Of the personality of Phillip, as we have said, little is really known. He was an obscure naval captain selected by the Government of the time to establish a penal settlement at the other side of the world. He landed on the shores of a country which, to all his companions, appeared a most forbidding and unpromising land—one that 'would never be worth anything to anyone.' Phillip, a few months after his arrival, wrote to England to assure his superiors that it would prove 'the most valuable acquisition Great Britain ever made.'
For these prophetic words alone, the man who uttered them, so far as we can come to a knowledge of him, is worth knowing. Such an understanding of his character as can be gathered by industry of research, this book endeavours to furnish.
The writers are, of course, greatly indebted to the old chroniclers, to the Historical Records of New South Wales, and the Official History by Mr G. B. Barton; and (for the use of papers and 'clues') to Mr
