A Tedious and Uncomfortable Passage

The Investigator proved to be unseaworthy, so it was taken out of service. Captain Flinders was to return to England. If Brown had decided to sail home then, the work he accomplished up to this point would have represented a considerable accomplishment in natural history but he was not satisfied. He had already collected nearly 4000 species of plants and a sizeable amount of zoological specimens as well. The colonial authorities were happy to allow him to stay and work with local colleagues. He was given permission to stay on to explore, observe, and collect. Brown and his draftsman, Ferdinand Bauer, spent their time collecting the better part of August in the Sydney area. Brown examined the toothed guinea flower, a native plant found on the east coast of Australia in the margins of rain forests, in shady areas and plants that were popular in hanging baskets; twiggy guinea flower, a shrub that can grow to 150 cm high, with stems containing crinkly hairs, and found in the Sydney area, particularly in the southern regions of the district; small-leaved flat pea, another native plant of Australia; and bush pea, also native to the Sydney area. Brown remained in Sydney while Bauer worked in nearby Parramatta. Although initially there were no plans to explore the territory of Tasmania (Van Diemen’s Land) extensively when the itinerary for the trip was originally planned, Brown was offered the chance to travel there at the end of 1803 and he seized upon this opportunity, traveling without Bauer who remained behind in Sydney. Brown did a bit of collecting and discovered a new species of Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus amygdalina, var. Labill), belonging to the Myrtaceae family. He noted that it was the largest of the trees he observed there. His decision to remain in Tasmania to continue his explorations meant that he wound up staying there until August of 1804. From January until August 1804, Brown busied himself making observations and collecting despite being handicapped by the sparse resources at his disposal. Brown prudently took advantage of the availability of another vessel, the Ocean that was anchored at Risdon Cove in the Derwent River, using it as his base of operations. On the western banks of the Derwent River, opposite Risdon Cove, Brown observed the Blue Gum trees he saw earlier, the yellow rice flower, a shrub that grew up to 6 ft. indigenous to Australia. Brown later described this plant in his Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae (1810). Brown also observed Tasmanian hemp bush, a dioecious plant, southern sassafras, turpentine bush, and the Australian or Tasmanian tree fern. Brown had compiled an extensive handlist of the plants he observed and collected in Tasmania, he titled “Florula Montis Tabularis.” He arrived back in Sydney on August 24, 1804. Brown spent his remaining time in Australia studying the flora and fauna in the Sydney area. With no alternative and a great deal of trepidation, Brown reluctantly agreed to go on the repaired and refitted Investigator under the command of Captain Kent to return to Britain. He stowed his herbarium and the least perishable part of his collection in the ship’s hold. The Investigator departed Australia on May 23rd. After more than four difficult months at sea, it arrived in Liverpool, England, on October 13, 1805.