Page:Australia, from Port Macquarie to Moreton Bay.djvu/144

 trough, into the boat upon the shore. The timber here is extremely well adapted for building; it is hard and durable, and is never attacked by the white ant, which is the greatest enemy to be contended with in this place.

"Of the general results which your Excellency has directed me to inquire into, of the communications with British and foreign ships since the foundation of the settlement, and the probable advantages which may be derived from such sources, I have consulted Mr. Earl, and his opinion is, that one of the objects in forming this settlement was, that it might become a port of refuge for vessels that had received damage in the adjacent seas, and for the crews of such as might be lost: it has certainly proved beneficial.

"In 1841, the crew of the Montreal, a ship which had been lost on Alert reef, to the westward of Torres Straits, came to this port in their boats, and as the monsoon blew that year with great strength, it is doubtful if they could have reached any port in Timor. The Lord Auckland was hove down here and repaired by Captain M&lsquo;Arthur. The two strongest cases were those of the ship Manlius and the little cutter Harriet from Timor; had not this settlement existed, the crew of the former must have perished, their provisions being nearly expended, and they would have been unable to leave this coast for nearly three months, owing to the monsoon, if she had not, indeed, caught fire from her damaged cotton long before the period elapsed."