Between 1871 and 1874, John Moresby, in command of HMS Basilisk, undertook a series of expeditions to survey the poorly charted waters of Torres Strait and the coast of New Guinea. After a brief journey to Norfolk Island and Polynesia, in January 1873, Moresby sailed into the Torres Strait and on to New Guinea. Unsure of having the support of the Queensland government, Moresby used the pretext of searching for the Russian explorer Nicholai Miklouho-Maklay (1846-88), who was on an anthropological expedition in the region, to justify surveying the coast of the island. While surveying, he steered the ship into a deep harbour, which he named Fairfax Harbour and the settlements on its shore, Port Moresby, both in honour of his father. In April 1874, after being recalled to London, Moresby found Maklay on Ambon Island.

Moresby published this account of his voyage in 1876. This copy of the book was presented by him to Queen Victoria.