AND EXPLORATION. 137 The immediate object of this excursion was '^ not only to 1788 survey the harbour, if any were found to exist, but to ex- MmcIu amine whether there were within it any spots of ground ^*™^ capable of cultivation, and of maintaining a few families."* Of the two purposes, the discovery of good farming land was much the more important ; for up to that time no such land had been found either at the settlement or near it ; and as Phillip had been told to look to the soil as a principal means of supporting his people, the necessity for getting a large area under cultivation as soon as possible had become urgent. He did not succeed in finding any land of the kind required, except near the southern entrance of the bay, where he came upon ^' the finest piece of water I ever saw " — ^which he immediately named Pittwater, after the great Pittwater. Prime Minister. There he found ^^some good situations where the land might be cultivated " ; but they were not adapted for his purposes, although there was no want of water ; '^ we found small springs of water in most of the coves, and saw three cascades falling from a height which the rains then rendered inaccessible." Phillip spent eight Fine days in rowing about the three branches of the harbour and examining the coves ; but ^' the almost continual rains pre- vented any kind of survey." The bay was afterwards sur- veyed by Captain Hunter, in August, 1789. It proved to be a very fine piece of scenery, spreading itself out in four large branches; but the entrance of the northern branch — now called Brisbane "Water — was obstructed by a sand-bar, '^ that had only water for small vessels." The rainy weather rendering it impossible to explore either the bay or its shores Driven satisfactorily, Phillip was compelled to return sooner than he otherwise would have done; and ^'some of the people feeling the effects of the rain," he had to return by water instead of by land, and was thus prevented from examining ^' a part of the country which appeared open and free from timber."
- Collina, p. 19.
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