It was some years, however, before Hunter was given a chance, which came to him when serving in the West Indies, under Sir George Rodney, who appointed him a lieutenant, and the appointment was confirmed by the Admiralty. In 1782 he was again under Lord Howe as first lieutenant of the _Victory_, and soon after was given the command of the _Marquis de Seignelay_. Then came the Peace of Paris, and Hunter's next appointment was to the _Sirius_. There is very little doubt from a study of the _Naval Chronicle's_ biographies and from the letters of Lord Howe that, if that nobleman had had his way, Hunter would have been the first governor of New South Wales, and it is equally likely that, if Hunter had been appointed to the chief command, the history of the expedition would have had to be written very differently, for brave and gallant as he was, he was a man without method. When Phillip was appointed to govern the colonizing expedition and to command the _Sirius_, Hunter was posted as second captain of the frigate, in order that the ship, when Phillip assumed his shore duties, should be commanded by a post-captain. A few days after the arrival of the fleet Hunter set to work, and in the ship's boats thoroughly surveyed Port Jackson. He was a keen explorer, and besides being one of the party who made the important discovery of the Hawkesbury river, he charted Botany and Broken Bays; and his charts as well as land maps, published in a capital book he wrote giving an account of the settlement, show how well he did the work.[C] [Footnote C: _An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson, etc., etc.,_ by John Hunter, Esq., Post-Captain R.N. (London, 1793.)] In September, 1788, Hunter sailed from Port Jackson [Sidenote: 1788] for the Cape of Good Hope, to obtain supplies for the half-starving colony. On the voyage he formed the opinion that New Holland was separated from Van Diemen's Land by a strait, an opinion to be afterwards confirmed in its accuracy by Bass. The poor old _Sirius_ came in for some bad weather on the trip, and a glimpse of Hunter's character is given to us in a letter written home by one of the youngsters (Southwell) under him, who tells us that Hunter, knowing the importance of delivering stores to the half-famished settlers, drove the frigate's crazy old hull along so that--