Page:An account of a voyage to establish a colony at Port Philip in Bass's Strait.djvu/178

( 153 ) CHAP. V.

Transactions at Port Philip from the Arrival to the Sailing of the Calcutta. — Survey of the Port. — Natives. — Communication with Port Jackson. — Determination to remove the Colony. — Examination of Western Port.

HE week following our arrival at Port Philip was occupied in searching for an eligible place to fix the settlement. As it was of the first consequence that this should be of easy access to shipping, the shores near the mouth of the port were, first examined. Here, to our great mortification, we observed a total want of fresh water, and found the soil so extremely light and sandy as to deny all hopes of successful cultivation. As it was, however, determined to