Whilst this sheet was going through the press accounts were received at the Admiralty from Captain J.G. Bremer, C.B. of H.M. Ship Tamar who was despatched by the government in the early part of last year (1824) to take possession of Arnhem's Land, upon the north coast of the continent, and to form an establishment upon the most eligible spot that could be found for a mercantile depot. Of the proceedings of this expedition the following particulars have been communicated to me by Lieutenant J.S. Roe, my former companion and assistant, who was appointed lieutenant of the Tamar upon her being destined for that service; and which, as the sequel of the voyage I have been describing, cannot be deemed irrelevant or uninteresting, since the place fixed upon by Captain Bremer was discovered during the early part of the said voyage.*
(*Footnote. See volume 1.)
The Tamar arrived at Port Jackson on the 28th of July, 1824; when every facility was rendered by the colonial government to further the object in view. The expedition sailed thence in less than a month with a detachment of the 3rd regiment and forty-five convicts, in addition to the party of Royal Marines that had been embarked before the Tamar left England. The establishment was placed under the command of Captain Barlow of the 3rd regiment. A merchant ship, the Countess of Harcourt, was taken up to convey the stores and provisions, and the Lady Nelson, colonial brig, was also placed at the disposal of the commandant.
Lieutenant Roe, in describing this voyage to me, writes: "We had a very favourable passage to the northward, and in less than three weeks cleared Torres Strait by the route you recommended to Captain Bremer, without encountering any accident. We nevertheless saw several shoals that, in our former voyages in the Mermaid and Bathurst, were not noticed; by reason of the greater altitude of the Tamar's masthead affording a much more extensive view on either side of our course." The particulars of these discoveries of Lieutenant Roe are given in the Appendix, under the description of the North-East Coast, in the order in which they occur.
Having cleared Torres Strait the Tamar anchored in Port Essington. Lieutenant Roe then says, "Having brought the ship to anchor off Table Point in Port Essington, all the boats were hoisted out and the marines landed, when, an union-jack being fixed upon a conspicuous tree near the extremity of the point, formal possession was taken of the north coast of Australia, between the meridians of 129 and 136 degrees East of Greenwich. The marines fired three volleys, and the Tamar a royal salute, upon the occasion.
"Our first object being to find water, parties were despatched in various directions for that purpose; but after traversing many miles of country, and coasting a great deal of the port, only one place was discovered (the low sandy east point of entrance to Inner Harbour) where any was to be procured, and it was then only obtained by digging deep holes in the sand. A large Malay encampment had recently removed from this spot, leaving their fireplaces and temporary couches, and large piles of firewood to season, in readiness for their next visit. No natives were seen, not even at our old place in Knockers Bay. The adjoining country was found to be very good forest land, well timbered, but parched with drought, which was by no means in favour of our views. Having buried a sealed bottle upon the sandy point, containing an account of our proceedings, we named it Point Record,* and sailed at the expiration of two days for Apsley Strait.
(*Footnote. Point Record is the low sandy point on the left of the picture in the view of Port Essington, volume 1.)
"Light winds retarded our arrival off Cape Van Diemen until the 24th, and it was not before the 26th that we brought up close to Luxmoore Head, in St. Asaph Bay. Possession was here taken in a similar manner and with the same forms as at Port Essington, and we commenced a strict search for water in every direction in the neighbourhood of the head, which appeared so desirable and commanding a position, that it was with great reluctance we eventually gave up all idea of settling there, on not finding fresh water in its neighbourhood.
"At the expiration of five or six days a small river and plenty of water was discovered on Melville Island abreast of Harris Island; and an eligible situation for the intended new settlement being discovered near it, the ships were removed thither on the 2nd of October, and parties landed to commence immediate operations with the axe and saw. The projection of land fixed upon for the site of a town, was named after the commandant (Captain Barlow). The cove in which the ships were at anchor was named King's Cove by Captain Bremer, after yourself, as the original discoverer of the strait; and that part of Apsley Strait, between Luxmoore Head and Harris Island,* received the name of Port Cockburn, in honour of Vice Admiral Sir George Cockburn, G.C.B., one of the Lords of the Admiralty.
(*Footnote. Harris Island was named by me after my friend John Harris, Esquire, formerly surgeon of the 102nd Regiment, who has served so long and so faithfully in various offices under the government of New South Wales.)