ABSTRACT
During the 1770s the focus of the British activity in the South Pacific began to shift from the discovery of uncharted islands to a concern with the eastern coast of New Holland, in what was to become known as New South Wales. With the American Revolution of 1776, Britain had been deprived of her penal settlements in Virginia and Maryland. Decommissioned ships, or hulks, had been introduced to cope with the overflowing prison population, but a substitute penal colony was badly needed. In 1778 a House of Commons committee requested Banks's advice. The British government was also keen to establish a colony and a base in the Pacific from which to exploit the resources of New Zealand.
