112 FIRST SETTLEMENT AT DERWENT. 



of their voyaj^o was to fix on a place at Van Die- 

 men's Land t'ov a seltlement. The alarmed Governor 

 sent off fortlnvith to Colonel Paterson for more precise 

 information, and the answer he received, on that same 

 Tnesday morning on which the ships had sailed, more 

 Patcr>5on to than confirmed his woi'st fears. Not only had the talk 

 isoM'^^sh"^' among- the French officers been so general tliat the 

 Colonel conld not understand how it was that the 

 Governor had not heard of it, but one of the officers had 

 sent Paterson a chart, and had pointed out the very spot 

 selected — the place where they and D'Eutrecasteaux also 

 had spent so much time — the Baie du IS ord [now known 

 as Frederick Henry Bay], in Storm Bay Passage, or, as 

 the French called it, Le Canal D'Eutrecasteaux. King, 

 of course, knew very well that Baudin could, at most, 

 take formal possession, for, with his small and sickly crew, 

 and without stores or provisions, he had not the means to 

 found a colony. There was no i;nuiodiate danger on that 

 score, but he did not know what recommendations might 

 have been sent to the French Government, or how soon a 

 properly equipped expedition might be on its way from 

 France to plant a settlement, and, being a man of action, 

 accustomed to act promptly and on his own responsibihty, 

 without waiting foi- instructions that might be twelve 

 months in reaching him, he ])ro('eede(l forthwith to take 

 steps to prevent an invasion of His ^Majesty's territory of 

 New South Wales, of which territory he was the guardian. 

 His first difficulty was to find a ship. The naval strength 

 at the command of the Governor of New South Wales 

 was not large. His ^lajesty's shijis in these seas were 

 few in number, small, and often uiiscaworthy, and there 

 was a constant difficulty in finding vessels that could be 

 spared for any special service. Of those under his orders 

 tiie Buffalo was essential at Port Jackson, the Lady 

 Nelson was off north with Flinders, the Porpoise, the 

 only other king's ship, was away at I'ahiti salting pork 

 for the necessities of the colony. But there was in Port 

 Jackson a little armed schoonci" called the Cumberland, 

 which had been built at Sydney a few years before for 

 the purpose of ])ursuing runaways. She was only 29 tons 

 burden, it is true, but she would do to checkmate French 

 designs, 'i'his little craft was therefore hastily jirepared 

 for sea, a crew was selected, Lieut, ('has. J{obbins, 

 master's mate of H.M.S. Buffalo, was put in command, 



