THE SUCCESSORS OF COOK 515 



There was talk that evening about " large rivers, deep 

 inlets, island seas and passages into the Gulf of Carpentaria, 

 and the prospect of making an interesting discovery 

 seemed to have infused new life and vigour into every 

 man in the ship." Flinders named a beautiful harbour 

 Port Lincoln, " in honour of my native province," and 

 sailed away to the North on a passage that might end 

 in the Gulf of Carpentaria. But it soon became clear 

 that they were sailing, not in a strait, but in a gulf 

 a gulf that proved to be one hundred and eighty-five 

 miles long, and forty-eight miles in width at the mouth. 

 The trip had to be finished in a rowing boat, which they 

 rowed till their oars stuck in the mud. They had reached 

 the head of the Gulf which Flinders called Spencer's 

 Gulf "then a region of mangrove swamps and flat water, 

 but now covered by the wharves of Port Augusta, and within 

 view of the starting point of the trans-continental railway." 1 

 Then Flinders discovered Kangaroo Island, discovered 

 and explored the Gulf of St. Vincent, and was proceeding 

 Eastward when, on the 8th of April, the man at the mast- 

 head said he saw a white rock, which proved to be the 

 sail of the Geographe under Baudin. After friendly and 

 interesting conversations with Baudin, he went on his 

 way, discovered on the 27th of April Port Phillip, which 

 had been missed by Baudin, but had been discovered 

 by Murray ten weeks before and reached Sydney on the 

 8th of May, "in better health than on the day we sailed 

 from Spithead, and not in less good spirits." The home- 

 sick Sydney people said that they had never been so 

 strongly reminded of England as by the fresh colour of 

 the seamen. 



Thus the facts which completed the discovery of Australia Discoverers 

 are quite clear, and they were quite clearly expressed Discoveries 

 in Flinders' maps. Cook discovered the coast Northward 

 from Point Hicks. Bass discovered the coast from Point 

 Hicks to Western Port. Grant discovered the coast 

 from Cape Banks to Western Port, save Port Phillip which 

 was discovered by Murray, and rediscovered ten weeks 

 1 Scott's Flinders, p. 215. 



