Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: June 18, 2025
To-day's stage was a short one, and was hoped to have been the last on this miserable river, which was now looked upon as undoubtedly the Staaten. It had in some measure improved. The timber was much larger and finer, and the lagoons extensive and deep. But a heavy storm which came down, and compelled them to camp early, soon proved what the country would be in the wet season.
It is indifferently called weeping gum, tea-tree gum, and tea-tree, although it is in no way allied to the latter. It is with the upright kind that the arid levels of the Staaten are chiefly timbered.
He gave up the attempt and sailed away, glad, no doubt, to leave this vague realm of storm and savages. It says something for his judgment that amid such surroundings he saw and noted in his log-book that the country was good. He had called it Staaten Land, on the wild guess that it extended to the island of that name off the coast of Terra del Fuego. Afterwards he altered the name to New Zealand.
The whole country between the Archer and Staaten is without water, save immediately after rain, sufficiently heavy to set the creeks running. The party camped on a small tea-tree "Gilgai," or shallow water pan, and experienced another night of heavy rain with high wind. Two more horses, Rasper and N'gress were found knocked up. Distance 18 miles.
To this immense line of coast Cook gave the name of New South Wales, from some resemblance that he saw to the coast about Swansea. By this first voyage Cook had proved that neither New Holland nor Staaten Land belonged to the great Antarctic continent, which remained the sole myth bequeathed by the ancients which had not yet been definitely removed from the maps.
The first 15 miles travelled over to-day were good undulating forest country, timbered chiefly with box and applegum, and a few iron-barks, and intersected with numerous canal-like creeks, running north-west, but without water; the last three miles was wretchedly bad, being similar to the tea-tree country of the Staaten.
But he then proceeded farther, and arrived soon at a land which he saw reason to identify with the Staaten Land of Tasman; but on coasting along this, Cook found that, so far from belonging to a great southern continent, it was composed of two islands, between which he sailed, giving his name to the strait separating them.
Making an early start, the party followed up the Staaten for eight miles, the general course being about N.E. Here it was jointed by Cockburn creek, which they ran up until they reached the cattle party encamped at the lagoons, where the Leader had marked trees STOP. They had reached this place on the 13th inst., without further accident or disaster, and seeing the trees, camped as instructed.
This was not covered with the stiff grass, nor the dry wind-grass of the plains north of the Staaten; but it bore a fine crop of tender grasses, which rendered them infinitely more valuable for the pasture of horses and cattle. At the west side of the plain, we found a chain of fine long lagoons, surrounded by Polygonum, and apparently well stocked with fish.
Kant, the German philosopher, on his clock-like rounds in Königsberg, knew something of England and writes of her: "Die englische Nation, als Volk betrachtet, ist das schätzbarste Ganze von Menschen im Verhältniss unter einander; aber als Staat gegen fremde Staaten der verderblichste, gewaltsamste, herrschsüchtigste und kriegerregendste von allen."
Word Of The Day
Others Looking