From its outer edge, Point Record bears north, and the North-East part of Middle Head, South 76 degrees East. These and other bearings recently given, will perhaps be considered of little value by the general reader, but as they were required to take the Beagle into Port Essington, they will be found useful to others for the same purpose.
APPEARANCE OF THE SETTLEMENT.
The narrow entrance to the inner harbour, may by some be considered a drawback, but on the other hand, it must be borne in mind, that what is an impediment to navigation, is also a safeguard against attack. Moreover, from this want of breadth in the harbour, a fort on Point Record, which is commanded by no height, would perfectly protect it.
It was from this confined portion that our anxious desire to catch a glimpse of the new settlement was at length gratified; and we were somewhat surprised, considering the recent date of its formation, to discover the presence of so many buildings as were scattered over the top of a cliffy point on the south-west part of the harbour, called Adam Head, at the base of which was a long jetty.
Clearing the bank off Spear Point, we ran up and anchored near H.M.S. Britomart, lying off the settlement, early in the afternoon. The sight of another vessel is ever cheering to the hearts of those who have been, as it were, for a time, cut off from the world;* nor was our arrival, bringing, as we did, news and letters, any less welcome; though after a long interval the receipt of a letter, perhaps bearing an ill omen in the very colour of its wax, is very far from generating unmixed emotions of pleasure. So much may occur in the brief space of a few months, that a seal must ever be broken with feelings of great anxiety.
(*Footnote. I well remember the sensations I experienced on first seeing a sail after an interval of nine months, and that wholly spent on the storm-beaten shores of South-western Tierra Del Fuego. J.L.S.)
PORT ESSINGTON.
We too had our share of news to be made acquainted with. Captain Stanley had been on a most interesting cruise to the Arru Islands, the deeply interesting narrative of which expedition the reader will peruse, we are sure, with unqualified satisfaction, in a later section of the present work. This meeting gave me real pleasure, though with regret I saw that he had been much harassed. Lieutenant P.B. Stewart,* of the Alligator, had also made a journey over the Peninsula, to which I shall presently further allude.
(*Footnote. Since promoted for services in China; he also served in the Beagle during her last expedition.)
We were of course extremely anxious to visit the settlement. Landing at the jetty, which we found a very creditable piece of workmanship erected under the direction of Lieutenant P.B. Stewart, we ascended the cliff, and on gaining the summit, found ourselves on a small piece of tableland partially cleared. Seen through the trees, the dwellings of the settlers had an air of neatness, pleasing to the eye. Among the other buildings in progress was the church, which, planted as it was on the northern shores of the Australian continent, was expected to form a nucleus from which offshoots might by degrees draw within its influence the islands in the Arafura Sea, and thus widely spread the pure blessings of Christianity. It is highly characteristic of our countrymen, that where with other nations, the tavern, the theatre, the dancing-house, are among the earliest buildings in a new settlement, with us everywhere the church is first thought of. In few corners of the world, where English influence has extended itself, is this otherwise than true, and it is a highly enviable distinction. It seems, indeed, that wherever the flag of Britain floats, there is made known the Word of God in its purity; and as an empire has been vouchsafed us on which the sun never sets, the extent of our influence for good in this respect is incalculable. We may venture to express our sincere hope, that our country will ever continue to enjoy this noble supremacy.