"It was indeed strange," says Péron, "to observe the monotonous and sterile character of the different portions of New Holland—the greater on account of its contrast to that of the neighbouring countries. On the north-west we had been charmed by the fertile islands of the Timor Archipelago, with their lofty mountains, rivers, streams, and forests. Yet scarcely forty-eight hours had passed since we left the desert shores of De Witt Land. Again, on the south, the wonderful vegetation and smiling slopes of Van Diemen's Land had excited our admiration, and yet more recently we had been delighted with the verdure and fertility of King Island.
"The scene changes; we reach the shore of New Holland, and are once more face to face with the desolation, the description of which must already have wearied the reader as much as it surprised the philosopher and oppressed the explorer."
The engineers who accompanied the Casuarina for the survey of Spencer Gulf, and the peninsula which divides it from the Gulf of St. Vincent, were obliged to abridge the prosecution of their discoveries in Lincoln Port, and content themselves with the thorough survey which enabled them to decide positively that no great river discharges itself into the ocean in this region. The time for their return to Kangaroo Island had arrived. But in spite of their conviction that if they delayed they would be left behind, they did not hasten their movements sufficiently, and upon reaching the rendezvous found that the captain of the Géographe had already started, without concerning himself in the least about the Casuarina, although her stock of provisions was very inadequate.
Baudin decided to continue the exploration of the coast and the survey of St. Francis Archipelago alone—a most important undertaking, as no navigator had examined its islands separately since its first discovery by Peter Nuyts in 1627.
Flinders had really just made this exploration; but Baudin was not aware of this, and fancied himself the first European who had entered these waters since their discovery.
When the Géographe reached King George's Harbour upon the 6th of February, the Casuarina had already arrived there, but in such a damaged condition that her captain had been obliged to run her aground.
King George's Sound, discovered in 1791 by Vancouver, is of great importance, as being the only point throughout an extent of coast equal to the distance between Paris and St. Petersburg where it is possible to rely upon obtaining sweet water at all seasons of the year.
In spite of its advantages in this respect, the surrounding country is very barren. M. Boullanger in his "Journal" says, "The aspect of the country inland at this point is perfectly horrible; even birds are scarce: it is a silent desert."
In one of the recesses of this bay, known as Oyster Harbour, a naturalist, named M. Faure, discovered a large river, named after the French, the mouth of which was as wide as the Seine at Paris. He undertook to ascend it, and thus penetrated as far as possible into the interior of the country. About two leagues from the entrance of the river his further progress was arrested by two embankments, solidly constructed of stones, connected with a small island, and forming an impassable obstacle.
This barrier was pierced by several openings, most of them above the low tide level, and much wider upon the side facing the sea than upon the other.