A Voyage to Terra Australis Volume I Part 20

JUNE.

In consequence of this accident, we went into Portsmouth Harbour and into dock on June 10; and it being ascertained that the ship had received no injury, we returned to Spithead next day, and moored as before, waiting for orders. On the 18th, commissioner Sir Charles Saxton paid the ship's company their wages up to the end of May, with an advance of two months; and the officers were permitted to draw bills for three months pay in advance.

JULY.

On July 17, I received the following instructions for the execution of the voyage.

By the Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, etc.

Whereas the sloop you command has been fitted and stored for a voyage to remote parts; And whereas it is our intention that you should proceed in her to the coast of New Holland for the purpose of making a complete examination and survey of the said coast, on the eastern side of which His Majesty's colony of New South Wales is situated; You are hereby required and directed to put to sea the first favourable opportunity of wind and weather, and proceed with as little delay as possible in execution of the service above-mentioned, repairing in the first place to _Madeira_ and the _Cape of Good Hope_ in order to take on board such supplies of water and live stock as you may be in want of.

Having so done you are to make the best of your way to the coast of New Holland, running down the said coast from 130 degrees of east longitude to _Ba.s.s's Strait_; (putting if you shall find it necessary, into _King George the third's Harbour_ for refreshments and water previous to your commencing the survey;) and on your arrival on the coast, use your best endeavours to discover such harbours as may be in those parts; and in case you should discover any creek or opening likely to lead to _an inland sea or strait_, you are at liberty either to examine it, or not, as you shall judge it most expedient, until a more favourable opportunity shall enable you so to do.

When it shall appear to you necessary, you are to repair to _Sydney Cove_ for the purpose of refreshing your people, refitting the sloop under your command, and consulting with the governor of New South Wales upon the best means of carrying on the survey of the coast; and having received from him such information as he may be able to communicate, and taken under your command the Lady Nelson tender, which you may expect to find at Sydney Cove, you are to recommence your survey, by first diligently examining the coast from Ba.s.s's Strait to King George the third's Harbour; which you may do either by proceeding along sh.o.r.e to the westward, or, in case you should think it more expedient., by proceeding first to King George's Sound, and carrying on your survey from thence to the eastward.

You are to repair from time to time, when the season will no longer admit of your carrying on the survey, to Sydney Cove; from whence your are to return in the execution of these instructions, so soon as circ.u.mstances will enable you so to do.

You are to be very diligent in your examination of the said coast, and to take particular care to insert in your journal every circ.u.mstance that may be useful to a full and complete knowledge thereof, noting the winds and weather which usually prevail there at different seasons of the year, the productions and comparative fertility of the soil, and the manners and customs of the inhabitants of such parts as you may be able to explore; fixing in all cases, when in your power, the true positions both in lat.i.tude and longitude of remarkable head lands, bays, and harbours, by astronomical observations, and noting the variation of the needle, and the right direction and course of the tides and currents, as well as the perpendicular height of the tides; and in case, during your survey, any _river_ should be discovered, you are either to proceed yourself in the tender, or to direct her commander to enter it, and proceed as far up as circ.u.mstances will permit; carefully laying down the course and the banks thereof, and noting the soundings, going on sh.o.r.e as often as it shall appear probable that any considerable variation has taken place either in the productions of the soil or the customs of the inhabitants; examining the country as far inland as shall be thought prudent to venture with the small number of persons who can be spared from the charge of the vessel, wherever there appears to be a probability of discovering any thing useful to the commerce or manufactures of the United Kingdom.

When you shall have completely examined the whole of the coast from Ba.s.s's Strait to King George the third's Harbour, you are, at such times as may be most suitable for the purpose, (which may be seen on a reference to Mr. Dalrymple's memoir, an extract of which accompanies this,) to proceed to and explore the _north-west coast of New Holland_, where, from the extreme height of the tides observed by Dampier, it is probable that valuable harbours may be discovered.

Having performed this service, you are carefully to examine the _Gulf of Carpentaria_, and the parts to the westward thereof, between the 130th and 139th degrees of east longitude; taking care to seize the earliest opportunity to do so, when the seasons and prevalent winds may be favourable for visiting those seas.

When you shall have explored the Gulf of Carpentaria and the parts to the westward thereof, you are to proceed to a careful investigation and accurate survey of _Torres' Strait_, and when that shall have been completed, you are to examine and survey the whole of the remainder of the north, the west, and the north-west coasts of New Holland, and especially those parts of the coast most likely to be fallen in with by East-India ships in their outward-bound pa.s.sages. And you are to examine as particularly as circ.u.mstances will allow, the bank which extends itself _from the Trial Rocks towards Timor_, in the hope that by ascertaining the depth and nature of the soundings thereon, great advantage may arise to the East-India Company's ships, in case that pa.s.sage should hereafter be frequented by them.

So soon as you shall have completed the whole of these surveys and examinations as above directed, you are to proceed to, and examine very carefully the _east coast_ of New Holland, seen by captain Cook, _from Cape Flattery to the Bay of Inlets_; and in order to refresh your people, and give the advantage of variety to the painters, you are at liberty to touch at the _Fejees_, or some other of the islands in the _South Seas_.

During the course of the survey, you are to use the tender under your command as much as possible; moving the Investigator onward from one harbour to another as they shall be discovered, in order that the naturalists may have time to range about and collect the produce of the earth, and the painters allowed time to finish as many of their works as they possibly can on the spot where they may have been begun: And when you shall have completed the whole of the surveys and examinations as abovementioned, you are to lose no time in returning with the sloop under your command to England for farther orders, touching on your way, if necessary, at the Cape of Good Hope, and repairing with as little delay as possible to Spithead, and transmit to our secretary an account of your arrival.

During your continuance on the service above-mentioned, you are, by all proper opportunities, to send to our secretary for our information, accounts of your proceedings and copies of the surveys and drawings which you shall have made, and such papers as the Naturalist and the Painters employed on board may think proper to send home; and upon your arrival in England you are immediately to repair to this office in order to lay before us a full account of your proceedings in the whole course of your voyage; taking care before you leave the sloop to demand from the officers and petty officers the log books and journals which they may have kept and such drawings and charts as they may have taken, and to seal them up for our inspection.

And whereas you have been furnished with a _plant cabin_ for the purpose of depositing therein such plants, trees, shrubs, etc., as may be collected during the survey above-mentioned, you are, when you arrive at Sydney Cove, to cause the said plant cabin to be fitted up by the carpenter on the quarter deck of the sloop you command, according to the intention of its construction; and you are to cause boxes for containing earth to be made and placed therein, in the same manner as was done in the plant cabin carried out by the Porpoise store ship, which plant cabin you will find at Sydney Cove.

You are, to place the said plant cabin, with the boxes of earth contained in it, under the charge and care of the naturalist and gardener, and to cause to be planted therein during the survey, such plants, trees, shrubs, etc., as they may think suitable for the _Royal Gardens at Kew_; and you are, as often as you return to Sydney Cove, to cause the said plants to be deposited in the governor's garden and under his charge, there to remain until you sail for Europe: And so soon as you shall be preparing to return home, you are to cause the small plant cabin to be removed from the sloop's quarter deck, and the one brought out by the Porpoise (which is something larger), to be placed there in its stead. In this last mentioned cabin the naturalist and gardener are to place the plants, trees, shrubs, etc., which may have been collected during the survey, in order to their being brought home for His Majesty; and you are, so soon as the sloop shall arrive at any port in England, to give notice of her arrival to His Majesty's botanic gardener at Kew, and to transmit to him a list and state of the said plants etc., which the gardener employed under your orders is to furnish you with for that purpose.

Given under our hands the 22nd of June, 1801.

(Signed), ST. VINCENT.

T. TRUBRIDGE.

J. MARKHAM.

To MATTHEW FLINDERS, Esq.

Commander of His Majesty's sloop Investigator, at Spithead.

By command of their Lordships, (Signed,) EVAN NEPEAN.

The instructions were accompanied with the extract of a memoir from Mr.

Dalrymple, respecting the winds and weather to be expected, princ.i.p.ally upon the south coast of Terra Australis. Also with the following Pa.s.sPORT from the French government.

LE PREMIER CONSUL DE LA RePUBLIQUE FRANcAISE, sur le compte qui lui a ete rendu de la demande faite par le LORD HAWKESBURY au Citoyen Otto, commissaire du gouvernement Francais a Londres, d'un Pa.s.seport pour la corvette Investigator, dont le signalement est ci-apres, expediee par be gouvernement Anglais, sous le commandement du capitaine Matthew Flinders, pour un voyage de decouvertes dans la Mer Pacifique, ayant decide que ce pa.s.seport seroit accorde, et que cette expedition, dont l'objet est d'etendre les connoissances humaines, et d'a.s.surer davantage les progres de la science nautique et de la geographie, trouveroit de la part du gouvernement Francais la surete et la protection necessaires.

LE MINISTRE DE LA MARINE ET DES COLONIES ordonne en consequence a tous les commandants des batiments de guerre de la Republique, a ses agens dans toutes les colonies Francaises, aux commandants des batiments porteurs do lettres de marque, et a tous a autres qu'il appartiendra, de laisser pa.s.ser librement et sans empechement, ladite corvette Investigator, ses officiers, equipage, et effets, pendant la duree de leur voyage; de leur permettre d'aborder dans les differents ports de la Republique, tant in Europe que dans les autres parties du monde, soit qu'ils soient forces par le mauvais tems d'y chercher un refuge, soit qu'ils viennent y reclamer les secours et les moyens de reparation necessaires pour continuer leur voyage. Il est bien entendu, cependant, qu'ils ne trouveront ainsi protection et a.s.sistance, que dans le cas ou ils ne se seront pas volontairement detournes de la route qu'ils doivent suivre, qu'ils n'auront commis, ou qu'ils n'annonceront l'intention de commettre aucune hostilite contre la Republique Francaise et ses allies, qu'ils n'auront procure, ou cherche a procurer aucun secours a ses ennemis, et qu'ils ne s'occuperont d'aucune espece de commerce, ni de contrebande.

Fait a Paris le quatre Prairial an neuf de la Republique Francaise.

Le Ministre de la Marine et des Colonies (signed) FORFAIT.

Par le Ministre de la Marine et des Colonies (Signed) CHes. M. JURIEN.

Signalement de la corvette.

La corvette l'Investigator est du port de 334 tonneaux. Son equipage est compose de 83 hommes, outre cinq hommes de lettres.

Son artillerie est de 6 carronades de 12.

2 ditto de 18.

2 canons de 6.

2 pierriers.

Le soussigne, commissaire du gouvernement Francais a Londres, certifie le signalement ci-dessus conforme a la note qui lui a ete communiquee par le ministre de Sa Majeste Britannique.

Londres le 4 Messidor an 9.

(Signed) OTTO.

In consequence of this pa.s.sport, I received directions from the Admiralty "to act in all respects towards French ships as if the two countries were not at war; and," it was added, "with respect to the ships and vessels of other powers with which this country is at war, you are to avoid, if possible, having any communication with them; and not to take letters or packets other than such as you may receive from this office, or the office of His Majesty's secretary of state."

From His Grace the duke of Portland, I carried an order to the governor of New South Wales to place the brig Lady Nelson under my command, on arriving at Port Jackson; and also one from the Admiralty, directing the governor, in his quality of senior naval officer, not to take the Investigator from the purposes of the voyage; but to a.s.sist me with all the means in his power to put them into execution.

So soon as my sailing orders were received, demands were sent on sh.o.r.e for provisions to replace what had been consumed at Spithead; and they came on board next morning, when the ship was unmoored. We were able to stow a proportion of provisions for twelve months, bread excepted, of which only seven months could be taken, including a part in flour. Of salt meat I took for eighteen months, knowing that little reliance could be had upon the colony in New South Wales for that article; and further to guard against any detriment to the voyage from a want of provisions, I left an application to the Admiralty for a general supply, for twelve months; to be sent after me, and lodged in the store houses at Port Jackson for our sole use.

Of the various extra provisions usually furnished as preservatives of health to the crews of His Majesty's ships going upon similar service, our supply was abundant; and the surgeon was as liberally furnished with antis...o...b..tic medicines.

The complement of the Xenophon had been seventy-five men; but on the name and destination of the ship being changed, the following establishment was ordered. The names of the officers are added to the list, and also of the men of science who took part in the expedition.

Astronomer, 1 John Crosley.

Naturalist, 1 Robert Brown.

Natural-history painter, 1 Ferdinand Bauer.

Landscape painter, 1 William Westall.

Their servants, 4 Gardener, 1 Peter Good.

Miner, 1 John Allen.

-- Supernumeraries 10 Commander, 1 Matthew Flinders.

Lieutenants, 2 Robert Fowler.

Samuel W. Flinders.

Master, 1 John Thistle.

Surgeon, 1 Hugh Bell.

Surgeon's a.s.sistant, 1 Robert Purdie.

Master's mates and midshipmen 6 Thomas Evans.

William Taylor.

John Franklin.

Thomas Bell.

Nathaniel Bell.