ship fitted out for discoveries on the Australian shores. He was instructed to examine the southern coast, a large portion of which had not yet been seen by any European; he was then to proceed to the north-west coast, where, according to Dampier's description, the great height of the tides rendered it likely that deep inlets and good harbours might be found. The Gulf of Carpentaria was next to be surveyed, with the important but nearly inaccessible channels of Torres' Strait.

Mr.

He arrived at Point Leuwin, the south-western extremity of Australia, in the beginning of December, 1801, and reposed a little after his voyage in King George the Third's Harbour, discovered by Vancouver. The plan of the sound, constructed by that skilful navigator, was found to be perfectly correct. Flinders, and the gentlemen with him, attempted to explore the country inland, but were stopped in their progress by a chain of inarshes extending from east to west. Few interesting objects presented themselves during their voyage to the westward, along what is called Nuyts' or Nuitz' Land. This coast had been previously surveyed by admiral d'Entrecasteaux, and it only remained to fill up the occasional omissions of his charts. From King George the Third's Sound to Cape Pasley, a distance of 300 miles, the shore is low, sandy, and monotonous; but, beyond Cape Pasley, cliffs rise from the height of from 400 to 600 feet, and extend, with little variety of appearance, for a length of nearly 450 miles. This uniform barrier, of such extraordinary length, gave rise to some ingenious theories on the part of our navigators: it was conjectured by them to be the outer edge of a reef of coral, raised, by some grand convulsion of nature, to its present elevation. They were unable to approach it near enough to ascertain its nature, but it appeared to be calcareous. The country behind it was completely concealed from view.

At length Mr. Flinders, in his progress eastward, arrived at that part of the coast which was still wholly unknown, and doubled a great headland, beyond which the shores inclined towards the north. This was an interesting discovery, and for some time our navigators indulged in the hope that they had found the great strait which communicated with the Gulf of Carpentaria. This headland was named Cape Catastrophe, from a melancholy accident which occurred near it :-a boat being upset in the rippling current at its base, and Mr. Thistle, the master, with some of the men, being drowned. As the ship proceeded northward our voyagers soon discerned that they were entering a deep gulf, the termination of which was visible in the lofty mountains towards the north. One of the highest of these mountains received the name of Mount Brown from the naturalists of the expedition, who, notwithstanding all the

difficulties that beset his path, had the perseverance to ascend it. The view from the top of Mount Brown was very extensive, its elevation being not less than 3000 feet; but neither rivers or lakes could be perceived, nor any thing of the sea to the south-eastward. In almost every direction the eye traversed over an uninteresting, flat, and woody country; the only exceptions being the ridge of mountains running to the north, and the water of the gulf to the south-westward. This great inlet, which was named, from the first lord of the admiralty, Spencer's Gulf, was found to be about forty-eight miles wide at its mouth, and about 183 miles in depth, measuring from Gambier's Island, which stands near the entrance. In sailing out of it toward the south-east, our voyagers held their course between the main land and a large island which received the name of Kangaroo Island, from the great number of those animals which was seen sporting in every open spot. The soil seemed rich, and the aspect of the country was inviting. Opposite to Kangaroo Island was another gulf, about ninety miles in depth, which was named St. Vincent's Gulf.

Shortly after he had made these interesting discoveries, Mr. Flinders met the Geographe, a French ship, commanded by captain Baudin, despatched for the purpose of exploring_the coasts of Australia. The meeting took place in Encounter Bay, in long. 138° 58′ east, and lat. 35° 40′ south, which is consequently the limit of discoveries on this coast made by the respective commanders. The next object which attracted the attention of Mr. Flinders was a fine harbour which he discovered near the western entrance of Bass's Strait, capacious enough for the largest fleet, and surrounded by a beautiful and apparently fertile country. He at first supposed it to be Port Western, discovered by Mr. Bass; but on detecting his mistake, (for Port Western was visible to the south-east from the hills round the shore,) he gave it the name of Port Philip. An attempt was made to fix a colony here in 1803; but from the difficulty of obtaining a sufficient supply of fresh water, or from other causes, the project was abandoned, and the settlers removed to Van Diemen's Land. From Port Philip Mr. Flinders proceeded to Port Jackson, to rest his crew and prepare for a second voyage. In July, 1802, our indefatigable navigator again put to sea, and proceeded towards the north; having escaped the dangers of the eastern shore, he passed through Torres' Strait in three days. Bligh and Portlock, who explored the strait in 1792, had made the passage in nineteen days, while the Chesterfield and another ship, in 1798, had employed ten weeks in the same route. though Mr. Flinders was purposely hasty, and omitted all examinations which might retard his course, yet it is obvious that he ascertained a channel by which vessels following his guid

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ance might pass expeditiously through that intricate strait. His voyage along the eastern shores of the great Gulf of Carpentaria offers little to interest. For 190 leagues the land is so low that the highest hill scarcely attained the elevation of the ship's topmast: among the Wellesley Islands, at the bottom of the gulf, was found a good road for shipping, and abundance of provisions. The western shores displayed greater variety of surface and luxuriance of vegetation; the cabbage palm was abundant; a tree resembling the true sandal wood was found there; and nutmegs, probably of inferior quality, were also met with. Traces of strangers were seen, which excited still greater attention; such as the remains of houses, with bamboo partitions; remnants of blue cotton cloth, &c.; and it was evident that the trees along the shore had been felled with axes: from all these circumstances it was conjectured the visiters to this part of the Australian continent were Asiatics. The natives also, who attacked our navigators with great animosity and courage, were evidently in the habit of waging hostilities with strangers, whom they regarded with more hatred than fear.

No less than 105 days were employed in exploring the Gulf of Carpentaria, the circuit of which, included the windings of the shore, is little less than 400 leagues. The form given to it in old maps is not very erroneous, and it is therefore evidently the result of real examinations; but as the authenticity of the Dutch voyagers was unsupported by the appearance of original documents, they fell into disrepute; and the Gulf of Carpentaria began to be considered a sort of fairy land, the product of fancy or imagination.

The Investigator had hardly left Melville Bay, a good harbour in the north-western extremity of the gulf, when those Asiatics were discovered whose traces had been seen for so many miles. They were Malays, to the number of 200, in six proas, from Macassar; and were part of a fleet of sixty vessels employed on this coast in fishing for the trepang or sea-slug, which is considered a great luxury, and bought at a high price by the Chinese.

In this voyage, about 600 leagues of coast had been examined; but the crew of the Investigator being unhealthy, and the ship so unsound as to be hardly sea-worthy, Mr. Flinders was obliged to abandon his survey at Wessels Islands and to proceed for provisions to Timor, whence he returned to Port Jackson in June, 1803. His ship being examined, was found to be so much decayed, as to be not worth repairing, and he was consequently obliged to return to England to solicit another ship. Embarking therefore in the Porpoise, a small colonial brig, he sailed in company with the Cato and Bridgewater, two large vessels which he engaged to pilot through Torres' Strait. It was his

intention to complete his survey of the northern coast in the Porpoise, and then to proceed to England; but, mortified as he was at the unsoundness of the Investigator, and consequent loss of the ship, severer trials now awaited him. The whole eastern coast of New Holland is lined, as has been before observed, by a barrier of coral reefs, on which the sea breaks with dreadful violence; within them the water is smooth, but the navigation is rendered so difficult by the number of islands and shoals, of which the situation is not ascertained, that seamen generally prefer the visible dangers of the open ocean to those which lie concealed near the land. Mr. Flinders sailed without the reefs, not suspecting any danger, when suddenly, towards the close of day, the Porpoise struck on a shoal. Signals were immediately made to the Cato and Bridgewater to avoid the danger; the latter escaped, but the Cato struck on a rock, and immediately fell over; the Porpoise in the mean time filled with water, and it was feared, that if she were heaved across the reef she might sink at once. Mr. Flinders manned a boat, with the intention of reaching the Bridgewater, and concerting measures with the commander of that vessel to save the sufferers from the wrecks; but the night was so dark, and the sea so boisterous that he found it utterly impossible to effect his purpose: it was with some difficulty even he returned to the wreck where his companions had given him up for lost. As day broke, they were made fully acquainted with the miseries of their situation; the bows of the Cato were above water, the rest completely sunk. The Porpoise was firmly fixed on the coral rocks, from which it would have been fatal to disengage her. The Bridgewater was out of sight; the commander of that ship manifesting the most culpable and heartless indifference to the sufferings of his companions. Fortunately, a dry sand-bank was visible at the distance of half a mile, large enough to contain the crews of the two ships with their provisions, which were luckily saved; tents were erected on it, their flags hoisted, the carpenters set to work to build boats, and this dreary little spot in the midst of the ocean witnessed the order and industry of a civilized community. It was now resolved that Mr. Flinders should go in the cutter to Port Jackson to procure assistance for the shipwrecked people; and that if he did not return before the expiration of three months, that they should embark in boats constructed from the timbers of the wrecks. He embarked accordingly on his perilous expedition, for such, unquestionably, must be deemed a voyage of 250 leagues in an open boat, along a coast inhabited by ferocious savages. In thirteen days he arrived at Port Jackson, where he was hardly recognised by governor King, so much had fatigue and anxiety altered his appearance, No time was lost in preparing to relieve the sufferers from the

reef. He departed in a few days in the ship Rolla and two schooners; in one of which, named the Cumberland, of 29 tons, he determined to proceed himself to England, from Torres' Strait, preferring to encounter the dangers of such a voyage to the mortification of leaving unfinished the survey on which he had set his heart. Only six weeks had elapsed from the time when he left the bank to that of his return. Nothing could equal the exultation of those who remained so long in this forlorn situation, when they perceived on the horizon the masts of ships advancing to their relief: their commander was greeted on his arrival by a salute of eleven guns and three cheers.

Flinders, always intent on the prosecution of his survey, and consequently on his voyage to England, soon put to sea in a little schooner, the Cumberland, with a crew of ten men; passing through Torres' Strait he reached Coepang in Timor in fortyeight days, being less than half the time employed by the Bridgewater in sailing to Batavia by the old passage, round New Guinea: but his schooner was found to be a bad sea vessel; she leaked much, and the pumps were out of order, so that it seemed impossible for her to reach the Cape of Good Hope without undergoing repairs. No alternative remained therefore but to touch at the Mauritius. This necessity was the prelude to the greatest misfortune which had as yet befallen our adventurous commander. He had left England during the war, but had obtained a passport from the French government, in which his vessel, the Investigator, was described, and the object of his voyage were distinctly stated as the grounds of his protection; but he now arrived at a French colony in another ship, and it was, unfortunately, discovered from his papers, that he had been instructed by governor King to make himself acquainted with the tides, winds, produce, and circumstances of the island. The passport was thus infringed in spirit as well as letter. These irregularities might be excused, but could not be overlooked; and Mr. Flinders, in pleading his cause with general De Caen, the governor of the island, assumed a tone too lofty for one whose conduct stood in need of a gracious construction. The general himself appears to have been of an arrogant and tyrannical disposition; and, for some time, he treated the English commander with a needless severity. It was in 1803 that he was seized as prisoner of war, and he was not allowed to depart until 1810: an order for his liberation had indeed arrived in the colony at the close of 1806; but general De Caen, under various pretences, delayed its execution. Mr. Flinders is said in the mean time to have refused an opportunity to escape, which was held out to him by an East Indiaman on the coast. He was at the time at large on his parole; but, though he considered himself ill-treated, he would not violate the ties of honour.