JANUARY 12th, 1836. ... Having entered the harbour, it appears ?ne and spacious, with cliff-formed shores of horizontally strati?ed sandstone. The nearly level country is covered with thin scrubby trees, bespeaking the curse of sterility. Proceeding further inland, the country improves: beautiful villas and nice cottages are here and there scattered along the beach. In the distance stone houses, two and three stories high, and windmills standing on the edge of a bank, pointed out to us the neighbourhood of the capital of Australia. At last we anchored within Sydney Cove. We found the little basin occupied by many large ships, and surrounded by warehouses. In the evening I walked through the town, and returned full of admiration at the whole scene. It is a most magni?cent testimony to the power of the British nation.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE
by Charles Robert Darwin (1809–1882)