Captain Bremer Therefore Took The Ships Into It, And He Gave The Cove The Name Of King's Cove, In Honour Of Its Discoverer, Captain Phillip Parker King.

The point chosen as the settlement was called Point Barlow, after Captain Barlow; and the part of the strait between Harris Island and Luxmore Head where the ships anchored was named Point Cockburn, after Sir George Cockburn, one of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty.

The harbour was not equal to Port Essington, as the entrance was intricate, and a dangerous shoal, rendered perilous by the rapid tides, extended some miles distant from the land. It was formed by the shores of Bathurst Island, as well as of Melville Island. To the northernmost point of Bathurst Island Captain Bremer gave the name of Cape Brace.

On October 1st, parties were landed on Point Barlow to clear the ground and to lay the foundation of a fort, for it was believed that the Malays, who fished annually in these waters, would soon come in great numbers, and hostility was also expected from the aborigines. 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.

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