STATION AT OOBAL BAY. 159 



In concluding- the subject of the Aborigines, I 

 may add that at present the natives of Port Essing- 

 ton have httle to thank the white man for. The 

 advantag-e of being- provided with reg-ular food and 

 other comforts enjoyed by such as are in service are 

 merely temporary^ and, hke the means of gratifying- 

 two new habits — the use of tobacco and spirits — to 

 which they have become passionately addicted, will 

 cease when the settlement is abandoned. The last 

 importation of the whites was syphilis, and by it 

 they will probably be remembered for years to 

 come. 



During- our stay at Port Essington, I made an 

 excursion in the decked boat of the settlement (which 

 Capt. Macarthur kindly allowed me the use of) to 

 Coral Bay, a station for invalids, very pleasantly 

 situated on the western side of the harbour, twelve 

 miles fi'om Victoria. We found there my old friend 

 Mr. Tilston,* the assistant-surg-eon, with some con- 

 valescents under his charg-e. This is a much cooler 

 and pleasanter locality than the neig-hbourhood of 

 the settlement, still the heat was at times very g-reat. 

 I had here pointed out to me a kind of tea-tree, or 

 Melaleuca, which had a short time before been 



* In addition to zealous attention to his medical duties, Mr. 

 Tilston's great mechanical skill was often of service to the 

 settlement. He was much attached to Natural History pursuits, 

 made large collections, and many drawings. His gentleness of 

 disposition endeared him to all. He died of fever in the following 

 year. 



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