AUSTRALIA, OR NEW HOLLAND. 99 



Perouse, entered it. That adventurous discoverer stayed two 

 months in this haven, and then set sail for the Pacific, disap- 

 pearing forever from the sight of civilized man. 



Drawing near an opening in the cliffs, a few miles further 

 north, the governor went to examine it in person. The 

 natives collected on the rocks, shouting to the strangers to 

 go away ; but they persevered. Captain Cook had reported 

 the existence in this neighborhood of a creek, where boats 

 could be sheltered. A sailor, named Jackson, however, 

 declared that a great haven lay within the mighty rocks 

 that frowned above them ; and entering between these, the 

 explorers were delighted to find a harbor of many miles in 

 extent. A fine anchoring-ground was at once chosen, and 

 the name of the sailor bestowed on the harbor. 



The spot chosen for debarkation was near a stream of 

 fresh water, over-shadowed by trees. Every man literally 

 stepped from the boats into a forest. They detached them- 

 selves into parties, and the primeval silence of the shore 

 was immediately broken by sounds which have never since 

 died away. Some shouldered the axe and commenced clear- 

 ing ground for the different encampments ; some pitched the 

 tents ; some brought from the ships the necessary stores, 

 and others examined the capabilities of the neighboring soil. 

 Every one wandered freely over the country, and wholesale 

 disposals were made of land which, fifty years later, was 

 worth more than a thousand guineas an acre. 



The people were then collected together, and the governor's 

 commission was read, with letters patent for establishing 

 courts of justice. The ground was gradually cleared, a 

 rude farm was prepared to receive the live stock, and gardens 

 were laid out for the planting of seeds and roots. Thus was 

 planted the colony of New South Wales. 



