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.

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