ined
some information from Mr. Tyers and his friends, but he went no
further into the country. Next morning he started with his two
troopers on his return to Melbourne, and the other gentlemen mounted
their horses to accompany him; but the "worthy superintendent" rode
so fast that he left everyone behind and was soon out of sight, so
his intended escort returned to port. Mr. Latrobe's view of
Gippsland was very cursory.

Rabbit Island was stocked with rabbits in 1839 by Captain Wishart,
the whaler. In 1840 he anchored his barque, the 'Wallaby', in Lady's
Bay, and lanced his last whale off Horn Point. A great, grey shark
happened to be cruising about the whaling ground, the taste of blood
was on the sea, and he followed the wounded whale; until, going round
in her flurry, she ran her nose against Wishart's boat and upset it.
Then the shark saw strange animals in the water which he had never
seen before. He swam under them and sniffed at their tarry trousers,
until they landed on the rocks: all but one, Olav Pedersen, a strong
man but a slow swimmer. A fin arose above the water between Olav and
the shore. He knew what that meant, and his heart failed him. Three
times he called for help and Wishart threw off his wet clothes and
plunged into the sea. The shark was attracted to the naked captain,
and he bit a piece out of one leg. Both bodies were recovered; that
of Wishart was taken to Hobarton, and Olav was buried on the shore at
the foot of a gum tree. His epitaph was painted on a board nailed to
the tree, and was seen by one of the pioneers on his first voyage to
the Old Port in 1841.

Before Gippsland was brought under the law, Rabbit Island was
colonised by two whalers named Page and Yankee Jim, and Page's wife
and baby. They built a bark hut, fenced in a garden with a
rabbit-proof fence, and planted it with potatoes. Their base of
supplies for groceries was at the Old Port.

They were monarchs of all they surveyed,
From the centre all round to the sea.

They paid no rent and no taxes. Sometimes they fished, or went to
the seal islands and brought back seal skins. In the time of the
potato harvest, and when that of the mutton birds drew near, there
were signs of trouble coming from the mainland. Fires were visible
on the shore at night, and smoke by day; and Page suspected that the
natives were preparing to invade the island. At length canoes
appeared bobbing up and down on the waves, but a shot