362 
Account of 
flats, and Anderson wished to keep to it; but the Com¬ 
mandant, apprehending no danger, and not wishing 
to lose time, peremptorily ordered him to steer straight 
a-head through the surf, which he did. They had not 
proceeded one hundred yards when a heavy sea struck 
the boat on her starboard bow, and upset her. One of 
the crew succeeded in laying hold of Captain Cuthbert- 
son, and three times got him on the bottom of the boat, 
but exhausted and weak he could not hold on: he ex¬ 
claimed, “ My man, save yourself,—never mind me, it is 
of no use!” and sank beneath the wave. Anderson and 
the man just mentioned were the only persons saved. 
This melancholy and unexpected circumstance threw 
the settlement into great consternation, and there was 
some confusion as to who should take charge of the set¬ 
tlement ; the duties, however, were carried on by each 
person respectively, and the distressing intelligence was 
communicated to Hobart Town. 
A diligent search at the same time took place for the 
body of the deceased Commandant, which was discovered 
between the Gordon and Birch’s Inlet: he w r as interred, 
■with as much ceremony as the trifling means of the 
settlement would allow, on the northern extremity of the 
Island; but his remains were afterwards removed to 
head quarters and placed in the cemetery, where a monu¬ 
ment records his services, and melancholy end. 
Lieutenant Wright, of the 3rd (Buffs) regiment, suc¬ 
ceeded as Commandant. During his administration the 
settlement made some progress, and a farm was com¬ 
menced on the main. From this spot, in June, 1824, a 
party of convicts, which afterwards formed one of the 
most formidable bands of bushrangers that ever infested 
Tasmania, made their escape. These men had planned 
to run away with one of the barges when the Comman¬ 
dant, accompanied by the Surgeon, visited the place 
where they were working. 
