142 SETTLEMENT OF VICTORIA. 



shelter to the crews of vessels wrecked in Torres 

 Strait, and of endeavouring- to throw open to British 

 enterprise the neig-hbouring- islands of the Indian 

 Ai'chipelago. For this purpose, H.M.S. Alh^ator, 

 under the command of Captain J. J. Gordon 

 Bremer, and H.M.S. Britomart (Lieut. Owen 

 Stanley), were sent out, and left Sydney for Port 

 Essington in September 1837. Another vessel with 

 stores accompanied the Allig-ator, and both arrived 

 at Port Essington on October 27th of the same 

 year. Soon afterwards, upon a site for the settle- 

 ment being chosen, the necessary operations were 

 commenced, and by the end of May in the following 

 year, the preliminary arrangements having been 

 completed, the Alhgator left, and Captain John 

 Macarthur, R.M., with a subaltern, assistant-sur- 

 geon, storekeeper, and a hnguist, together with a 

 detachment of forty marines, remained in charge of 

 the new settlement. The Britomart remained behind 

 for several years as a tender to this naval station, 

 or mihtary post, — for either term is equally apphc- 

 able, and was afterwards succeeded in her charge by 

 H.M.S. RoyaUst. In October, 1845, the remains 

 of the original party which had been there for seven 

 years (including* also a small detachment sent down 

 from China), were relieved by a draft from England 

 of two subalterns, an assistant-surgeon, and fifty- 

 two rank and file of the Royal Marines, Captain 

 Macarthur still remainiug as commandant. 



The Port Essington experiment I am afraid is to 



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