anian aboriginals, now
an extinct race of men. A human voice was heard coming from the hills.
The two leaders of the expedition landed, taking with them a swan as an
offering of friendship, and met an aboriginal man and two women. The
women ran off, but the man stayed and accepted the swan "with rapture."
He was armed with three spears, but his demeanour was friendly. Bass and
Flinders tried him with such words as they knew of the dialects of New
South Wales and the South Sea Islands, but could not make him understand
them, "though the quickness with which he comprehended our signs spoke in
favour of his intelligence." His hair was either close-cropped or
naturally short; but it had not a woolly appearance. "He acceded to our
proposition of going to his hut; but finding from his devious route and
frequent stoppings that he sought to tire our patience, we left him
delighted with the certain possession of his swan, and returned to the
boat. This was the sole opportunity we had of communicating with any of
the natives of Van Diemen's Land."

The results of the cruise of the Norfolk were of great importance. From
the purely utilitarian point of view, the discovery of Bass Strait
shortened the voyage to Sydney from Europe by quite a week. It opened a
new highway for commerce. Turnbull, in his Voyage Round the World (1814)
discussing the advantages of the new route, mentioned that "already has
the whole fleet of China ships, under the convoy of a 64, passed through
these Straits without the smallest accident;" and he pointed out that
ships which were late in the season for China, and availed themselves of
the prevailing winds by taking the easterly route round Australia, were
thus enabled to avoid the tempestuous weather which generally faced them
to the south of Van Diemen's Land. Governor King, too, writing to the
Governor of Bombay in 1802, sent him a chart of the strait, and pointed
out that the discovery would "greatly facilitate the passage of ships
from India to this colony."

The discovery also revealed a fresh and fertile field for the occupation
of mankind. Geographically no discovery of such consequence had been made
since the noble days of Cook. It brought the names of Bass and Flinders
prominently before the scientific world, and the thoroughness with which
the latter had done his work won him warm praise from men competent to
form a judgment. Intimations concerning the discovery published in the
Naval Chronicle