AN UNSUSPECTED POPULATION. 303 How Ht&e was known of tlie country at this time may be 1788 seen in PkilUp^s innocent remark about the existence of ^*'^- natiyes fifty miles inland. It had not even occurred ta him as a probability that the interior of New Holland might be peopled with aboriginals, and that those whom he saw An unknown. around him might be but a handful of the many tribes ^^ moving over its immense surface. As a matter of fact, nothing was then known about the country or its inhabi* tants beyond what had been learned from Cook*s Voyage. In the eyes of its first settlers, the land was a wilderness, and the natives were supposed to be confined to the sea-coast. His Majesty's birthday was observed with every possible mark King of attention our situation permitted. The three men that had been urthSiir. reprieved from death in order to be exiled were fully pardoned, and for the twenty-four hours I believe there was not one heavy heart m this part of his Majesty's dominions. The first celebration of a royal birthday in the colony took place on the 4th of June, when King George the Third attained his fiftieth year. All possible honour was paid to the occasion ; and so far as ceremonies are concerned, they differed little from those of the present day. At sun- rise, at one o'clock, and at sunset the two men-of-war in Baysi the harbour fired a salute of twenty-one guns each; on shore the colours were hoisted at the Flagstaff ; at twelve o'clock, the battalion of marines was under arms, and con- cluded its parade by firing three voUies, followed by three rounds of cheering. Then came a levee at Government The z«»^ House, at which the Lieutenant-Governor, attended by all the officers of his corps, the captains and other oflicers of the men-of-war, the members of the Civil Service, and others, paid their respects to his Excellency in person. The levee was followed by a dinner at Government House at The dinner, two o'clock, when Phillip's French cook* had an opportunity
- The French cook, according to Tench, was '* constantly made the butt
of his ridicule " by Baneelon, the native whom Phillip had captured and tamed, and who mimicked his voice, gait, and other peculiarities with great exactness and drollery. — Complete Account, p. 57. Digitized by Google
