BY JAMES B. WALKER. 107 



Dienien's Land. He gives a glowing description of the 

 beauty and capabilities of the country, and a jioetical and 

 highly-coloured picture of the kindliness and good qualitivi 

 of the aborigines. On leaving Storm Bay tiie Frenchuii'ii 

 palled for the east coast; they examined Maria Island, iv.'>ii,i.,i';>. 

 visited the Schoutens and Freycinet's Penihsula, and sur- 

 veyed the remainder of the coast until they reached Banks' 

 Strait. Here the ships were separated by a storm. The 

 Naturaliste surveyed Banks' Strait, and ex[)lored the 

 Hunter Islands and other islands in Bass' Strait; and the 

 Crccy^rap/ie sailed for the south coast of New Holland — 

 or, as Baudin christened it, Napoleon Land — to search for 

 the channel which was supposed to divide New Holland. 

 The French expedition had surveyed the whole coast-line 

 of Van Diemen's Land, with the exception of the west 

 coast from Cape Grim to Port Davey. 



On the 8th April, 1802, the shij>s of Baudin and Fiin.iers,i.,p.i89. 

 Flinders met off Kangaroo Island. Flindors states that 

 Jiaudin was communicative of his discoveries in Van 

 Diemen's Land, and declares that he, on his ]jart, furnished 

 the French commander with every information as to his 

 own explorations of the coast, and gave him directions for 

 iiis guidance. Peron, in his brief notice of the interview piron, \. p. .125. 

 between the two commanders, simply remarks that 

 Flinders showed great reserve on the sul)j(H-t of his own 

 operations. The object of this suppression of facts by the 

 Frenchman will appear later on. 



On the 2oth A])ril, 1802, Captain Ilamolin, in the 

 Naturaliste, arrived off Port Jackson. His provisions 

 were exhausted, his crew prostrated by scurvy. He was 7J;i<7, p. 365. 

 in urgent need of succour. Yet he approached Port Jack- 

 son with many misgivings. War, so far as ho knew, was 

 raging in all its bitterness and fury betv^ cen France and 

 England, and though he bore a safe conduct from the 

 Admiralty, he fully anticipated that ho would not be 

 allowed to enter the Port, or, if he was, that the aid 

 he so much needed would be refused him. lint his doubts 

 were soon dispelled, for, as he says, he was instantly 

 welcomed by the English with magnaniuKMis generosity. 

 Not only were all the resources of the country jilaced at 

 the disposal of the French captain, but the most dis- 

 tinguished houses of the colony were thrown open to 

 his officers, and during the whole time they remained they 

 " experienced that delicate and affectionate hosj>itality 



