Australia: Land of Immigrants

Sydney was the disembarcation point of many thousands of people and the start of a new life - from the 'First Fleet' of 1788 from England to the present day. The Maritime Museum celebrated that with extracts of people's thoughts on arrival at the promised land, and one caught my eye:

'The wind was now fair, the sky serene, though a little hazy,
and the temperature of the air delightfully pleasant: joy
sparkled in every countenance, and congratulations issued from every mouth. Ithaca itself was scarcely more longed for by Odyessus, than Botany Bay by the adventurers who had traversed so many thousand miles to take possession of it'.

from the personal diary of Watkin Tench who arrived 1788.

I really like the phrase 'joy sparkled in every countenance', and must try to use it in the next directors meeting minutes.