ascended Richmond Hill, from whose crest they looked across a deep,
wooded valley to the mountains still many miles away. After a hasty
examination of the country on the banks of the river, Phillip and his
band returned to the settlement, he having now realised his brightest
hopes and anticipations.

On the 11th of April, 1791, Phillip again started on an expedition, the
object of which was a closer inspection of the Blue Mountains. He was
accompanied this time by Captain Tench and Lieutenant Dawes; the latter,
in December, 1789, had been sent out with a small party to reach the foot
of the range, but had succeeded in approaching only within eleven miles
of the Mountains, whence he was forced to retire by the rugged and broken
nature of the country. On the present occasion, they reached the river
two days after leaving Rose Hill. They followed it for another two days,
but made no further discoveries, being greatly delayed by the constant
detours around the heads of small tributary creeks, too deep to cross in
the neighbourhood of the river.

This was the last exploring expedition undertaken by Governor Phillip.
Considering that his health was not robust, and that the work entailed
was of a specially arduous nature, his personal share in exploring the
country about the little settlement was noteworthy. It proved him to
possess both the foresight and the energy necessary in an explorer.

1.2. CAPTAIN TENCH.

In the month of June, 1789, Captain Watkin Tench, who, during his short
sojourn in the infant colony showed himself as zealous in exploration as
he was keen in his observations, started from the newly-formed redoubt at
Rose Hill, of which he was in command, on a short excursion to examine