A Fort, Therefore,
Was Constructed So As To Command The Whole Anchorage, And When Finished
It Was Possible To Fire A Shot From It On To Bathurst Island.
In its
building, timber of great solidity was used.
On it were mounted two
9-pounder guns and four 18-pounder carronades, with a 12-pounder boatgun,
which could be shifted as the occasion required. These were supplied by
H.M.S. Tamar.
The boat-gun was fitted so that it could be placed on board the Lady
Nelson, whenever it should be necessary to detach her to the neighbouring
islands. Round the fort there were soon built comfortable cottages for
the settlers, and, when completed, they gave the place the air of a
village. The fort was rectangular, and within the square were erected
barracks for the soldiers, and houses, the frames of which had been
brought from New South Wales. The climate was found to be "one of the
best between the tropics," particularly at dawn, "when," says Captain
Bremer, "nothing can be more delightful than this part of the twenty-four
hours." In spite of many mangrove swamps that existed there, much of the
soil on Melville Island was excellent, and in it the plants brought in
the ships flourished luxuriantly; they included the orange, lemon, lime,
and banana. Melons and pumpkins sprang up immediately, and maize was
"upon ground" on the fourth day after it was sown. The native forests
were almost inexhaustible, producing most, if not all, the tropical
fruits and shrubs of the Eastern Islands, chief among them a sort of
cotton tree, a species of "lignum vitae," and the bastard nutmeg.
While Captain Bremer explored the country, the work at the settlement was
carried out without loss of time. On the 8th of October a pier, for the
purpose of landing provisions and guns, was begun, next a Commissariat
store; and by the 20th the pier, bastion, and sea face of the fort were
completed. Captain Bremer writes, "I had the satisfaction of hoisting His
Majesty's colours under a royal salute from the guns mounted on Fort
Dundas, which I named in honour of the noble Lord and the Head of the
Admiralty."
CHAPTER 14.
THE LOSS OF THE LADY NELSON.
On November 10th Captain Bremer, having carried out his duties in
accordance with the instructions that he had received from the Admiralty,
took leave of the settlement. He handed over its charge to Captain
Maurice Barlow. The Tamar then dropped into the stream, being saluted by
15 guns, which she returned. Two days afterwards she left Port Cockburn
for India in company with the Countess of Harcourt, bound for Mauritius
and England.
The Lady Nelson remained behind at Port Cockburn, partly to act as a
guardship and partly to bring to the settlement the needed stores and
supplies from the islands to the northwards. These islands, as well as
Coepang, afforded fresh meat in the form of buffalo beef, and it proved
an inestimable boon to many ships which traded in these waters.
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