Part 2 (1/2)
In this excursion the explorers were irandeur of the forest trees: there was no underwood, but there was excellent grass, froes of New Holland
The trees in general were the tall she-oak so cohbourhood of Sydney ( Casuarina suberosa, commonly known as Beefwood) Grant returned to the beach and went on board to dinner In the afternoon he againof Mr Barrallier, Mr
Caley, botanist, and two soldiers They entered the woods at the sa to ain, beautiful birds were seen, a the the breast and a few feathers on the hich were yellow” They were so shy that no one could get near them
Other birds were killed--whose flesh, when cooked, was very palatable; that of the parrot reseeon in taste--”possibly because they feed on seeds of wild plants”
According to Grant, ”no country in the world abounds with a greater variety of insects We saw nu pursued our walk inland we fell in with a swampy land in a valley with much brush wood; a rivulet of excellent fresh water ran briskly through it, e itself in the sea near to where I had ordered our boat to haul the seine We found the track of the natives and fell in with several of their gunnies or habitations These are constructed with a few boughs stuck up to screen the about thee hawk Our fishi+ng-party had caught soot into the seine and tore it in several places: they were both brought on shore, one th The liver I ordered to be carried on board, to be boiled for the oil and used in our la to the south, I took some hands on shore to cut a boatload of wood and fill our water casksMessieurs Barrallier and Caley, with two soldiers, accompanied me on another excursion We took another direction inlandbut saw no kangaroos We ood water running through the thickest part of the woods In this excursionthe Laughing Bird so called frofisher or Kookaburra)
”On our return to the boat we fell in with a spot of ground which appeared to have been selected by the natives for the purposes of festivity It was a s no habitation near We counted the marks of fifteen different fires that had been e fish and other eatables, the bones of which were strewed about A them we picked up part of a human skull--the os frontis with the sockets of the eyes and part of the bones of the nose still attached to it A little distance from where we found this we discovered a part of the upper jaith one of the molars or back teeth in it, also one of the vertebrae of the back having rass was much trodden down, and many of the bones of the aniht off the hu on board showed the two of the natives from the shore in the vessel, I desired hied to a white man or not, and if they had killed and eaten him I was anxious to have this cleared up, as the shi+p Sydney Cove from India to Port Jackson had been wrecked about twelve months before to the southward and it was reported that some of the creere killed by the natives near this place” ( The Sydney Cove froal to New South Wales recked on Preservation Island, Tas-boat was equipped and despatched on 27th February to Sydney, but the boat filled and went to pieces at a spot called Ninety Mile beach Out of the crew of seventeen, who started to walk to Port Jackson, only three lived to reach their destination--soer, the others were lish, made inquiries, and a soldier who understood the Sydney dialect, also endeavoured to extract the truth regarding the bones, from the two black felloho said that they were those of a white man that had come in a canoe fro that it had been wrecked Lieutenant Grant also questioned Worogan, and was informed that ”the bush natives (who appeared to be a different tribe of people from those that lived by the seaside) did eat human flesh”
He now prepared to leave the port ”On the 12th, we got into a clean berth for getting under weigh, but in the ht ere prevented sailing I went on shore with Mr Barrallier toto return to the vessel ere joined by several natives who appeared anxious to go on board with us Two of these were strangers who signified that they had cory They were both young, stout enerally
”In the afternoonit was needless to atte till the wind abated I therefore proposed to surveythe western side of the island which lies in the mouth of the harbour and shelters the cove from easterly winds This island I na, the wife of the Governor
”In putting the surveying instru; ere of opinion it had been left on shore by the soldiers who carried it inthe distances A boat with one of them was sent on shore After a fruitless search they were returning when a canoe put off from the island with a man in it who held up the chain in his hand
The boat's crew brought hi at the chain it was ; but in undoing it I found that the natives had untwisted every bend of the wires which contained the brasstheinal form, with this difference, that they placed the end which is carried in the hand in the middle This was the first instance I had experienced of their pilfering anything and I did not chuse to proceed to extreave the native a blanket and soot into the boat to prosecute the intention of surveying the islandthe native with us, towing his canoe astern On landing ere joined by a great nulad that theback the chain The blanket attracted their notice much, the use of which they appeared to know The old ns forto his white beard signified a wish to have it cut off, which I immediately did with a pair of scissors, and he expressedso to see what they were like, signs were made to the old man to ask them to come nearer He called to them, whereupon they seated themselves close to the visitors They seemed nervous as the white men approached theain composedly One of them had fastened to the neck of her child a brass marker which had been taken from the stolen chain Grant says: ”They examined my buttons and the head of my dirk and seean to think they had an inclination for, but I was soon relieved on pulling out ravely a themselves; they were all anxious to listen to the noise of the watch, yet they would pull their ear from it and look at the watch with syain I attempted to point out the use of it and pointed to the sun, but I a orshi+pped The old man particularly pointed to the sun and appeared anxious to know e as a little deformed, carried a sharp pointed stick in his hand which was the only weapon of defence seen but it was soon perceived that they had weapons not far distant The Lady Nelson's cons told the chief that he wanted fresh water
”The old native readily understood and getting up made me follow him to the side of a hill where so, I expressed my desire to be taken to a rivulet A native stept forward, as I supposed, to showhi from the direction ere in that water was not far distant I took one of -piece to carryWe saw another native a little way before us to whonified what I wanted” As Grant approached, this native, by a sudden jerk of the foot, raised and caught up in his hand a spear; the weapon rose within six inches of the Lieutenant's face and caused hiun from his attendant The native, however,leisurely towards a cliff stood looking at the sea It was not supposed anything hostile was meant but the action showed that the natives had weapons concealed
”At 5 AM of the 13th, eighed anchor with light variable airs and got clear out of the cove by ten, e found a moderate breeze from north-east, and we ives his opinion of Jervis Bay, a place destined to be much more important in the future of the continent, as it will serve as port to Canberra, the seat of the Australian Government ”It is worthy of ree, co shelter fro room for upwards of 200 sail of shi+ps with plenty of wood and water When this bay coible for vessels bound to Port Jackson after a long passage fro many lives”
Froe southwards and, on the 19th of March, off Point Hicks, she e sail which proved to be the shi+p Britannia, Captain Turnbull, fro to Sydney to refit, and thus gave Grant an opportunity to send a letter to Governor King He wrote as follows:
POINT HICKS, NORTH BY EAST 12 MILES
”18th March, 1801
”SIR,--Seeing a vessel to ard, and judging you would wish to hear of usI sit down to write you a few lines before she joins us, as I suppose she is bound to Sydney, and froh the Straits The Bee, no doubt, has arrived long ere now I, on the Tuesday ot safely into Jarvis's Bay, and sailed early on Friday with the wind at the north-east which only lasted 30 hours so that we have been nearly 5 days beating in sight of Cape Howe and could not weather it, the wind being now south butour stay in Jarvis's Bay ere by no means idle, which you will be convinced of, I hope, e arrive The weather I have had these 5 days convinces reat retard to usfor the sea here, when it blows hard (owing, I presuainst the wind) ot nearly well of his seasickness and we have had the azihly
Murray is well, and all my people are comfortable and happy--I a, the Britannia steered to Sydney, while the Lady Nelson stood to the southward,so retarded that it was 8 AM on the 21st before Wilson's Prohted When close to the rock which he had narees 4 rees 7 rees 25 ives the forrees 6 minutes east) From Wilson's Promontory, the land sloped to the north-north-west as far as eye could reach, beco low and level towards Cape Liptrap and from Glennie's Islands The Lady Nelson now followed the coast towards Western Port On the way her commander named a point Cape Paterson in honour of Colonel Paterson of the New South Wales Corps
He thus describes theto Western Port: ”At 4 PM of the 21st we had sight of the island which for the likeness of a snapper's head or horse the entrance of the port I found two small islands situated about three quarters of a e between the the harbour From its likeness, as above mentioned, to a snapper's head, I named it Snapper Island ( The Phillip Island of Bass which even at that time was called Phillip Island, a name it is still known by Its eastern extremity resembled the head of a snapper and was known as Snapper Head Bass hi the Strait, noticed the reseh clay bluff down to the water's edge The s off it were covered with seals, numbers of which, on our approach, precipitated thee, while others rereeable noise, soe size, ed them to be of that species of seal called by fisherly I named these islands, Seal Islands I sent a boat ahead to soundand found between the Seal Islands and the South Head, 12, 9, 6, 5 and 3 1/2 fathoms of water which last was shoaled in e will shorten the distance when there is a leading wind but standing round to the ard of Seal Islands there will be found sufficient room for any number of vessels to beat in Mr Bass, when he visited this place in the whale boat, entered the port by the eastern passage which isthe western shore, from whence heso close to the western side of him, did not show themselves to be detachedIt had rained constantly and heavily all night andwe could not see any great distance fro as she worked up the harbour”
At half-past five she was ”brought to” opposite to a sandy point which he named Lady Nelson's Point ”as a memorial of the vessel as she was the first decked one that ever entered this portMr Barrallier went on shore with the second mate They saw black swans and redbills, an aquatic bird so called whose back is black, breast white, beak red and feet not fully webbed On Sunday 22nd or, according to our sea account the 23rd at noon, I ith two of our crew in the smallest boat to search for a river or strea the shore Grant passed asays this island bore north-north-west, 2 miles) ”separated from the main by a very narrow channel at loater”On this he landed ”The situation of it was so pleasant that this together with the richness of the spot made arden” The island was called Churchill's Island after John Churchill, Esquire, of Dawlish, in the county of Devon, hen the Lady Nelson left England, had given her coetable seeds, the stones of peaches, and the pips of several sorts of apples, telling him ”to plant them for the future benefit of our fellow-es” Captain Schanck had also supplied hi seldom more than one pip in each fruit, was named by Grant ”Lady Elizabeth Percy's Apple,” because, ”it ing to her Ladyshi+p's care and attention in preparing the pepins that I was enabled to introduce it”
On this day several good observations were obtained Grant placed Western Port in latitude 38 degrees 32 rees 19 minutes east of Greenwich He did not, however, discover the strea the second mate (Mr Bowen) tried to find the strea his absence the Commander explored the banks of a creek ”which opened abreast of the vessel” and Barrallier and Murray surveyed the harbour while Caley searched for new plants wandering as far as Snapper Island
Barrallier and Grant alsoafterwards wrote that ”Caley received everything they found--and refused to give up or part with a duplicate”
Wet weather set in until the 25th The day following, search was again made for fresh water, and Grant went up the creek which was found to tere but the underas thick He penetrated inland for some distance and saw spots ”as if cleared by htful sight to hi frequently overflowed and he thought it ell adapted for the purpose of fattening cattle; numbers of black swans and other water-foere seen in the creek, the length of which was about two miles and a half, its waters, which were salt, ended in a small run some 12 feet in breadth It was Bowen, the second inally discovered by Bass, and on the sanets one of which was presented to the Governor at Sydney