Late in 1802 Governor King of New South Wales sent the schooner Cumberland to survey King Island in Bass Strait and Port Phillip to the north of it. The purpose of the survey was to establish whether or not either location might prove a su itable site for a new settlement. The Cumberland 's party included her commander Charles Robbins, the surveyor Charles Grimes, and James Fleming , a gardener. In January and February 1803 Grimes carried out the first complete survey of Port Phillip, during which his party discovered the Yarra River. Fleming, who kept a detailed journal of the survey, later reported that the land around the river offered 'the most eligible place for a settlement', but Grimes' assessment of Port Phillip was not encouraging, and more than 30 years were to pass before Melbourne was established. Fleming's journal of the survey is accompanied by Grimes' field notes and his chart of Port Phillip.