A Source Book of Australian History Part 3

The sea breeze, on the 27th, opposed our return; and learning from two Indians that no water could be procured at Red Point, we accepted their offer of piloting us to a river which, they said, lay a few miles further southward, and where not only fresh water was abundant, but also fish and wild ducks. These men were natives of Botany Bay, whence it was that we understood a little of their language, whilst that of some others was altogether unintelligible. Their river proved to be nothing more than a small stream, which descended from a lagoon under Hat Hill, and forced a pa.s.sage for itself through the beach; so that we entered it with difficulty even in _Tom Thumb_. Our two conductors then quitted the boat to walk along the sandy sh.o.r.e abreast, with eight or ten strange natives in company.

After rowing a mile up the stream, and finding it to become more shallow, we began to entertain doubts of securing a retreat from these people, should they be hostilely inclined; and they had the reputation at Port Jackson of being exceedingly ferocious, if not cannibals. Our muskets were not yet freed from rust and sand, and there was a pressing necessity to procure fresh water before attempting to return northward.

Under these embarra.s.sments we agreed upon a plan of action, and went on sh.o.r.e directly to the natives. Mr. Ba.s.s employed some of them to a.s.sist in repairing an oar which had been broken in our disaster, whilst I spread the wet powder out in the sun. This met with no opposition, for they knew not what the powder was; but when we proceeded to clean the muskets, it excited so much alarm that it was necessary to desist.

On inquiring of the two friendly natives for water, they pointed upwards to the lagoon; but after many evasions our barica was filled at a hole not many yards distant.

The number of people had increased to near twenty, and others were still coming, so that it was necessary to use all possible expedition in getting out of their reach. But a new employment arose upon our hands; we had clipped the hair and beards of the two Botany Bay natives at Red Point; and they were showing themselves to the others, and persuading them to follow their example. Whilst, therefore, the powder was drying, I began with a large pair of scissors to execute my new office upon the eldest of four or five chins presented to me; and as great nicety was not required, the shearing of a dozen of them did not occupy me long.

Some of the more timid were alarmed at a formidable instrument coming so near to their noses, and would scarcely be persuaded by their shaven friends to allow the operation to be finished. But when their chins were held up a second time, their fear of the instrument--the wild stare of their eyes--and the smile which they forced, formed a compound upon the rough savage countenance, not unworthy the pencil of a Hogarth. I was almost tempted to try what effect a little snip would produce; but our situation was too critical to admit of such experiments.

Everything being prepared for a retreat, the natives became vociferous for the boat to go up to the lagoon; and it was not without stratagem that we succeeded in getting down to the entrance of the stream, where the depth of water placed us out of their reach.

In 1798 Mr. Ba.s.s sailed (in a whaleboat) with only six weeks'

provisions; but with the a.s.sistance of occasional supplies of petrels, fish, seal's flesh, and a few geese and black swans, and by abstinence he had been enabled to prolong his voyage beyond _eleven_ weeks. His ardour and perseverance were crowned, in despite of the foul winds which so much opposed him, with a degree of success not to have been antic.i.p.ated from such feeble means. In three hundred miles of coast from Fort Jackson to the Ram Head he added a number of particulars which had escaped Captain Cook; and will always escape any navigator in a first discovery, unless he have the time and means of joining a close examination by boats, to what may be seen from the ship.

Our previous knowledge of the coast scarcely extended beyond the Ram Head; and there began the harvest in which Mr. Ba.s.s was ambitious to place the first reaping-hook. The new coast was traced three hundred miles; and instead of trending southwards to join itself to Van Diemen's Land, as Captain Furneaux had supposed, he found it, beyond a certain point, to take a direction nearly opposite, and to a.s.sume the appearance of being exposed to the buffetings of an open sea. Mr. Ba.s.s, himself, entertained no doubt of the existence of a wide strait, separating Van Diemen's Land from New South Wales; and he yielded with the greatest reluctance to the necessity of returning, before it was so fully ascertained as to admit of no doubt in the minds of others. But he had the satisfaction of placing at the end of his new coast, an extensive and useful harbour, surrounded with a country superior to any other known in the southern parts of New South Wales.

A voyage expressly undertaken for discovery in an open boat, and in which six hundred miles of coast, mostly in a boisterous climate, was explored, has not, perhaps, its equal in the annals of maritime history.

The public will award to its high-spirited and able conductor, alas! now no more, an honorable place in the list of those whose ardour stands most conspicuous for the promotion of useful knowledge.

1798. Mr. Ba.s.s had been returned a fortnight from his expedition in the whaleboat; and he communicated all his notes and observations to be added to my chart. There seemed to want no other proof of the existence of a pa.s.sage between New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, than that of sailing positively through it; but however anxious I was to obtain this proof, the gratification of my desire was required to be suspended by a voyage to Norfolk Island in the _Reliance_.

In September following, His Excellency, Governor Hunter, had the goodness to give me the _Norfolk_, a colonial sloop of twenty-five tons with authority to penetrate behind Furneaux's Islands; and should a strait be found, to pa.s.s through it, and return by the south end of Van Diemen's Land. Twelve weeks were allowed for the performance of this service, and provisions for that time were put on board; the rest of the equipment was completed by the friendly care of Captain Waterhouse of the _Reliance_.

I had the happiness to a.s.sociate my friend Ba.s.s in this new expedition, and to form an excellent crew of eight volunteers from the King's ships.

THE WEST END OF THE STRAIT

The south-west wind died away in the night; and at six next morning, Dec. 9, we got under way with a light air at south-east. After rounding the north-east point of the three-hummock land, our course westward was pursued along its north side.

A large flock of gannets was observed at daylight, to issue out of the Great Bight to the southward; and they were followed by such a number of the sooty petrels as we had never seen equalled. There was a stream of from fifty to eighty yards in depth, and of three hundred yards or more in breadth; the birds were not scattered, but flying as compactly as a free movement of their wings seemed to allow; and during a full hour and a half, this stream of petrels continued to pa.s.s without interruption, at a rate little inferior to the swiftness of the pigeon. On the lowest computation, I think the number could not have been less than a hundred millions; and we were thence led to believe that there must be, in the large bight, one or more uninhabited islands of considerable size.

From the north-east point of the three-hummock land, the sh.o.r.e trended W. 1 N. three miles; then S. 39 W. four miles, to a rocky point forming the south-west extremity of what was then ascertained to be Three-hummock Island. The channel which separates it from the land to the west is, at least, two miles in width, and is deep; so that it was difficult to conjecture how the Indians were able to get over to the island. It was almost certain that they had no canoes at Port Dalrymple, nor any means of reaching islands lying not more than two cable lengths from the sh.o.r.e; and it therefore seemed improbable that they should possess canoes here. The small size of Three-hummock Island rendered the idea of fixed inhabitants inadmissible; and whichever way it was considered, the presence of men there was a problem difficult to be resolved.

The coast on the west side of the channel lies nearly south, and rises in height as it advances towards the cliffy head, set on the 6th p.m.

The north end of this island is a sloping rocky point; and the first projection which opened round it, was at S. 32' W., five or six miles.

Beyond this there was nothing like mainland to be seen; indeed, this western land itself had very little the appearance of being such, either in its form, or in its poor starved vegetation. So soon as we had pa.s.sed the north sloping point, a long swell was perceived to come from the South-west, such as we had not been accustomed to for some time. It broke heavily upon a small reef, lying a mile and a half from the point, and upon all the western sh.o.r.es; but although it was likely to prove troublesome, and perhaps dangerous, Mr. Ba.s.s and myself hailed it with joy and mutual congratulation, as announcing the completion of our long-wished-for discovery of a pa.s.sage into the Southern Indian Ocean.

We had a fine breeze at east; and our course was directed for a small, rocky island, which lies W. 1/2 N. 6 miles from the north point of the barren land. This land appeared to be almost white with birds; and so much excited our curiosity and hope of procuring a supply of food, that Mr. Ba.s.s went on sh.o.r.e in the boat whilst I stood off and on, waiting his return. No land could be seen to the northward, and the furthest clearly distinguishable in the opposite direction was a steep island at the distance of four leagues.

Mr. Ba.s.s returned at half past two, with a boat-load of seals and albatrosses. He had been obliged to fight his way up the cliffs of the islands with the seals, and when arrived at the top, to make a road with his clubs amongst the albatrosses. These birds were sitting upon their nests, and almost covered the surface of the ground, nor did they any otherwise derange themselves for the new visitors, than to peck at their legs as they pa.s.sed by. This species of albatross is white on the neck and breast, partly brown on the back and wings, and its size is less than many others met with in that sea, particularly in the high southern lat.i.tudes. The seals were of the usual size, and bore a reddish fur, much inferior in quality to that of the seals at Furneaux's Islands.

Albatross Island, for so it was named, is near two miles in length, and sufficiently high to be seen five or six leagues from a ship's deck: its sh.o.r.es are mostly steep cliffs.

The north-west cape of Van Diemen's Land, or island as it might now be termed, is a steep black head, which, from its appearance, I call Cape Grim. It lies nearly due south, four miles from the centre of Trefoil, in lat.i.tude 40 44'; the longt.i.tude will be 144 43' East, according to the position of Albatross Island made in the _Investigator_. There are two rocks close to Cape Grim, of the same description with itself. On the north side of the Cape the sh.o.r.e is a low sandy beach, and trends north-eastward three or four miles; but whether there be sufficient depth for ships to pa.s.s between it and Barren Island, has not, I believe, been yet ascertained. To the south of the Cape the black cliffs extend seven or eight miles, when the sh.o.r.e falls back eastward to a sandy bay of which little could be perceived.

1799. To the strait which had been the great object of research, and whose discovery was now completed, Governor Hunter gave, at my recommendation, the name of Ba.s.s Strait. This was no more than a just tribute to my worthy friend and companion, for the extreme dangers and fatigues he had undergone in first entering it in the whale-boat, and to the correct judgment he had formed from various indications, of the existence of a wide opening between Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales.

THE _INVESTIGATOR_

+Source.+--Voyage to Terra Australis (Matthew Flinders, 1814), pp.

36-37, 60-61, 211-220, 229-231

In recognition of his services Captain Flinders was given command of the _Investigator_ in which to prosecute the exploration of Terra Australis. He sailed along the South coast and up the East, to Port Jackson: subsequently, he circ.u.mnavigated the continent and suggested its present name.

_October 16th_, 1801. At daybreak we expected to see the highland of the Cape (of Good Hope), but the weather being hazy, it could not be distinguished until eight o'clock.

At this time we had not a single person on the sick list, both officers and men being fully in as good health as when we sailed from Spithead. I had begun very early to put in execution the beneficial plan first practised and made known by the great Captain Cook. It was in the standing orders of the ship, that on every fine day the deck below and the c.o.c.kpits should be cleared, washed, aired with stoves, and sprinkled with vinegar. On wet and dull days they were cleaned and aired without washing. Care was taken to prevent the people from sleeping upon deck, or lying down in their wet clothes; and once in every fortnight or three weeks, as circ.u.mstances permitted, their beds, and the contents of their lockers, chests, and bags, were exposed to the sun and air. On the Thursday and Sunday mornings the ship's company was mustered, and every man appeared clean shaved and dressed; and when the evenings were fine, the drum and fife announced the forecastle to be the scene of dancing; nor did I discourage other playful amus.e.m.e.nts which might occasionally be more to the taste of the sailors, and were not unseasonable.

Within the tropics, lime juice and sugar were made to suffice as antis...o...b..tics; on reaching a higher lat.i.tude, sour krout and vinegar were subst.i.tuted; the essence of malt was reserved for the pa.s.sage to New Holland, and for future occasions. On consulting with the surgeon, I had thought it expedient to make some slight changes in the issuing of the provisions. Oatmeal was boiled for breakfast four days in the week instead of three; and when rice was issued after the expenditure of the cheese, it was boiled on the other three days. Pease soup was prepared for dinner four days a week as usual; and at other times two ounces of portable broth, in cakes, to each man, with such additions of onions, pepper, etc., as the different messes possessed, made a comfortable addition to their salt meat. And neither in this pa.s.sage, nor, I may add, in any subsequent part of the voyage, were the officers or people restricted to any allowance of fresh water. They drank freely at the scuttled cask, and took away, under the inspection of the officer of the watch, all that was requisite for culinary purposes; and very frequently two casks of water in the week were given for washing their clothes.

With these regulations, joined to a due enforcement of discipline, I had the satisfaction to see my people orderly and full of zeal for the service in which we were engaged; and in such a state of health, that no delay at the Cape was required beyond the necessary refitment of the ship, and I still hoped to save a good part of the summer season upon the south coast of Terra Australis.

KING GEORGE'S SOUND

On Dec. 30th our wooding and the watering of the ship were completed, the rigging was refitted, the sails repaired and bent, and the ship unmoored. Our friends, the natives, continued to visit us; and the old man with several others being at the tents this morning, I ordered a party of marines on sh.o.r.e to be exercised in their presence. The red coats and white crossed belts were greatly admired, having some resemblance to their own manner of ornamenting themselves; and the drum, but particularly the fife, excited their astonishment, but when they saw these beautiful red and white men with their bright muskets, drawn up in a line, they absolutely screamed with delight; nor were their wild gestures and vociferation to be silenced but by commencing the exercise, to which they paid the most earnest and silent attention. Several of them moved their hands involuntarily in accordance with the motions; and the old man placed himself at the end of the rank, with a short staff in his hand, which he shouldered, presented, grounded, as did the marines their muskets, without, I believe, knowing what he did. Before firing, the Indians were made acquainted with what was going to take place; so that the volleys did not excite much terror.

PORT PHILLIP

_Monday, April 26th_, 1802. On coming within five miles of the sh.o.r.e at eleven o'clock, we found it to be low and mostly sandy; and that the bluff head, which had been taken for the north end of an island, was part of a ridge of hills rising at Cape Schanck. We then bore away westward, in order to trace the land round the head of the deep bight.

On the west side of the rocky point there was a small opening with breaking water across it; however, on advancing a little more westward the opening a.s.sumed a more interesting aspect, and I bore away to have a nearer view. A large extent of water presently became visible within side; and although the entrance seemed to be very narrow, and there were in it strong ripplings like breakers, I was induced to steer in at half-past one; the ship being close upon the wind, and every man ready for tacking at a moment's warning; the soundings were irregular between 6 and 12 fathoms, until we got four miles within the entrance, when they shoaled quick to 2-3/4.

The extensive harbour we had thus unexpectedly found I supposed must be Western Port, although the narrowness of the entrance did by no means correspond with the width given to it by Mr. Ba.s.s. It was the information of Captain Baudin, who had coasted along from thence with fine weather, and had found no inlet of any kind, which had induced this supposition; and the very great extent of the place, agreeing with that of Western Port, was in confirmation of it. This however was not Western Port, as we found next morning; and I congratulated myself on having made a new and useful discovery, but here again I was in error. This place, as I afterwards learnt at Port Jackson, had been discovered ten weeks before by Lieutenant John Murray, who had succeeded Captain Grant in command of the _Lady Nelson_. He had given it the name of Port Phillip, and to the rocky point on the east side of the entrance, that of Point Nepean.

Before proceeding any higher with the ship, I wished to gain some knowledge of the form and extent of this great piece of water; and Arthur's seat being more than a thousand feet high and near the water side, presented a favourable station for the purpose. After breakfast I went away in a boat, accompanied by Mr. Brown and some other gentlemen, for the Seat. I ascended the hill and to my surprise found the Port so extensive, that even at this elevation its boundary to the northward could not be distinguished. The western sh.o.r.e extended from the entrance ten or eleven miles in a northern direction, to the extremity of what from its appearance I called Indented Head; beyond it was a wide branch of the port leading to the westward, and I suspected might have a communication with the sea; for it was almost incredible that such a vast piece of water should not have a larger outlet than that through which we had come.

Another considerable piece of water was seen, at the distance of three or four leagues; as it appeared to have a communication with the sea to the south, I had no doubt of its being Mr. Ba.s.s' Western Port.

_Sat.u.r.day, May 1st._ At day-dawn I set off with three of the boat's crew, for the highest part of the back hills called Station Peak. One or two miles before arriving at the feet of the hills, we entered a wood where an emu and a kangaroo were seen at a distance; and the top of the Peak was reached at ten o'clock. I saw the water of the Port as far as N.75 E., so that the whole extent of the Port, north and south, is at least thirty miles.

I left the ship's name on a scroll of paper, deposited in a small pile of stones upon the top of the peak; and at three in the afternoon, reached the tent, much fatigued, having walked more than twenty miles without finding a drop of water.

_Sunday, 2nd May._ I find it very difficult to speak in general terms of Port Phillip. On the one hand it is capable of receiving and sheltering a larger fleet of ships than ever yet went to sea; whilst on the other, the entrance on its whole width is scarcely two miles, and nearly half of it is occupied by rocks lying off Point Nepean, and by shoals on the opposite side. The depth in the remaining part varies from 6 to 12 fathoms; and this irregularity causes the strong tides, especially when running against the wind, to make breakers, in which small vessels should be careful of engaging themselves; and when a ship has pa.s.sed the entrance, the shoals are a great obstacle to a free pa.s.sage up the Port.

No runs of fresh water were seen in my excursions; but Mr. Grimes, Surveyor-General of New South Wales, afterwards found several, and in particular a small river falling into the Northern head of the Port. The country surrounding Port Phillip has a pleasing and in many parts a fertile appearance; and the sides of some of the hills and several of the valleys are fit for agricultural purposes. It is in great measure country capable of supporting cattle, though better calculated for sheep.

Were a settlement to be made at Port Phillip, as doubtless there will be sometime hereafter, the entrance could be easily defended; and it would not be difficult to establish a friendly intercourse with the natives, for they are acquainted with the effect of firearms, and desirous of possessing many of our conveniences.

In the woods are the kangaroo, the emu or ca.s.sowary, paroquets, and a variety of small birds; the mud banks are frequented by ducks and some black swans, and the sh.o.r.es by the usual sea fowl common to New South Wales. The range of the thermometer was between 61 and 67 and the climate appeared to be as good and agreeable as could well be desired in the month corresponding to November. In 1803, Colonel C. Collins of the Marines was sent out from England to make a new settlement in this country, but he quitted Port Phillip for the South end of Van Diemen's Land, probably from not finding fresh water for a colony sufficiently near to the entrance.

PORT JACKSON

On the 4th of June the ship was dressed with colours, a royal salute fired, and I went with the princ.i.p.al officers of the _Investigator_ to pay my respects to His Excellency the Governor and Captain-General in honour of His Majesty's birthday. On this occasion a splendid dinner was given to the colony; and the number of ladies and civil, military, and naval officers, was not less than forty, who met to celebrate the birth of their beloved Sovereign in this distant part of the earth.

Captain Baudin arrived in the _Geographe_ on the 20th, and a boat was sent from the _Investigator_ to a.s.sist in towing the ship up to the cove, it was grievous to see the miserable condition to which both officers and crew were reduced by scurvy; there being not more out of 170, according to the Commander's account, than twelve men capable of doing their duty. The sick were received into the Colonial Hospital; and both French ships furnished with everything in the power of the Colony to supply. Before their arrival the necessity of augmenting the number of cattle in the country had prevented the Governor from allowing us any fresh meat; but some oxen belonging to Government were now killed for the distressed strangers; and by returning an equal quant.i.ty of salt meat, which was exceedingly scarce at this time, I obtained a quarter of beef for my people. The distress of the French navigators had indeed been great, but every means were used by the Governor and the princ.i.p.al inhabitants of the colony, to make them forget both their sufferings and the war which existed between the two nations.