They shattered the Gothic settlements, creating a massive refugee crisis. Fleeing the Huns, the Visigoths crossed the Danube River in 376 CE seeking refuge inside the Roman Empire. However, mistreatment by Roman officials led to a devastating war, culminating in Alaric's famous Sack of Rome in 410 CE.

4. The Successor Kingdoms (Early Middle Ages)

• The Visigothic Kingdom: After sacking Rome, the Visigoths carved a path to Iberia, founding a kingdom in Spain that would last for 300 years (412-711 CE).
• The Ostrogothic Kingdom: The Ostrogoths initially fell under Hunnic rule. After the Hunnic Empire collapsed (~454 CE), they regained their freedom. The Eastern Roman Emperor eventually sent them to invade Italy, where they established their own brilliant but short-lived kingdom (493-554 CE).

Invaders or Refugees?
The answer is both. Forced out by the Huns, they entered the Roman world seeking safety but became the catalyst for the transformation of the West. From the Baltic to the Black Sea, and from the Sack of Rome to the thrones of Spain and Italy, the migration of the Goths is a foundational story of early Medieval Europe.

I hope you guys enjoy this map! Let me know if you have any questions about the specific routes, or what historical migration I should map out next.