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Sydney New South Wales May 27 1799
Sir
Although I am not personally known to you, you are not, I believe, entirely ignorent [ignorant] of my name. It was mentioned to you by Mr. Nevile of Wellingore in Lincolnshire in the year 1794, and I in the summer of that year called at your house in London, but you were at that time in the country. Shortly afterwards His Majestys Ship Reliance of which I was then and have ever since been the surgeon sailed from the river Thames on her voyage to this country.
I arrived here with the professed intention of exploring more of the country than any of my predecessors in the colony; so that it may be expected I have not been altogether idle. Besides enlarging its geography, I was anxious to procure new or rare specimens of subjects in natural history; a pursuit well agreeing with the bent of my inclination, but badly adapted to the little extra professional knowledge I possessed. I attempted it, however; but soon learnt that the traveller here whose finances deny him the assistance of horses or carriages is too much incommoded by his own provisions and firearms to be able to collect specimens of any kind.
To range the woods in quest of and to collect
Sept 2