George Bass

“ On their various movements in the Derwent, Mr. Bass is silent, confining his narrative to a general account of what he learned and saw of the neighbouring country.
If the Derwent river have any claim to respectability, it is indebted for it more to the paucity of inlets into Van Diemen's land, than to any intrinsic merits of its own. After a sleepy course of not more than twenty-five or twenty-seven miles to the NW it falls into Frederick Henry Bay. Its breadth there is two miles and a quarter, and its depth ten fathoms. ”

“ Although Van Diemen's land seems to possess few or none of those vast depths of soil with which the happiest spots of New South Wales are blessed; yet it seldom sickens the heart of its traveller with those extensive tracts which at once disarm industry, and leave the warmest imagination without one beguiling project. ”

“ As they approached the sandy point on the east side of the opening, some dogs came down upon the beach, and soon after several natives made their appearance, most of them carrying fishing nets over their shoulders. They lay upon their oars some time, conversing with them by signs, and repeating the words which they made use of. As they seemed to be friendly, Bong-ree wished to make them a visit; and, seeing nothing among them but the pieces of fire-wood which the natives usually carry with them, the boat was backed in, and he jumped on shore, naked, and as unarmed as they themselves appeared. ”

“ Could it be imagined, that at this day there was existing in a polished civilised kingdom a race of beings (for they do not deserve the appellation of men) so extremely ignorant, and so little humanised as these were, compared with whom the naked savages of the mountains were an enlightened people?
Occasional desertions of one or two people at a time had occurred since the establishment of the settlement; but the first convicts who arrived from Ireland in the Queen in the year 1791 went off in numerous bodies, few of whom ever returned. ”

“ Hence, from the little that has been seen of the condition of our own species in this place, it appears to be much inferior in some essential points of convenience to that of the despised inhabitants of the continent. How miserable a being would the latter be, his canoe taken from him, his stone hatchet blunted, his hut pervious to the smallest shower of rain, and few or no excavations in the rocks to fly to! But happiness, like every thing else, exists only by comparison with the stage above and the stage below our own. ”

“ That the swell of the Indian ocean comes, by far the greater part of the way, from the southward of west, can hardly be doubted, since it is well known that the prevailing winds are from that quarter.
Early in the afternoon (of the 11th) a piece of land stood out from the line of the coast like an island, but it was soon found to be joined to the main by a sandy beach. The shore beyond it looked rugged and craggy, and the land equalled the most sterile and stoney that had been seen. At night the vessel stood off to the westward from abreast of a pyramidal rock lying close to the main. ”

“ The colonists of New South Wales will feel with me, who must ever take an interest in the welfare of the settlement, a high degree of satisfaction at finding the conduct of their affairs placed under the direction of a nobleman who has dignified the amiable virtues of private life by the acquisition of those more splendid talents which characterise a consummate statesman ”

“ Even Bennillong was as destitute of this quality as the most ignorant of his countrymen. It is an extraordinary fact, that even their children, who had been bred up among the white people, and who, from being accustomed to follow their manner of living, might have been supposed to ill relish the life of their parents, when grown up, have quitted their comfortable abodes, females as well as males, and taken to the same savage mode of living, where the supply of food was often precarious, their comforts not to be called such, and their lives perpetually in danger. ”

“ The best land seems to be that fine hilly country which lies at the back of an island named Middle-island; but access to it is not easy on account of a large shoal extending along its front, which is dry at low water, as far out as the island itself. The shape of the land is very pleasingly variegated with hill and valley; the soil is in general a rich black mould, shallow, and even sometimes a little stony upon the hills, but in the valleys is of abundant depth and richness. A close coat of grass of a uniform thickness over-spreads it every where. ”

“ Necessity has been long known as the parent of resources, and the poverty of the public stores in the article of clothing had prompted these experiments of the wool, the flax, and the bark.
The discovery of the vast strata of coal must be reckoned among the new lights thrown upon the resources of the colony. The facility that this presents in working the iron ore* with which the settlement abounded, must prove of infinite utility whenever a dock-yard shall be established here; and the time may come, when the productions of the country may not be confined within its own sphere. ”

“ How far this prediction had been verified, those who were concerned in taking off the settlers' boat, and who might now be in the settlement, could best tell. It was well known, that they had treacherously left seven men upon a desolate island far to the southward, where they must have perished for want, had they not been discovered in a most miraculous manner. He wished those facts to be impressed upon the minds of the whole colony; they would then probably discover in what their real interest consisted, and on what their true happiness depended. ”

“ Scarcely had the last court of judicature sent one man to the gallows, when a highway robbery was committed between the town of Sydney and Parramatta. Three men rushed from an adjoining wood, and, knocking down a young man who was travelling to the last mentioned town, rifled his pockets of a few dollars. On his recovering, finding that only one man remained, who was endeavouring to twist his handkerchief from his neck, he swore that no one person should plunder him, and had a struggle with this fellow, who, not being the strongest of the two, was secured and taken into Parramatta. ”

“ If an idea may be hazarded, Van Diemen's Island holds out in every respect a more advantageous spot for a settlement, than this parched, unattainable island; and were it not for the expense already incurred there, it would be advisable to remove the whole of that settlement thither; where, from the account given by Captain Flinders, and Mr. Bass, they would be as likely to remain unmolested by natives as they are at Norfolk Island, and would possess the superior benefits of a temperate climate and capacious harbour. ”

“ Those natives, indeed, who frequented the town of Sydney, spoke to and of those who were not so fortunate, in a very superior tone, valuing themselves upon their friendship with the white people, and erecting in themselves an exclusive right to the enjoyment of all the benefits which were to result from that friendship. ”

“ Two men, who had been exploring the country to the northwest of Richmond Hill and of the river Hawkesbury, fell in with the bones of two mares which had been stolen some time since from Parramatta. It was very probable, that the people who stole them had, after some time and experience, found that travelling was not quite so practicable in this country as they had imagined, and that, not being able to procure a supply of food, they had been compelled by hunger to the necessity of destroying their cattle, and living upon them as long as they could possibly cat of them ”

“ Having effected the capture, they proceeded to the southward, with the intention of reaching the wreck of the ship Sydney Cove. For their guide, they had a pocket compass, of which scarcely one man of the fourteen who composed the party knew the use. In this boat they were twice thrown on shore, and at last reached an island, where, had they not fortunately found many birds and seals, they must inevitably have perished. From the inconceivable hardships they underwent, they would to a man have gladly returned, could they have hoped that their punishment would have been any thing short of death. ”

“ This was the more seriously felt, as at one time a hope was entertained of reaping grain sufficient to supply the colony with bread for two years.
The conclusion of the harvest was productive of a slight disturbance among the Irish convicts at Toongabbie. Having, each man and woman who had been employed, received a small quantity of spirits and water, which had been ordered them, it produced at first cheerfulness and play, but terminated in riot and ill-humour; a circumstance not uncommon with that class of people. ”

“ Champion, Enderby, and others, owners of ships in the whale fishery, to establish a depot or warehouse at Sydney, well supplied with naval stores, where their business could be transacted by their own people, and their ships refitted with their own materials.
If try-pots were fixed at some convenient place near the entrance of the harbour, and many such offer, where their warehouse might also be established, the fishing ground not being far from the coast, might not a ship run in with the whale in blubber, leave it to be tried out, and in the mean while put to sea in quest of more? ”

“ Finding it impossible for such a number of discontented beings to continue of one mind, or to be able to furnish food in their miserable situation for so many, they judged it necessary, from a motive of self-preservation, that one half should deceive the other half; and while these were asleep, those who were prepared took away the boat, leaving their seven wretched and unsuspecting companions upon the desolate island, the situation of which this man could not describe so as to enable the governor at any time to find it. ”

“ In the evening of the 27th, the ship Marquis Cornwallis arrived from the Cape of Good Hope, with a cargo of cattle on government account, consisting of 158 cows and 20 bulls, exclusive of a few on private account. When they were landed, a few appeared weakly; but, in general, they were in as good health as any that had been before landed, after a voyage of such extent; and would certainly prove a vast acquisition to the colony; part of the cows being a mixed breed between the Cape and English cattle, and the whole appearing to be under the age of two years and a half. ”

“ Besides, the soil of New South Wales produces timber and flax perfectly calculated for all naval purposes, and in sufficient abundance. The single advantage that this island presents is, as has been mentioned before, its proving a place of punishment to such notorious offenders in the seat of government as there escape the gallows; and for this purpose a small civil and military establishment might be maintained at a much less expense than the present. ”

“ The ready sale which the speculators who called here constantly found for their cargoes, together with the ruinous traffic which was carried on by means of the monopolies that existed in opposition to every order and endeavour to prevent them, would, beyond a doubt, without the establishment of a public store on the part of government, keep the settlers and others in a continual state of beggary, and extremely retard the progressive improvement of the colony. ”

“ The heavy timber is chiefly gum tree of various species; of which two are different from any that have been yet seen in this country. Nothing new was observed in the quality of the wood; but, from the few trees that were felled, it was thought to be more sound at heart than they are usually met with. The she oaks were more inclined to spread than grow tall. The smaller trees and shrubs resemble, with some variety, those of the continent.* The tree producing the yellow gum is of a very diminutive size; but, unlike that of Cape Barren island, it bears a reed correspondent to itself. ”

“ From the nature of the difficulties of which the settlers upon Norfolk island have complained, difficulties which have not until very lately been known to have an existence, the governor is led to suspect, that the same rage for traffic, and an intemperate indulgence in some of those destructive gratifications which have so effectually ruined many of the most forward and promising settlers in New South Wales, have reached Norfolk Island. ”

“ The complaints which were daily made of the refractory and disobedient conduct of the convict women rendered it absolutely necessary that some steps should be instantly taken to make them more clearly understand the nature of their situation in this country, and the duties that they were liable to perform. The governor, therefore, judged it proper to desire that every officer or other housekeeper in the settlement, who might have female servants in their families, would immediately forward to the judge-advocate's office the names of such as they employed. ”

“ Flinders thought it might be the means of preventing much future mischief, to give them a more extensive idea of his power, and thereby deter them from any future attempt in his intercourse with them. For as this bay was to be examined, and the leak which the sloop had sprung was to be stopped here, it became more than probable that they would often meet; and he was well satisfied of the great influence which the awe of a superior power has in savages, to create respect, and render their communications with each other friendly. ”

“ In point of productive soil Mr. Bass gives the preponderance to Van Diemen's land.
In one particular, which to the inhabitants of a civilized country is of the utmost importance, both countries are but too much alike: each is amply stored with water for the common purposes of life; but deficient in those large intersections of it which, in other more fortunate countries, so much facilitate the operations of man, and lead commerce to the door of even the most inland farmer.
Two rivers only, Port Dalrymple and the Derwent, are known to descend from Van Diemen's land ”