Chapter 1: Land Ahoy!
Six weeks had passed since the successful mutiny, however the "Charlotte" had yet to reach New Zealand. The crew were getting anxious as supplies were running low, and Arthur was forced to halve the rations for the remaining food and water, further adding to the crew's missery. Word was spreading of a second mutiny against Arthur to re-instate Captain Gilbert and turn the ship back towards New South Wales, however just as tensions were about to boil over, a young sailor by the name of Henry Fisher, yelled out from the crow's nest "LAND AHOYYYYY". Arthur rushed to the upper deck, pulled out his telescope and was delighted to see the green speck of land after having being surrounded by nothing but open ocean for months on end. The crew were overjoyed, breaking out into song and dance "What shall we do with the drunken sailor? Early in the morning!"..."Wey hey and up she rises. Early in the morning!".
As the battered ship approached the great landmass ahead, Arthur was on the lookout for a safe place to drop anchor. The "Charlotte" was steered into a wide open bay, dotted with several heavily wooded islands. As the ship entered the great bay, numerous smaller bays, inlets and coves were revealed, offering shelter and protection from the brisk ocean breeze.
After a quick survey of the surrounding areas, Arthur selected one of the more protected coves to the North to investigate. The narrow entrance to the cove would provide a strong defensive position and would also keep the mutineers well hidden if any unfriendly ships were to pass by. As the ship entered Arthur's Cove, the wind subsided and the waters were calm. A group of wild deer were seen drinking from a small stream nearby, indicating a reliable source of fresh water (as well as fresh meat!).
Nearly 5 months had passed since the ship had departed Cape Town, and the crew were eager to set foot on dry land once again. With the anchor finally dropped, Arthur, along with William, John and several other loyal marines, jumped in the gig and rowed out to the nearest shoreline. Believing they had reached New Zealand, Arthur ordered John to calculate their longitude and latitude to confirm where exactly they had landed. Arthur had been studying the maps that Captain Gilbert kept in his cabin and was now quite familiar with the area. He was also aware that local tribes inhabited the land, and that they would need to be cautious to avoid conflict.
After an hours work, John provided his calculations to Arthur. By comparing his makeshift sundial set up on the sand with Captain Gilbert's timepiece, which had been set to Greenwich time, he was able to estimate the longitude - "135 degrees West, sir". He would have to wait until sunset to calculate their latitude from the stars. Arthur could hardly believe what he had heard - based on Captain Gilbert's maps, New Zealand was located between 170 and 175 degrees East! The had travelled well beyond their planned destination and arrived at a land which did not make any appearance in any of the maps he had seen. To be sure, the party would need to wait for sunset for John to confirm the latitude.
In the meantime, the rest of the crew began to disembark, bringing supplies and setting up camp along the rocky shores. Fortunately for the crew, during the stop-over in Cape Town, several cows, sheep and horses had been brought aboard, all of which had managed to survive the rough journey. Bags of seeds, boxes of tools, several tents, and a large surplus of gunpowder were also brought ashore.
As night began to fall, the tents were erected, a fire was lit, and John began his work calculating the latitude. After a short while, he estimated a latitude of 50 degrees South - even further south than New Zealand's South Island. It was now apparant to everyone that they had indeed not arrived at New Zealand, but had stumbled upon a completely new undiscovered land - possibly completely unknown to the rest of the civilised world. With this revelation, feelings of both excitement and fear rippled through the camp - on one hand it was miraculous that they had discovered a new land which they could claim as their own, starting a new life free of the shackles of the British Empire. However, on the other, they had entered the great unknown, completely isolated from the world around them, and most likely assumed to have perished at sea. Would anyone even begin to look for them? Would anybody find them? Could they really survive in such remote isolation? The odds were against them, however the convicts were a hardy bunch and their will to survive was quite a match for the challenges ahead.
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