xcvi 
INTRODUCTION. 
[Prior Discoveries. 
Preliminary colonists, the country round Port Jackson, its productions, and native 
' inhabitants, are delineated with accuracy, and often with minuteness. 
The subject to be here treated is the progress of maritime geogra- 
phical discovery, which resulted from the new establishment ; and as 
the different expeditions made for this purpose are in many cases im- 
perfectly, and in some altogether unknown, it has been judged that 
a circumstantial account of them would be useful to seamen, and not 
without interest to the general reader. These expeditions are, more- 
over, intimately connected with the Investigator's voyage, of which 
they were, in fact, the leading cause. 
Tiatfmi ) firSt advanta S e to maritime geography which arose from the 
new settlement, was a survey of Botany and Broken Bays and Port 
Jackson, with most of the rivers falling into them. Botany Bay had, 
indeed, been examined by captain Cook ; but of the other two harbours, 
the entrances alone had been seen. This survey, including the inter- 
mediate parts of the coast, was made by captain John Hunter, and 
was published soon after its transmission to England by govenor 
Philip. 
In the beginning of 1795, captain (now vice-admiral) Hunter 
sailed a second time for New South Wales, to succeed captain Philip 
in the government of the new colony. He took with him His Ma- 
jesty's armed vessels Reliance and Supply ; and the author of this 
account, who was then a midshipman and had not long before re- 
turned from a voyage to the South Seas, was led by his passion for 
exploring new countries, to embrace the opportunity of going out 
upon a station which, of all others, presented the most ample field 
for his favourite pursuit. 
On arriving at Port Jackson, in September of the same year, it 
appeared that the investigation of the coast had not been greatly 
extended beyond the three harbours ; and even in these, some of the 
rivers were not altogether explored. Jervis Bay, indicated but not 
named by captain Cook, had been entered by lieutenant Richard 
Bowen ; and to the north, Port Stephens had lately been examined by 
