After the TAMAR left for India, and the COUNTESS OF HARCOURT proceeded on
her voyage, the settlement was left with the colonial brig, the LADY
NELSON, as the nucleus of a fleet, but she sailed for Timor, and was
never heard of again. The hostility of the natives increased, and the
Malays, who were expected to visit and trade with the English, did not
put in an appearance, it being out of the track of their proas; and of
Fort Dundas, of which such high hopes were entertained, in a few short
years not a vestige remained.
At last, what with scurvy amongst the garrison (which, considering the
amount of vegetables grown, should not have been the case), the incessant
feud with the natives, the most gloomy reports were sent down at every
opportunity afforded by a vessel calling. Latterly, it was unsafe to
venture out of the camp unarmed, and the surgeon and commissariat officer
were murdered only a few yards from the stockade. The public policy
pursued was not of a liberal nature, and it was decided to try the
experiment of a settlement on the mainland.
As it was considered that Port Essington was deficient in fresh water,
Raffles Bay was selected, and two years before Melville Island was
finally abandoned, Captain Stirling, of the SUCCESS, was ordered to
proceed there.
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