Page:Physical Description of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land.djvu/29

 PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION NEW SOUTH WALES, &c.

SECTION I., MARINE AND LAND SURVEYS., INTRODUCTION. "In 1788," says Lieutenant-Colonel Collins*, "on the evening of the 25th of January, Governor Phillips arrived in Port Jackson, and anchored off the mouth of the cove intended for the settlement. The spot chosen for this purpose was at the head of the cove, near a run of fresh water which stole silently through a very thick wood, the stillness of which had then, for the first time since the creation, been interrupted by the rude sound of the labourer's axe and the downfal of its ancient inhabitants;—a stillness and tranquillity which from that day were to give place to the noise of labour, the confusion of camps and towns, and the busy hum of its new possessors. " * * * The whole of the party then present were assembled at the point where they had first landed, and on which a flag-staff had been purposely
 * Collin's "Account of the English Colony of N. S. Wales."