As may be well supposed, the men who arrived in Australia in charge of
the first party of convicts had more pressing work on hand than devoting
their time to scientific exploration. Separated by half the world from
the source of their supplies, in charge of a body of criminals of the
most dangerous type, Arthur Phillip and his officers had no light task to
perform, and every credit must be given to the little band of pilgrims
who, beset by danger from within and without, brought the colony through
its infancy without any tragedy happening. Apparently, these early
adventurers were no whit behind travellers of the present day in bringing
back wonderful tales of their discoveries whenever they essayed a trip
into the unknown. One of the officers writes:--
"We found the convicts particularly happy in fertility of invention and
exaggerated descriptions; hence, large fresh-water rivers, valuable ores,
and quarries of limestone, chalk, and marble were daily proclaimed soon
after we had landed. At first we hearkened with avidity to such accounts,
but perpetual disappointments taught us to listen with caution, and to
believe from demonstration only.
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