As We Approached The Harbour, The Cabbage Palm Became
Rarer, And Entirely Disappeared At The Head Of It.
We crossed several
creeks running into the harbour, until we arrived at the Matunna, a dry
creek, at which the foot-path from Pitchenelumbo (Van Diomen's Gulf)
touched the harbour, and on which we should have come last night.
We
followed it now, crossed the Warvi, the Wainunmema, and the Vollir - all
which enlarged into shallow lagoons or swamps, before they were lost
between the mangrove thickets. At the banks of the Vollir, some constant
springs exist, which induced Sir Gordon Bremer to choose that place for a
settlement, and on which Victoria at present stands. All these creeks
were separated from each other by a hilly forest land; but small fertile
flats of sandy alluvium, clothed with young grass, and bordered by
Banksias, extended along their banks. The forest was principally composed
of stringy-bark, the leguminous Ironbark, Melaleuca-gum, with underwood
of Acacias, Coniogeton, Pachynemas, Pultenaeas? and Careya? A tree very
much resembling the real Ironbark (Eucalyptus resinifera) was observed at
the Warvi; but I expect it will be found entirely different. The
stringy-bark and the drooping tea-tree were the only useful timber near
the settlement. The Cypress-pine (Callitris) could, however, be obtained
without any great difficulty from Mount Morris Bay, or Van Diemen's Gulf.
On the Vollir, we came on a cart road which wound round the foot of a
high hill; and, having passed the garden, with its fine Cocoa-nut palms,
the white houses, and a row of snug thatched cottages burst suddenly upon
us; the house of the Commandant being to the right and separate from the
rest. We were most kindly received by Captain Macarthur, the Commandant
of Port Essington, and by the other officers, who, with the greatest
kindness and attention, supplied us with every thing we wanted. I was
deeply affected in finding myself again in civilized society, and could
scarcely speak, the words growing big with tears and emotion; and, even
now, when considering with what small means the Almighty had enabled me
to perform such a long journey, my heart thrills in grateful
acknowledgement of his infinite kindness.
After a month's stay at Port Essington, the schooner Heroine, Captain
Mackenzie, arrived from Bally, on her voyage to Sydney, via Torres Strait
and the Inner Barrier, a route only once before attempted with success.
We embarked in this vessel, and arrived safely in Sydney, on the 29th of
March. To the generous attentions of Captain Mackenzie our party owe
much; and, at his hospitable table, we soon forgot the privations of our
late journey. At Sydney, a reception awaited us, the warmth and kindness
of which, it is out of my power to describe. All classes pressed forward
to testify their joy at our reappearance, which, we found, had been long
despaired of, and to offer their aid in supplying our wants. A public
subscription was set on foot, which, in a very few weeks, by the liberal
contributions which flowed in from all parts of the Colony, amounted to
upwards of Fifteen Hundred pounds; and in the Legislative Council, a
motion was brought forward, which, by the unanimous vote of that House,
and the ready concurrence of His Excellency, Sir George Gipps, the
Governor, devoted a Thousand Pounds out of the Public Revenue to our use.
In the Appendix to this volume, will be found the very handsome letter,
in which the Hon.
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