tions of life in the colony/' In short, 
Bligh's period of Governorship advanced 
the progress of Australia in a very rapid 
manner, and the indirect results mark¬ 
ed the dawn of a new era. It is with 
added interest, therefore, that we may 
recall certain of the details relating to 
his early voyages of discovery and ex¬ 
ploration. 
Vs I High had previously touched at 
Atl\ enturc Hay when sailing master on 
the Resolution, it was only natural that 
lie made for the same anchorage when 
he touched at Tasmania fur.supplies ot 
wood and water during lhe voyage of 
the ill-fated Bounty. This famous ves¬ 
sel. of 215 tons, had been placed under 
command of Captain Illigh, and the ob¬ 
ject of the voyage was the transporta¬ 
tion of t he breadfruit tree from the Paci¬ 
fic tu the West Indies. On August 21, 
1788. the Bounty anchored in Adventure 
Bay. and as soon as possible an inspec¬ 
tion was made in order to ascertain the 
most suitable place to obtain wood and 
water. The site selected was at the 
west end of the beach, near where the 
present jetty stands. Present-day chart- 
refer to this locality as Quiet Corner, 
owing to the sheltering effect of the high 
stone bluff which projects into the baj 
at this point. The stone forming the 
headland is remarkably rectangular in 
certain positions, which accounts for 
Bligh naming this point lie vnstone Head, 
The water was obtained from a gully 
about sixty yards from the Beach. Bligh* 
states that the water was good, but was 
“merely a collection from the rains; tiie 
place is always dry in sumer for we 
found no water in it when I was here 
with Captain Look in January, 1777." 
Nevertheless, Bligh saw fit to chart the 
small eredk which meanders to the beach 
at tins locality by the name of Bounty 
Rivulet. Resolution River, where Cap¬ 
tain Cook obtained water in 1777, was 
further to the north. Owing to the 
surf which broke on the shore consider¬ 
able difficulty was experienced in getting 
oil the wood and water. Whilst this 
work was in progress David Nelson and 
William Brown, tile botanists of the ex¬ 
pedition, made large collections during 
their excursions along the shore and 
amid the bills. ,\ number of fruit trees 
were planted, including three young ap¬ 
ple trees, nine vines, six plantain trees, 
a number of orange and lemon seeds, 
cherry stones, plum, poach, and apricot 
stones, pumpkins, also two sorts of In¬ 
dian i-orn. as well as apple and pear 
kernels. Tile trees in the vicinity were 
also marked, and Nelson followed tins 
circuit of the bay. planting in such situa¬ 
tions as appeared suitable. Unfortu¬ 
nately the exact positions of the planta¬ 
tions were marked upon Bligh's chart of 
Adventure Bay, which was lost in the 
mutiny of the Bounty, hut from his sub¬ 
sequent chart of 1702. together with the 
detailed description in the log of the 
Providence, certain of the localities can 
be fixed. 
Near the watering place of the Bounty, 
which was at the head of the covp now 
known as Quiet Corner, potatoes, onions, 
and cabbages were planted. On the 
lirst of September some natives were 
seen in the distance, and hop s were en¬ 
tertained that they would come towards 
Hie ship. Their non-appenrai i c on the 
following day caused Rlicb to go in a 
boat towards Cape Frederick Henry, 
where be had an interview with a party 
of aborigines. Tarter in the same day 
Bligh visited the high land above Pen¬ 
guin Island and obtained a view of a sec¬ 
tion of Strait now known as D'Entrecas¬ 
teaux Channel. Owing to the error of 
I'urneaiix, PJigh considered this to be the 
Frederick llenrv Bay of Tasman. The 
Bounty sailed from Adventure Bay on 
September 1 in continuation of her voy¬ 
age to Tahiti. Some months later the 
famous mutiny occurred which led to 
R1 hell's voyage of .1(101) miles through un¬ 
charted seas in ail open boat. 
Upon Bligh's return to England it was 
not long before he was placed in com¬ 
mand of a second expedition. This time 
two vessels, the Providence, 420 tons, 
and the Assistant, 110 tons, were given 
to Bligh to command. It is of interest 
(o note that Matthew Flinders, who was 
liter to play such a prominent part in 
Australian exploration, was a mid-hip- 
man on the Providen e. On the 0th of 
February. 1702 the two vessels anchor 'd 
:n Adventure Bay, and as soon as the 
ships were moored Bligh went ashore to 
select the best places to secure his wood 
nnd water from. He decided to bbtai-v 
(his from Pounty Rivulet, as it w;s ra ie ■ 
t) 
