"Ah, Captain," Said Freycinet, "If We Had Not
Been Kept So Long Picking Up Shells And Collecting Butterflies At Van
Diemen's Land, You Would Not Have Discovered The South Coast Before Us."*
(* Flinders, Voyage 1 190.) That Was A Mild Statement Of The Case.
If
Baudin had applied himself to his task of exploration with diligence
intelligently directed, he would have discovered the south coast before
Flinders reached Australian waters.
It was at this time, also, that the
French officers learnt of the existence of Port Phillip, and probably
obtained a copy of a chart of it.
The perfect friendliness prevailing during the whole period of the stay
of the discovery ships was disturbed by only two incidents, neither of
which is of surviving importance. One consisted of a charge against
junior officers of having sold ashore rum which had been purchased, by
permission of the governor, for use during the voyage. The case was
investigated, the accusations broke down, and apologies were made to the
officers affected. The second incident arose out of a misunderstanding of
the French method of honouring the British flag on King George's
birthday. It was an affair of no consequence, and a brief explanation
soon put matters right. A British officer deemed the French mode of
"dressing" their ships to be disrespectful, but Baudin was able to show
that what was done was in accordance with the regulations of his
country's navy, which provided that "the place of honour for the flag of
a foreign nation which we intend to distinguish, must be on the starboard
of the main-yard arm." The fact that these two trivial incidents were the
only recorded elements of misunderstanding during a period of nearly six
months, at a time when animosities between English and French people - and
especially sailors - were extraordinarily acute, testifies to the good
manners of the French, the hospitable feeling of the English, and the
pleasant temper of all parties.
Governor King, notwithstanding his benevolent disposition, was mindful of
his responsibilities. Before a French sail was sighted he had been
advised of the fact that Baudin's ships were to visit Australian waters,
and it is quite clear that, in common with most of his contemporaries, he
was very suspicious of Gallic designs. He was a naval officer himself,
and British naval men at that period were pretty well unanimously of
Nelson's opinion, when he wrote to Hugh Elliot, "I never trust a Corsican
or a Frenchman; I would give the devil ALL the good ones to take the
remainder." The arrival of Flinders in the Investigator on May 9, and his
reports as to the presence of the French on the southern coast, made the
governor wary and watchful; and on May 21 he wrote to the Duke of
Portland suggesting the establishment of a colony at the newly discovered
Port Phillip. "I am more solicitous respecting forming this settlement
from the probability of the French having it in contemplation to make a
settlement on the north-west coast, which I cannot help thinking is the
principal object of their researches."* (* Historical Records of New
South Wales.
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