282 THE DISCOVERY OF AUSTRALIA 



Discovery of came to a group of islands which Cook later named " the 

 Friendly Islands." They called the largest island " Amster- 

 dam," " because of the abundance of refreshments we 

 got there." Another island they called " Rotterdam," 

 " seeing that here we got our casks filled with water." 

 There was much friendly traffic in cocoa-nuts, yams, 

 and hogs, in exchange for nails and beads. They dressed 

 a chief in a shirt and pair of drawers, " in which he thought 

 himself very gallantly attired." Dutch musical experts 

 performed on the trumpet, the violin, and the German 

 flute ; " at which music they were greatly astonished." 

 It was noticed that the prows were shaped like those 

 described by Le Maire. They called the Roadstead 

 Van Diemen's Road ; and " to the Bay, near which the 

 King resides, we have given the name of Maria Bay, in 

 honour of the Honourable Consort of the Honourable 

 Governor-General Anthony Van Diemen." We note this 

 unanswerable evidence that Maria, whose name Tasman 

 was writing on every island of the Pacific, was the " Hon- 

 ourable Consort," and not the Honourable daughter, 

 of the " Honourable Governor-General." 



Tasman was now sure that he was Eastward enough, 

 and made sail North or North-West, keeping a good 

 look out for Le Maire's islands, which were in Lat. 17. 

 On the night of the 5th of February in Lat. 17! they saw 

 land, and next day they found themselves " entangled 

 between islands and shoals to such a degree that we could 

 with difficulty keep clear. The islands are eighteen 

 or twenty in number as we can count them, though 

 it is quite possible that there are more." They were, 

 explains the modern student, among the Fiji Islands. 



But Tasman was puzzled He believed that he was 

 in the track of Le Maire, yet Le Maire " did not find any 

 such islands." The "Great Chart of the South Sea" 

 showed islands in this Latitude, but these were eight 

 hundred miles further West. But after a voyage so long 

 and so stormy " the proverb which says that guess-work 

 often shoots wide of the mark may well be applicable 

 to us, and we be so far out of our reckoning." In short 



