Cook’s voyages had aroused the generous emulation of the French, who, to their eternal honour, had given directions to their fleet to respect his vessels wherever found, though France was at that time at war with England.  In 1783 an expedition was sent, under Francois de la Perouse, to complete Cook’s work.  He explored the north-east coast of Asia, examined the island of Saghalien, and passed through the strait between it and Japan, often called by his name.  In Kamtschatka La Perouse landed Monsieur Lesseps, who had accompanied the expedition as Russian interpreter, and sent home by him his journals and surveys.  Lesseps made a careful examination of Kamtschatka himself, and succeeded in passing overland thence to Paris, being the first European to journey completely across the Old World from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.  La Perouse then proceeded to follow Cook by examining the coast of New South Wales, and to his surprise, when entering a fine harbour in the middle of the coast, found there English ships engaged in settling the first Australian colony in 1787.  After again delivering his surveys to be forwarded by the Englishmen, he started to survey the coast of New Holland, but his expedition was never heard of afterwards.  As late as 1826 it was discovered that they had been wrecked on Vanikoro, an island near the Fijis.

We have seen that Cook’s exploration of the eastern coast of Australia was soon followed up by a settlement.  A number of convicts were sent out under Captain Philips to Botany Bay, and from that time onward English explorers gradually determined with accuracy both the coast-line and the interior of the huge stretch of land known to us as Australia.  One of the ships that had accompanied Cook on his second voyage had made a rough survey of Van Diemen’s Land, and had come to the conclusion that it joined on to the mainland.  But in 1797, Bass, a surgeon in the navy, coasted down from Port Jackson to the south in a fine whale boat with a crew of six men, and discovered open sea running between the southernmost point and Van Diemen’s Land; this is still known as Bass’ Strait.  A companion of his, named Flinders, coasted, in 1799, along the south coast from Cape Leeuwin eastward, and on this voyage met a French ship at Encounter Bay, so named from the rencontre.  Proceeding farther, he discovered Port Philip; and the coast-line of Australia was approximately settled after Captain P. P. King in four voyages, between 1817 and 1822, had investigated the river mouths.

[Illustration:  THE EXPLORATION OF AUSTRALIA.]

The interior now remained to be investigated.  On the east coast this was rendered difficult by the range of the Blue Mountains, honeycombed throughout with huge gullies, which led investigators time after time into a cul-de-sac; but in 1813 Philip Wentworth managed to cross them, and found a fertile plateau to the westward.  Next year Evans discovered the Lachlan and Macquarie rivers, and penetrated farther