136 PHILLIP 1788 to Lord Sydney lie contented himself with saying that he '^had the satisfaction of finding the finest harbour in the world, in which a thousand sail of the line may ride in the most perfect security." Fresh from the great harbour of A critical the Brazils, he had no doubt compared the two well in his comparwon. ^^^ mind before pronouncing judgment so emphatically in favour of Port Jackson.* The exploration of such a har- bour — ^which removed at once every possible doubt with respect to the ultimate success of the expedition — ^was a signal triumph for Phillip and a rich reward for his labours; and at the same time it probably acted as a powerful stimulus to further exertions in the same direction. If the Prospect of prospect of making some great discovery with which their names would be for ever identified in history has stirred the ambition of so many explorers since his time, it may he safely assumed that he too was inspired with much the same feeling. That he was so influenced by this success in a field of action altogether new to him is evident from his de- spatches; and he lost no time in following up his firet achieve- ment. As soon as the ships had come round from Botany Bay, the people had been landed, the tents pitched, clearing begun, and the colony proclaimed. Lieutenant King was Exploration despatched to Norfolk Island for the purpose" of occupying Bay. it ; and Phillip then, on the 2nd of March, set ofE to explore Broken Bay, where Captain Cook, at sunset of the day on which he had passed Port Jackson, had noticed ^'some broken land that seemed to form a bay."
- La P^rouse thought that ** the Bay of Avatscha (in Kamschatka) is cer-
tainly the finest, safest, and most commodious that is possible to be found in any part of the globe." He added : — ** Its entrance is narrow, and ships would be obliged to pass under the guns of the forts that might be erected. The bottom is mud, and excellent holding ground. Two spacious harbours, one on the east and the other on the west, are capable of receiving the whole of the French and English navies." It was in September, 1787, that the Boussole and the Astrolabe were lying in the bay of Avatscha ; and on the 26th January of the following year they dropped anchor in Botany Bay. La P^rouse remained there till the 10th of March, but never felt sufficient interest in Port Jackson to visit it, although he heard many descriptions of it from Lieutenant King and the other English officers whom he met while at Botany Bay. Digitized by Google
