Arrived at Port Essington, the little fleet anchored off Table Point, the marines landed, the Union Jack was hoisted, and formal possession taken of the north coast of Australia, between the meridians of 129 deg. and 136 deg. east of Greenwich. After the TAMAR had fired a royal salute, and the marines three volleys, the business of finding a site commenced.
This was no such easy matter, the first object being to find fresh water; parties were despatched in all directions, but for a long time unsuccessfully; at last some was obtained at a sandy point, where there was an old Malay encampment, but it was a deficient supply, only to be got by digging holes in the sand, and the inducements for remaining were not considered sufficiently attractive. An examination of St. Asaph Bay, in Melville Island, was next made, and possession taken in like manner; but no fresh water was forthcoming there, and at last, after much searching, a small river and plenty of water were found in another part of Melville Island, opposite Harris Island. A point of the land for the town was fixed upon, and named Point Barlow, after the commandant. The cove where the ship anchored was called King's Cove, and the entrance to Apsley Strait, Port Cockburn.
A redoubt was built of logs, seventy-five feet long by fifty broad, and a ditch dug surrounding it; the quarter-deck guns were mounted, the colours hoisted, and it was formally christened Fort Dundas, under a royal salute from itself.
After all this display of enthusiasm and gunpowder, work commenced in earnest, quarters were built inside the stockade, a deep well sunk, a wharf constructed, and gardens laid out.
As might have been reasonably supposed, the evil-disposed natives of the island soon got over their first scare at this invasion of their territory. At first they came into the fort in friendly guise.
"I was greatly astonished to see amongst them," says Lieutenant Roe, "a young man of about twenty years of age, not darker in colour than a Chinese, but with perfect Malay features, and like all the rest, entirely naked; he had daubed himself all over with soot and grease to appear like the others, but the difference was plainly perceptible. On observing that he was the object of our conversation, a certain archness and lively expression came over his countenance, which a native Australian would have strained his features in vain to produce. It seems probable that he must have been kidnapped when very young, or found while astray in the woods."
All this friendliness soon disappeared, the aborigines took to robbing the working parties of their tools, and spear and musket soon came to be used on either side. Up to the time the TAMAR left, however, no harm had been done. In all, the settlement consisted of one hundred and twenty-six individuals, of whom four were women, and forty-five convicts.
The fortunes of this little colony, and even its existence, being almost forgotten, it may be interesting to the reader to follow them to the end. After the TAMAR left for India, and the COUNTESS OF HARCOURT proceeded on her voyage, the settlement was left with the colonial brig, the LADY NELSON, as the nucleus of a fleet, but she sailed for Timor, and was never heard of again. The hostility of the natives increased, and the Malays, who were expected to visit and trade with the English, did not put in an appearance, it being out of the track of their proas; and of Fort Dundas, of which such high hopes were entertained, in a few short years not a vestige remained.
At last, what with scurvy amongst the garrison (which, considering the amount of vegetables grown, should not have been the case), the incessant feud with the natives, the most gloomy reports were sent down at every opportunity afforded by a vessel calling. Latterly, it was unsafe to venture out of the camp unarmed, and the surgeon and commissariat officer were murdered only a few yards from the stockade. The public policy pursued was not of a liberal nature, and it was decided to try the experiment of a settlement on the mainland.
As it was considered that Port Essington was deficient in fresh water, Raffles Bay was selected, and two years before Melville Island was finally abandoned, Captain Stirling, of the SUCCESS, was ordered to proceed there. The settlement was formed on the 18th June, and in honour of the date, was called Fort Wellington.