Dampier and Carteret had shown that New Britain and New Ireland were separate islands, lying north-east of New Guinea.

Quiros had found the northern island of the New Hebrides.
But of none of these lands was anything really known.

Those who had visited them had merely touched.

In no case had they gone round them, or ascertained their limits, and their descriptions, founded on brief experience, were bald and much exaggerated.
Let us turn to what was unknown.
This comprises the whole of the east coast of Australia, or New Holland, and whether it was joined to Tasmania on the south, and New Guinea to the north; the dimensions of New Zealand; New Caledonia and the New Hebrides, with the exception of the fact that the northern island of the latter existed; the Fiji Islands; Sandwich Islands; the Phoenix, Union, Ellice, Gilbert, and Marshall Groups, with innumerable small islands scattered here and there; the Cook Islands, and all the Society Islands except Tahiti.

The majority of the Paumotu Group.