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CHAPTER III.
1. No community has ever been more completely
isolated than the first inhabitants of Sydney. They were three thousand miles
away from the nearest white men; before them lay a great ocean, visited only at
rare intervals, and, for the greater part, unexplored; behind them was an
unknown continent, a vast, untrodden waste, in which they formed but a speck.
They were almost completely shut out from intercourse with the civilised world,
and few of them could have any hope of returning to their native land. This
made the colony all the more suitable as a place of punishment; for people
shrank with horror at the idea of being banished to what seemed like a tomb for
living men and women. But, for all that, it was not desirable that Australia
should remain always as unknown and unexplored as it then was; and, seven years
after the first settlement was made, two men arrived who were determined not to
suffer it so to remain.
When Governor Hunter came in 1795, he brought
with him, on board his ship the Reliance, a young surgeon, George Bass,
and a midshipman called Matthew Flinders. They were young men of the most
admirable character, modest and amiable, filled with a generous and manly
affection for one another, and fired by a lofty enthusiasm which rejoiced in
the wide field for discovery and fame that spread all around them. Within a
month after their arrival they purchased a small boat about eight feet in
length, which they christened the Tom Thumb. Its crew consisted of
themselves and a boy to assist—truly a poor equipment with which to face a
great and stormy ocean like the Pacific. They sailed out, and after tossing for
some time like a toy on the huge waves, they succeeded in entering Botany Bay,
which they thoroughly explored, making a chart of its shores and rivers. On
their return, Governor Hunter was so highly pleased with their work, that,
shortly after, he gave them a holiday, which they spent in making a longer
expedition to the south. It was said that a very large river fell into the sea
south of Botany Bay, and they went out to search for its mouth.
2. Boat Excursion.—In this trip they met with some adventures
which will serve to illustrate the dangers of such a voyage. On one occasion,
when their boat had been upset on the shore, and their powder was wetted by the
sea-water, about fifty natives gathered round them, evidently with no friendly
intention. Bass spread the powder out on the rocks to dry, and procured a
supply of fresh water from a neighbouring pond. But they were in expectation
every moment of being attacked and speared, and there was no hope of defending
themselves till the powder was ready. Flinders, knowing the fondness of the
natives for the luxury of a shave, persuaded them to sit down one after another
on a rock, and amused them by clipping their beards with a pair of scissors. As
soon as the powder was dry the explorers loaded their muskets and cautiously
retreated to their boat, which they set right, and pushed off without mishap.
Once more on the Pacific, new dangers awaited
them. They had been carried far to the south by the strong currents, and the
wind was unfavourable. There was therefore no course open to them but to row as
far as they could during the day, and at night throw out the stone which served
as an anchor, and lie as sheltered as they could, in order to snatch a little
sleep. On one of these nights, while they lay thus asleep, the wind suddenly
rose to a gale, and they were roughly wakened by the splashing of the waves
over their boat. They pulled up their stone anchor and ran before the
tempest—Bass holding the sail and Flinders steering with an oar. As Flinders
says: “It required the utmost care to prevent broaching to; a single wrong
movement or a moment’s inattention would have sent us to the bottom. The task
of the boy was to bale out the water, which, in spite of every care, the sea
threw in upon us. The night was perfectly dark, and we knew of no place of
shelter, and the only direction by which we could steer was the roar of the
waves upon the neighbouring cliff’s.” After an hour spent in this manner, they
found themselves running straight for the breakers. They pulled down their mast
and got out the oars, though without much hope of escape. They rowed
desperately, however, and had the satisfaction of rounding the long line of
boiling surf. Three minutes after they were in smooth water, under the lee of
the rocks, and soon they discovered a well-sheltered cove, where they anchored
for the rest of the night.
It was not till two days later that they
found the place they were seeking. It turned out not to be a river at all, but
only the little bay of Port Hacking, which they examined and minutely
described. When they reached Sydney they gave information which enabled
accurate maps to be constructed of between thirty and forty miles of coast.
3. Clarke.—On arriving at Port Jackson, they found that
an accident had indirectly assisted in exploring that very coast on which they
had landed. A vessel called the Sydney Cove, on its way to Port Jackson,
had been wrecked on Furneaux Island, to the north of Van Diemen’s Land. A large
party, headed by Mr. Clarke, the supercargo, had started in boats, intending to
sail along the coasts and obtain help from Sydney. They were thrown ashore by a
storm at Cape Howe, and had to begin a dreary walk of three hundred miles
through dense and unknown country. Their small store of provisions was soon
used, and they could find no food and little fresh water on their path. Many dropped
down, exhausted by hunger and fatigue, and had to be abandoned to their fate.
Of those who contrived to approach within thirty miles of Sydney, the greater
part were murdered by the same tribe of blacks from whom Bass and Flinders had
apprehended danger. Clarke and one or two others reached Port Jackson; their
clothes in tatters, their bodies wasted almost to the bones, and in such a
state that, when a boat was brought to carry them over the bay to Sydney, they
had to be lifted on board like infants. Mr. Clarke, on his recovery, was able
to give a very useful account of a great tract of land not previously explored.
The crew of the Sydney Cove were meanwhile living on one of the Furneaux
Group, and several small ships were sent down from Sydney to rescue the crew
and cargo; these also served to make the coast better known. Flinders was very
anxious to go in one of them, in order to make a chart of the places he might
pass; but his ship, the Reliance, sailed for Norfolk Island, and he had
to be a long time absent.
4. Discovery of Bass Straits ( The Life of Captain Matthew Flinders R.N).—His friend Bass was more fortunate; for
Governor Hunter gave him an open whaleboat, together with provisions for six
weeks, and six men to manage the boat. With these he discovered the harbour and
river of Shoalhaven; entered and mapped out Jervis Bay; discovered Twofold Bay,
then rounded Cape Howe, and discovered the country now called Victoria. After
sailing along the Ninety-mile Beach, he saw high land to the south-west; and,
standing out towards it, discovered the bold headland which was afterwards
named Wilson’s Promontory. Bad weather drove him to seek for shelter, and this
led to the discovery of Western Port, where he remained thirteen days. But as
his provisions were running short, he was forced, with a heavy heart, to turn
homeward. He had again to seek shelter, however, from strong head winds, and in
doing so discovered what is called Corner Inlet. In all he prolonged his voyage
to eleven weeks, before he again reached Sydney: during that time he had
explored six hundred miles of coast, and had discovered four important bays, as
well as what is perhaps the most important cape in Australia. His greatest
service, however, was the proof that Van Diemen’s Land is not joined to
Australia, but is divided from it by the wide strait to which Bass’s name is
now so justly given. All this, effected in an open whaleboat on a great ocean,
may well fill us with admiration for the courage and skill of the young
surgeon.
5. Flinders.—When Flinders returned from Norfolk Island,
he obtained leave to join the next vessel that should start for the wreck of
the Sydney Cove. Having arrived at Furneaux Island, during the time that
the wreckage and remaining cargo were being gathered, he obtained the loan of a
small boat for five days, and in it made careful surveys of the islands and
straits to the north of Van Diemen’s Land. It was in this trip that he made the
first discovery of that peculiar Australian animal, the wombat.
6. Circumnavigation of Van Diemen’s Land.—Next year (1798) Governor Hunter gave to the
two ardent young men a small sloop—the Norfolk—in which to prosecute
their discoveries. They received three months’ leave of absence, in which time
they proposed to sail round Van Diemen’s Land. This they did, and discovered
during their voyage the river Tamar and its estuary, Port Dalrymple. It was not
in discovery alone that they were successful. Flinders made the most beautiful
and exact charts of all the coasts; he sometimes spent whole days in careful
and laborious observations and measurements, in order to have the latitude and
longitude of a single place correctly marked.
7. Fate of Bass.—On their return to Sydney Bass met some
friends, who persuaded him to join them in making their fortune by carrying
contraband goods into South America, in spite of the Spaniards. What became of
Bass is not known, but it is supposed that he was captured by the Spaniards and
sent to the silver mines, where he was completely lost from sight. He who
entered those dreary mines was lost for ever to human knowledge; and Bass may
have perished there after years of wearisome and unknown labour. After all his
hardships and adventures, his enthusiasm and his self-devotion, he passed away
from men’s eyes, and no one was curious to know whither he had gone; but
Australians of these days have learnt to honour the memory of the man who
first, in company with his friend, laid the foundation of so much of their
geography.
8. The Publication of Flinders’ Charts.—Flinders remained in His Majesty’s service,
and in the following year was raised to the rank of lieutenant. With his little
ship, the Norfolk, he examined the coasts of New South Wales, from
Sydney northward as far as Hervey Bay. Next year (1800) he went to London,
where his charts were published, containing the first exact accounts of the
geography of Australia. They were greatly praised, and the English Government resolved
to send out an expedition to survey all the coasts of Australia in like manner.
Flinders was placed at the head of it; a vessel was given to him, which he
called the Investigator; a passport was obtained for him from the French
Government, so that, though England and France were then at war, he might not
be obstructed by French war-ships. Sailing to the south coast of Australia, he
discovered Kangaroo Island and Spencer’s Gulf, and then entered Port Phillip
under the impression that he was the discoverer of that inlet, but afterwards
learnt that Lieutenant Murray, in his ship the Lady Nelson, had
discovered it ten weeks before.
9. Baudin.—As Flinders sailed down towards Bass Strait
he met with a French expedition, under M. Baudin, who had been sent out by
Napoleon to make discoveries in Australia. He had loitered so long on the coast
of Tasmania that Flinders had been able to complete the examination of the
southern coast before he even approached it. Yet Baudin sailed into the very
bays which had already been mapped out, gave them French names, and took to
himself the honour of their discovery. Some months later the two expeditions
met one another again in Port Jackson. Flinders showed his charts, and the
French officers allowed that he had carried off the honours of nearly all the
discoveries on the south coast; but, in spite of that, a report was published
in France in which Flinders’ claims were quite ignored, and Baudin represented
as the hero of Australian discovery. The colonists at Port Jackson, however,
treated the French sailors with much kindness. Many of them were suffering from
scurvy, and these were carried to the Sydney hospital and carefully tended; and
though the colonists had themselves eaten only salt meat for months before, in
order to preserve their cattle, yet they killed these very cattle to provide
fresh meat for the sick sailors. Baudin and his officers were feasted, and
everything was done both by Flinders and the people of Sydney to make their
stay agreeable.
Cook’s Monument, Botany Bay.
10. Imprisonment of Flinders.—Flinders continued his voyage northwards,
rounded Cape York, and examined the northern coasts, making an excellent chart
of Torres Strait; but his vessel becoming too rotten to be longer used, he was
forced to return to Sydney. Desiring to carry his charts and journals to
England, he took his passage in an old store-ship, but she had not sailed far
before she struck on a coral reef; the crew with difficulty reached a small
sandbank, from which they were not released till two months after. Flinders
saved his papers, and brought them back to Sydney. A small schooner, the Cumberland,
was given him in which to sail for England; but she was too leaky, and too
small a vessel to carry food for so long a voyage; so that he was forced to put
into the Mauritius, which then belonged to France. He fancied that his passport
from Napoleon would be his protection; but the Governor, De Caen, a low and
ignorant fellow, seized him, took his papers from him, and cast him into
prison.
Baudin soon after called at the Mauritius,
and would probably have procured the release of his brother-mariner had he not
died immediately after his arrival. The charts of Flinders, however, were all
sent to France, where they were published with altered names, as if they were
the work of Frenchmen. Meanwhile, Flinders was spending the weary months in
close confinement at the Mauritius.
11. Death of Flinders.—Nearly six years passed away before the
approach of an English fleet compelled the French to release him; and when he
went to England he found that people knew all about those very places of which
he thought he was bringing the first tidings. He commenced, however, to write
his great book, and worked with the utmost pains to make all his maps
scrupulously accurate. After about four years of incessant labour, the three
volumes were ready for the press; but he was doomed never to see them. So many
years of toil, so many nights passed in open boats or on the wet sands, so many
shipwrecks and weeks of semi-starvation, together with his long and unjust
imprisonment, had utterly destroyed his constitution; and on the very day when
his book was being published, the wife and daughter of Flinders were tending
his last painful hours. He was, perhaps, our greatest maritime discoverer: a
man who worked because his heart was in his work; who sought no reward, and
obtained none; who lived laboriously, and did honourable service to mankind;
yet died, like his friend Bass, almost unknown to those of his own day, but
leaving a name which the world is every year more and more disposed to honour.
CHAPTER IV.
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