Page:Narrative of a survey of the intertropical and western coasts of Australia, Volume 1.djvu/236

 174 tlRVEY OP  IW!WFROPICAL lSlO. formed at this harbour; which, at present, is used May s only as a penal settlement: hitherto, no settlers have been permitted to take their grants at Port Macquarie; but, when this is allowed,-it Will, from the superiority of its climate, and the great eXtent of fine country in the interior, become a very important and valuabl.e dependency of the colony of New South Wales. The natural pductions of this place are, in a � great measure, similar to those of the neighbout'.. hood of Port Jackson; but many planis were found which axe not known in the colony; and as these grow in all parts within the tropic, the cli- mate of Port Maccluarie, may naturally be sus- pected to be fay0urable to the cotton-plant and the sugar-cane, leither of which have yet been cultivated to the southward: among these plants, we found the pat&mus paimctdatu, which Mr. Brown found in th, Gulf of Carpentaria, and many other parts within the tropic, in Captain Flinders' voyage. The face of the hill on the south side of the entrance possesses some good soil; and, at the time of our visit *, was covered with a profusion �It is ou this Vail that the peril settlement of Port Mmqnarie is now built, the situation having been selected at the reconnnen- dation of Lieutenant Oxley. It was settled by Captain Allman of the 4th regiment, in the early part of the year 181.

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