Page:Narrative of a survey of the intertropical and western coasts of Australia, Volume 2.djvu/268

 COASTS OF AUSTRAL{A.  tection of ships passing to our Iudian possessions from Port Jacksou, and admirabl]y 8ituated for the purposes of mercantile speculation. Such, then, are the first fruits of the voyages I have had the honour to d/rect. Much, however, of the ooast yet remains to be examined; and although, for the general purposes of navigation, it has been quite suffw. ionfly explored, yet there are many spaces upon the chart leR blank, that would be highly interesting to esmine, and really important to know. We have but a slight knowledge also of the natural history of the conti- nent; slight, however, as R is, no country has ever produced a more extraordinary assemblage 6f indigenous productions ;--no country has proved richer than Australia in every branch of natural history; and it has, besides, this advantage, that as the greater part is yet entirely unkuown, so much the more does it excite the interest of the geographer and naturalist. The examination of its vast interior can only be performed by degrees: want of navigable rivers will naturally impede such a task, but all these difficulties will be, gradually overcome by e indefatigable zeal of our countrymen, of whose researches in all parts of the world the present thues teem w/th such ntunerous ex- amples. Rg {

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