The first attempt to establish a settlement in what is now Victoria was made by David Collins who departed from England in April 1803, aboard HMS "Calcutta" with orders to establish a colony at Port Phillip. It proved to be unsuitable and as a result was subsequently removed to Van Diemen's Land. Several journeys and explorers passed the northern coast of Bass Strait in the interim, but it was not until John Batman journeyed from Van Diemen's Land in 1835 to establish a farming community at what was to become Melbourne that the new colony was established. The new settlement's prime locality between New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, and the natural resources of the area saw it grow rapidly. Initially the settlement was governed directly from Sydney, but by 1840, it was proposed that it should be self-governing. This was achieved on 1 July 1851.