14 NOTES ON CAPTAIN BLICH S VISITS TO TASMANIA, 



• being a fine valley, and the trees 'exceptionally large. Kan- 

 garoos were seen here, and it was with pleasure that Bligh 

 noticed one of the apple trees which had been planted during 

 his previous voyage in 1788. 



On Friday, the seventeenth, no water could be taken oflF, 

 owing to the fact that the strong winds had caused the salt 

 water to bank back up the creeks, and render the water 

 brackish for a considerable distance up stream. The botan- 

 ists had been busily engaged in collecting specimens, and had 

 travelled back as far as Nelson's Hill. This hill was named 

 after Nelson, the botanist of the Bovvty, who survived the 

 perils of the boat voyage, but died at Timor. The description 

 of Nelson's Hill as it occurs in the log is as follows: — 



"This hill lies S. lOdeg. E., three miles distant as a bird 

 "flies, from the west end of the beach. The top is covered 

 "with smaller trees than the parts below, but none of the 

 "forest kind; so that the summit of it appears to be bare. 

 "On the top of the hill is a large oblong rock of granite, on 

 "which a dozen men may stand with ease. It is nine feet high 



"on one side, and seven on the other On Nelson Hill 



''they found no mark of fire, so that we may readily suppose 

 "the natives do not take the trouble to go near it." 



On the Saturday the weather became worse, and refer- 

 ence is made to the fact that "some snow lay on the Table 

 "land during the whole day — so unfavourable is the season.'' 

 The "Table land" referred to is Mount Wellington. It is of 

 interest to note this reference, as Bligh on his chart of the 

 southern portion of Van Diemen's Land marks "Table Hill" 

 for the high mountain which is designated Mount Wellington 

 at the present day. Doubtless, coming direct from the Cape, 

 its configuration, under certain conditions, would tend to re- 

 mind the voyagers of Table Mountain at the Cape. In deal- 

 ing with this question, it should be noted that Ida Lee (1920, 

 p. 29) makes the statement that "Bligh's charts are the first 

 "to show Table Mountain (Mount Wellington) or any part of 

 "the strait, the outlet and entrance of which were aftcrwai'ds 

 "found by D'Entrecasteaux." As far as its official designa- 

 tion of Table Mountain goes, however (for it was called such 

 in the early days of the colony), the name would appear to 

 have been given at a later date, for we read in a despatch 

 from Lieut.-Governor Collins to Governor King (Historical 

 Records of Australia, Ser. III., Vol. I., p. 292), under the date 

 8th Detember, 1804, the following passage: — "The mountain 

 "in my vicinity (which in the French chart is named Le 



