Letter received by Banks from Arthur Phillip, 3 December 1791 (Series 37.20) - No. 0009

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island was formerly inhabited, I have not yet seen any of the chisels, they are said to be made of a very hard stone. Those who are to gather the fruit from the trees I plant, may have a pleasure which I have often wished, that of examining if there are not some Islands where the inhabitants cultivate the ground, much nearer to us, than any of those islands wch. have been discovered.

It was a matter of great surprise to me when I first arrived in this Country to find that the words used by the natives when you was here, were not understood by the present inhabitants, but in my last little journey, I found on the banks of the Hawkesbury, people