Dip of the south end of the needle, 50 deg. 20'.

Variation from azimuths with the theodolite, 7 deg. 40' east; but on the top of the island, where my bearings were taken, the variation appeared to be 8 deg. 30' east; and 8 deg. in other parts of the port.

The time of high water, as near as it could be ascertained, was ten hours after the moon's passage over and under the meridian, being half an hour later than in Keppel Bay; and the tide rises more than nine feet, but how much was not known; it is however to be presumed, from what was observed to the south and to the north of Port Bowen, that the spring tides do not rise less than fifteen feet.

TUESDAY 24 AUGUST 1802

At daylight of the 24th, we steered out of Port Bowen by the northern passage, as we had gone in. The wind was from the westward; but so light, that when the ebb tide made from the north-west at ten o'clock, it was necessary to drop the kedge anchor for a time. In the evening we came to, in 10 fathoms fine grey sand, one mile and a half from the main; being sheltered between N. E. by E. and E. by S. by the same cluster of small isles upon which the pine trees had been first seen. In the morning [WEDNESDAY 25 AUGUST 1802] we worked onward along the coast, against a breeze at north-west, till ten o'clock; when the tide being unfavourable, an anchor was dropped in 15 fathoms, sand and shells, near three islets, of which the middlemost and highest bore S. 29 deg. E., one mile: these were also a part, and the most northern of Harvey's Isles.

A boat was lowered down, and I landed with the botanical gentlemen on the middle islet; where we found grass and a few shrubs, and also ants, grasshoppers, and lizards. Upon the rocks were oysters of the small, crumply kind, which seemed to indicate that the sea here is not violently agitated; and in the water we saw several large turtle, but were not able to harpoon any of them. Several of the Northumberland Isles were in sight from the top of the islet, and the following observations were taken.

Latitude, observed in artificial horizon, 22 deg. 20' 42" Longitude, deduced from survey, 150 42 Peaked Islet in the offing bore S. 35 35 E. Island Head, distant 3 miles, S. 82 45 W. Cape Townshend, the rock near it, N. 57 45 W. Northumberland Isle, the 4th, a peak, N. 43 30 W.

When the tide slacked in the afternoon we stretched over towards Island Head, and saw a canoe with two Indians, who made for the shore near a place where the woods were on fire. At dusk we anchored in 18 fathoms, soft mud, in a bight between Island Head and Cape Townshend, at the bottom of which was an opening one mile wide, where captain Cook had suspected an entrance into Shoalwater Bay. The Lady Nelson had fallen to leeward, as usual; and not being come up in the morning [THURSDAY 26 AUGUST 1802], the master was sent ahead of the ship in a boat, and we steered for the opening with a strong flood tide in our favour. From 22 fathoms, the water shoaled to 12, and suddenly to 3, on a rocky bottom, just as we reached the entrance. A kedge anchor was dropped immediately; but seeing that the opening went through, and that the master had deep water further in, it was weighed again, and we backed and filled the sails, drifting up with the tide so long as it continued to run. At nine o'clock the anchor was let go in 6 fathoms, sand and shells, one mile within the entrance, the points of which bore N. 34 deg. and S. 89 deg. E.; but the extent of deep water was barely sufficient for the ship to swing at a whole cable.

[EAST COAST. STRONG-TIDE PASSAGE.]

(Atlas, Plate XI.)

Lieutenant Flinders landed on the north side of the entrance, and observed the latitude 22 deg. 17' 53', from an artificial horizon; and a boat was sent to haul the seine upon a beach on the eastern shore, where fish to give half the ship's company a meal was procured. We had no prospect of advancing up the passage until the turn of tide, at three in the afternoon; and I therefore landed with a party of the gentlemen, and ascended the highest of the hills on the eastern side. From the top of it we could see over the land into Port Bowen; and some water was visible further distant at the back of it, which seemed to communicate with Shoal-water Bay. Of the passage where the ship was lying, there was an excellent view; and I saw not only that Cape Townshend was on a distinct island, but also that it was separated from a piece of land to the west, which captain Cook's chart had left doubtful. Wishing to follow the apparent intention of the discoverer, to do honour to the noble family of Townshend, I have extended the name of the cape to the larger island, and distinguish the western piece by the name of Leicester Island. Besides these, there were many smaller isles scattered in the entrance of Shoal-water Bay; and the southernmost of them, named Aken's Island after the master of the ship, lies in a bight of the western shore. Out at sea there were more of the Northumberland Islands, further westward than those before seen, the largest being not less distant than fifteen leagues; Pier Head, on the west side of Thirsty Sound, was also visible; and in the opposite direction was the highest of the two peaks behind Cape Manifold, the bearing of which connected this station with Port Curtis and Keppel Bay. The view was, indeed, most extensive from this hill; and in compliment to the landscape painter, who made a drawing from thence of Shoal-water Bay and the islands, I named it Mount Westall.* The bearings most essential to the connection of the survey, were these;

Pier Head, the northern extreme, N. 62 deg. 40' W. Aken's Island in Shoal-water Bay, N. 86 55 W. Pine Mount, on its west side, S. 80 40 W. Double Mount, S. 56 35 W. Cape Manifold., highest peak behind it, S. 20 10 E. West-water Head in Port Bowen, S. 30 25 E. Northern Harvey's Isles, last station, N. 81 20 E. Cape Townshend, north-east extreme, N. 20 25 W. Northumberland Isles, the 4th, a peak, N. 26 25 W.

[* A painting was made of this view, and is now in the Admiralty; but it has not been engraved for the voyage.]

Mount Westall and the surrounding hills are stony, and of steep ascent; pines grow in the gullies, and some fresh water was found there, standing in holes. The lower hills are covered with grass and trees, as is also the low land, though the soil be shallow and sandy; the wood is mostly eucalyptus. No natives were seen during our walk, and only one kangaroo.

At dusk in the evening, when we returned on board, I found the Lady Nelson at anchor near us, and two boats absent from the ship. In hauling them up to be hoisted in, the cutter had been upset from the rapidity of the tides, which ran above four knots, the man in her was thrown out, and the boat went adrift. The man was taken up by the Lady Nelson; but the boatswain, who with two men in a small gig had gone after the cutter, was not heard of till next morning [FRIDAY 27 AUGUST 1802], when he returned without any intelligence of his object, having been bewildered in the dark by the rapid tides in a strange place, and in danger of losing himself.

[EAST COAST. SHOAL-WATER BAY.]

On weighing the kedge anchor to go further up the passage, it came up broken near the crown, having in all probability hooked a rock. The Lady Nelson went one mile ahead, a boat was kept sounding close to the ship, and in this manner we drifted up with the flood tide, till half past eight; when another kedge anchor was dropped in 7 fathoms, a short mile from the land on each side, and two from the inner end of the opening. Lieutenant Fowler was immediately sent away in the whale boat, to search for the lost cutter; and in the mean time we weighed with the afternoon's flood, to get through the passage. On approaching a low, triangular island on the eastern shore, the depth diminished quick, and an anchor was let go; but in swinging to it, the ship caught upon a bank of sand and shells where there was no more than twelve feet water. In half an hour the tide floated her off; and the whale boat having returned, but without any information of the cutter, it was kept ahead; and before dark we anchored in 5 fathoms, at the entrance of Shoalwater Bay.

The opening through which we had come was named Strong-tide Passage. It is six miles long, and from one to two broad; but half the width is taken up by shoals and rocks, which extend out from each shore and sometimes lie near the mid-channel; and the rapid tides scarcely leave to a ship the choice of her course. The bottom is rocky in the outer entrance, but in the upper part seems more generally to consist of sand and shells. By the swinging of the ship, it was high water ten hours after the moon's passage, and the rise was thirteen feet by the lead; but at the top of the springs it is probably two or three feet greater; and the rate at which the tides then run, will not be less than five miles an hour. It will be perceived, that I do not recommend any ship to enter Shoal-water Bay by this passage.

SATURDAY 28 AUGUST 1802

In the morning, I went in the whale boat to the westward, both to search for the lost cutter and to advance the survey. In crossing the inner end of Strong-tide Passage, my soundings were 5, 4, 3, 21/2, 2, 3 fathoms, to a rock near the south end of Townshend Island, whence it appeared that the deepest water was close to the Shoals on the eastern side. After searching along the shore of Townshend Island., and amongst the rocky islets near it, I crossed the western channel over to the south end of Leicester Island; where a set of bearings was taken, and the latitude observed to be 22 deg. 18' 17" from an artificial horizon. This channel is about one mile wide, and I proceeded up it until a passage out to sea was clearly distinguishable; but although there be from 4 to 7 fathoms with a soft bottom, the deep part is too narrow for a stranger to pass with a ship. I returned on board in the evening, without having discovered any traces of the lost cutter or seen any thing worthy of particular notice; unless it were three of the large bats, called flying foxes at Port Jackson: when on the wing and at a distance, these animals might be taken for crows.

SUNDAY 29 AUGUST 1802

On the following morning, we got up the anchor and steered further into Shoal-water Bay. The land on the western side appeared to be high; and as the botanists were likely to find more employment there, during the time of my proposed expedition to the head of the bay, than they could promise themselves at any other place, I was desirous of leaving the ship on that side, in a situation convenient for them. After running three miles to the westward, mostly in 3 fathoms, we anchored in 6, till four o'clock, and then again weighed. The soundings became very irregular; and at five, seeing a shoal which extended up and down the middle of the bay, we tacked from it and came to, in 5 fathoms soft bottom, it being then low water.

Mount Westall bore N. 86 deg. E. Leicester Island, the south end, N. 9 W. Pine Mount, S. 78 W.

The western land was still six or seven miles distant, but there was no prospect of getting nearer, without taking time to make a previous examination of the shoal; and I therefore embarked early next morning [MONDAY 30 AUGUST 1802] on board the brig, and proceeded towards the head of the Bay.

Steering south-eastward, in a slanting course up the bay from the middle shoal, we had from 5 to 8 fathoms; and passed a shallow opening in the eastern low shore, four miles above Strong-tide Passage. Three miles higher up there was another opening, near two miles in width; and the wind being then light and foul, I quitted the brig and proceeded three miles up in my boat, when the arm was found to be divided into two branches. Pursuing that which led eastward in a line for Port Bowen, and was three-quarters of a mile wide, I carried a diminishing depth, from 6 fathoms to six feet, above two miles further; and the branch then terminated at the foot of a ridge of hills. I wished much to ascend this ridge, believing that Westwater Head in Port Bowen, lay close at the back; but the shore was so defended by mud flats and interwoven mangroves, that it was impossible to land.

The other branch of the eastern arm led south-eastward, and was a mile wide, with a depth of 6 fathoms as far as two miles above the division; it then separated into three, but the entrances were shallow and the borders every where muddy and covered with mangroves. I therefore returned to the brig which had anchored at the entrance of the branch; and in the night, we dropped out of the eastern arm with the tide, to be ready for going up the bay with the morning's flood.

TUESDAY 31 AUGUST 1802

On the 31st, in steering for the middle of the bay, the brig grounded upon a spit which runs out from the south point of entrance to the eastern arm, and I believe extends so far down the bay as to join the middle shoal near the ship. The bottom was muddy, and the rising tide soon floated her; but our progress being slow, I went onward in the boat and got into a channel of a mile wide, with regular soundings from 6 to 4 fathoms.

Abreast of the eastern arm, the width of the bay had diminished to about four miles; and in advancing upwards, I found it to go on contracting until, at four miles above the arm, the shores were less than one mile asunder, and the head of the bay assumed the form of a river, though the water remained quite salt. The depth here was from 4 to 6 fathoms; and the east side of the contracted part being a little elevated, I was able to land and take a set of angles to fix its position. The width and depth continued nearly the same two miles higher up, to a woody islet in the middle of the channel; where the latitude 22 deg. 37' 6" was observed from an artificial horizon, and more bearings taken.

A ship may get up as high as this islet, for the channel is no where less than half a mile wide, nor the depth in it under 3 fathoms; but there the stream divides into several branches, which appeared to terminate amongst the mangroves, similar to the branches of the eastern arm. The largest runs S. S. E; and I could see three or four miles up it, near to the foot of the hills behind Cape Manifold, where it probably ends, as did the southern arm of Port Bowen.

The islet had been visited by Indians, and several trees upon it were notched, similar to what is done by the people of Port Jackson when they ascend in pursuit of opossums. Upon the main, to the west of the islet, where I walked a mile inland, fire Places and other signs of inhabitants were numerous, and still more so were those of the kangaroo; yet neither that animal nor an Indian was seen. Around the extinguished fires were scattered the bones of turtle, and the shells of crabs, periwinkles, and oysters of the small kind; and in the low grounds I observed many holes, made apparently by the natives in digging for fern roots. An iguana of between two and three feet long, which lay upon the branch of a high tree watching for its prey, was the sole animal killed; but the mud banks are frequented at low water by sea pies of both kinds, curlews, and small cranes.

The soil was stiff, shallow, and often stony; the vegetation consisted of two or three species of eucalyptus and the casuarina, not thickly set nor large—of several kinds of shrubs, amongst which a small grass-tree was abundant—and of grass, with which the rest of the soil was thinly overspread.

After making my observations, I rejoined the Lady Nelson two miles below the woody islet; but the wind blowing fresh up the bay, and the brig being leewardly, went on and with some difficulty landed on the west side, opposite to the entrance of the eastern arm. This part is stony; but equally low with the rest of the shores, and is probably an island at high water. A confined set of bearings was taken here; and the sun being then nearly down and the brig at anchor, I went on board for the night. Next afternoon [WEDNESDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 1802], when the ebb tide enabled the vessel to make progress against the strong north-west wind, we beat down in a channel of between one and two miles wide, with soundings from 2 to 8 fathoms; but they were not regular, for the depth was less in some parts of the middle than at the sides of the channel. The wind moderated in the evening; and being then within three miles of the ship, I quitted the brig, and got on board at sunset.

One object of my research in this expedition had been the lost cutter, and orders had been left with lieutenant Fowler to send again into Strong-tide Passage upon the same errand, but all was without success.

During my absence, the naturalist and other gentlemen had gone over in the launch to the west side of the bay, where they had an interview with sixteen natives; their appearance was described as being much inferior to the inhabitants of Keppel and Hervey's Bays, but they were peaceable, and seemed to be very hungry. They had bark canoes which, though not so well formed, were better secured at the ends than those of Port Jackson; and in them were spears neatly pointed with pieces of quartz, for striking turtle. The number of bones lying about their fire places bespoke turtle to be their principal food; and with the addition of shell fish, and perhaps fern roots, it is probably their sole support.

The same muddy flats which rendered landing so difficult in the upper parts of the bay, run off to some distance from the shore under Double Mount; and the land is low for two or three miles back. The hills then rise, ridge over ridge to a considerable elevation; and at the top are several hummocks, of which two, higher than the rest, obtained for this high land its present name. So far as the gentlemen were able to ascend, the hills were found to be tolerably well covered with pines and other trees; and the soil of the vallies was better than in those near Mount Westall on the opposite side of the bay.

THURSDAY 2 SEPTEMBER 1802

Early on the 2nd the brig rejoined; and the wind being at S. by E., we steered across towards Pine Mount, passing over the shoal in sixteen feet. In crossing the middle channel, our soundings increased to 9, and then diminished to less than 3 fathoms upon a second shoal, the width of the channel here being not quite three miles. On the west side of the second shoal is another channel, nearly as wide as the former; and the greatest depth in it, reduced to low water as usual, was 8 fathoms. The water shoaled again suddenly on approaching the west side of the bay, and obliged us to veer round off; we then steered to pass within Aken's Island, intending to anchor in the West Bight behind it; but the depth not being sufficient for the ship at low water, we came to in 4 fathoms, muddy bottom, one mile from the shore and two from Aken's Island, the east end of which bore N. 27 deg. W.

Pine Mount is a single round hill with a high peaked top, standing about two miles inland from the West Bight; and to obtain a set of bearings from it which should cross those from Mount Westall, had induced me to anchor here; but finding my health too much impaired by fatigue to accomplish a laborious walk, I sent the launch next morning [FRIDAY 3 SEPTEMBER 1802] with the scientific gentlemen, and as an easier task, landed upon Aken's Island and took angles from the little eminence at its north-east end.

At every port or bay we entered, more especially after passing Cape Capricorn, my first object on landing was to examine the refuse thrown up by the sea. The French navigator, La Perouse, whose unfortunate situation, if in existence, was always present to my mind, had been wrecked, as it was thought, somewhere in the neighbourhood of New Caledonia; and if so, the remnants of his ships were likely to be brought upon this coast by the trade winds, and might indicate the situation of the reef or island which had proved fatal to him. With such an indication, I was led to believe in the possibility of finding the place; and though the hope of restoring La Perouse or any of his companions to their country and friends could not, after so many years, be rationally entertained, yet to gain some certain knowledge of their fate would do away the pain of suspense; and it might not be too late to retrieve some documents of their discoveries.

Upon the south-east side of Aken's Island, there was thrown up a confused mass of different substances; including a quantity of pumice stone, several kinds of coral, five or six species of shells, skeletons of fish and sea snakes, the fruit of the pandanus, and a piece of cocoa-nut shell without bernacles or any thing to indicate that it had been long in the water; but there were no marks of shipwreck. A seine was hauled upon the small beaches at the south end of the island, and brought on shore a good quantity of mullet, and of a fish resembling a cavally; also a kind of horse mackerel, small fish of the herring kind, and once a sword fish of between four and five feet long. The projection of the snout, or sword of this animal, a foot and a half in length, was fringed with strong, sharp teeth; and he threw it from side to side in such a furious way, that it was difficult to manage him even on shore.

A boat was sent in the evening to the foot of Pine Mount, for the naturalist and his party, but returned without any tidings of them; and it was noon next day [SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 1802] before they got on board. They had reached the top of the mount, but were disappointed in the view by the pines and underwood. In returning to the boat, a chase after a kangaroo had led one of the gentlemen out of his reckoning; and this, with the labour of bringing down their prize, had prevented them from reaching the water side that night. Pine Mount is stony, but covered with large trees of the kind denoted by its epithet; the country between it and the water side is grassy, bears timber trees, and is of a tolerably good soil, such as might be cultivated. There are small creeks of salt water in the low land; and in one of them a fish was shot which furnished the party with a dinner.

Pine Mount is composed of the greenstone of the German mineralogists; but in some other parts of the neighbourhood the stone seems to be different, and contains small veins of quartz, pieces of which are also scattered over the surface. At Aken's Island there was some variety. The most common kind was a slate, containing in some places veins of quartz, in a state nearly approaching to crystallization, and in others some metallic substance, probably iron. The basis of most other parts of the island was greenstone; but in the eastern cliffs there was a soft, whitish earth; and on the north-west side of the island, a part of the shore consisted of water-worn grains and small lumps of quartz, of coral, pumice stone, and other substances jumbled together, and concreted into a solid mass.

Speaking in general terms of Shoal-water Bay, I do not conceive it to offer any advantages to ships which may not be had upon almost any other part of the coast; except that the tides rise higher, and in the winter season fish are more plentiful than further to the south. No fresh water was found, unless at a distance from the shore, and then only in small quantities. Pine trees are plentiful; but they grow upon the stony hills at a distance from the water side, and cannot be procured with any thing like the facility offered by Port Bowen. The chart contains the best information I am able to give of the channels leading up the bay, and of the shoals between them; but it may be added, that no alarm need be excited by a ship getting aground, for these banks are too soft to do injury. The shelving flats from the shores are also soft; and with the mangroves, which spread themselves from high water at the neaps, up in the country to the furthest reach of the spring tides, in some places for miles, render landing impossible in the upper parts of the bay, except at some few spots already noticed.

Were an English settlement to be made in Shoal-water Bay, the better soil round Pine Mount and the less difficulty in landing there, would cause that neighbourhood to be preferred. There is not a sufficient depth at low water, for ships to go into the West Bight, by the south side of Aken's Island, and the north side was no otherwise sounded than in passing; but there is little doubt that the depth on the north side is adequate to admit ships, and that some parts of the bight will afford anchorage and good shelter.

The tides do not run strong in Shoal-water Bay, the rate seldom exceeding one knot; but they stir up the soft mud at the bottom., and make the water thick, as in Keppel Bay. I am not able to speak very accurately of the rise in the tide; but it may be reckoned at twelve or fourteen feet at the neaps, and from seventeen to eighteen at the springs. High water takes place about ten hours and a half after the moon's passage; but on the east side of the bay, the flood runs up a full hour later.

The latitude of the north-east end of Aken's Island, from an observation in the artificial horizon, is 22 deg. 21' 35" south.

Longitude from twelve sets of distances of the sun and moon, taken by lieutenant Flinders, and reduced to the same place, 150 deg. 18' 45"; but from the survey, and the position afterwards fixed in Broad Sound, it is preferably 150 deg. 15' 0" east.

Variation from azimuths taken with a theodolite at the same place, 9 deg. 48'; but the bearings on the top of the eminence showed it to be 9 deg. 0'. The variation on shore, on the west side of the bay, may therefore be taken at 9 deg. 24' east.

Upon Mount Westall on the east side, and at the south end of Leicester Island, it was from the bearings 8 deg. 50'. Upon the small islet at the head of the bay, 9 deg. 25'.

At our anchorage on the west side of the bay, Mr. Flinders took azimuths when the ship's head was S. E. by E., which gave 6 deg. 31' by one compass; before he had done, the ship swung to the flood tide with her head W. N. W., and two other compasses then gave 11 deg. 27' and 11 deg. 4': the mean corrected to the meridian, will be 8 deg. 46' east.

At an anchorage towards the east side of the bay, the same officer observed the variation with two compasses, when the head was east, to be 4 deg. 49', or corrected, 7 deg. 21' east.

The difference in Strong-tide Passage, where the land was one mile to the south-south-east on one side, and the same to the west on the other, was still more remarkable; for when the head was N. E. by N., an amplitude gave me 9 deg. 10', or corrected, 10 deg. 34' east.

There might have been an error in any of the ship observations of half a degree; but I am persuaded that the attraction of the land, sometimes to the east and sometimes west, as the ship was near one or the other side of the bay, was the great cause of the difference in the corrected results; and it will presently be seen, that the effect on a neighbouring part of the coast was much more considerable.

CHAPTER III.

Departure from Shoal-water Bay, and anchorage in Thirsty Sound. Magnetical observations. Boat excursion to the nearest Northumberland Islands. Remarks on Thirsty Sound. Observations at West Hill, Broad Sound. Anchorage near Upper Head. Expedition to the head of Broad Sound: another round Long Island. Remarks on Broad Sound, and the surrounding country. Advantages for a colony. Astronomical observations, and remarks on the high tides.

[EAST COAST. THIRSTY SOUND.]

SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 1802

At noon September 4, when the botanical gentlemen returned from their excursion to Pine Mount, we made sail out of Shoal-water Bay with a breeze from the eastward. In steering north-west amongst the small islands, the soundings were between 9 and 14 fathoms; and nearly the same afterwards, in keeping at three or four miles from the coast. I intended to go into Thirsty Sound; but not reaching it before dark, the anchor was dropped in 8 fathoms, sandy bottom, when the top of Pier Head bore west, three miles. In the morning [SUNDAY 5 SEPTEMBER 1802] we ran into the Sound, and anchored in 6 fathoms, with the points of entrance bearing N. 16 deg. and S. 67 deg. E., one mile. The carpenters had for some time been employed in making a sliding keel for the Lady Nelson, from the pine logs cut in Port Bowen; and being now finished, it was sent on board.

The botanists landed upon the east shore, preferring the main land for their pursuits; and the launch was sent to haul the seine on that side, at a beach a little way up the Sound. I went to the top of Pier Head and took bearings of the Northumberland Islands, as also of the points and hills of the coast to the east and west; the most essential of them to the connexion of the survey, were as under:

Mount Westall, station on the top, S. 63 deg. 20' E. Aken's Island, station on the N. E. end, S. 43 10 E. Pine Mount, S. 25 5 E. Long Island, the north point, distant 8 miles, N. 65 5 W. Peaked Hill, west side of Broad Sound, N. 61 25 W. Northumberland I., a peak, marked h, N. 22 25 W. Northumberland I., No. 3 peak (of Percy Isles), N. 20 10 E.

Captain Cook observed, when taking bearings upon the top of Pier Head, "that the needle differed very considerably in its position, even to thirty degrees, in some places more, in others less; and once he found it differ from itself no less than two points in the distance of fourteen feet." (Hawkesworth, III, 126); from whence he concluded there was iron ore in the hills. I determined, in consequence, to make more particular observations, both with the theodolite and dipping needle; and shall briefly state the results obtained on this, and on the following day.

Azimuths were taken, and the bearing of Mount Westall, distant thirty-four miles, was set at S. 63 deg. 28' E. (true), whilst the theodolite remained in the same place; and from a comparison between this bearing and those of the same object at different parts of the head, the variations were deduced. The dip was observed with both ends of the needle, and the face of the instrument changed each time.

At the highest top of Pier Head, Var. 3 deg. 25' E. Dip 53 deg. 20' S. West, three yards from it, 6 10 S. E. three yards, 10 5 S. S. E., ten yards, 8 6 52 19 North, four, 6 55 N. E., twenty, 6 50 50 35 N. N. E., one-sixth mile, at the water side, 7 6 50 28 S. E., one-third mile, at ditto, 8 2 50 50

There are here no differences equal to those found by captain Cook; but it is to be observed, that he used a ship's azimuth compass, probably not raised further from the ground than to be placed on a stone, whereas my theodolite stood upon legs, more than four feet high. The dipping needle was raised about two feet; and by its greater inclination at the top of the hill, shows the principal attraction to have been not far from thence. The least dip, 50 deg. 28', taken at the shore on the north side of the head, was doubtless the least affected; but it appears to have been half a degree too much, for at Port Bowen, twenty-two miles further south, it was no more than 50 deg. 20'. An amplitude taken on board the ship in the Sound by lieutenant Flinders, when the head was S. S. W., gave variation 8 deg. 39', or corrected to the meridian, 7 deg. 40' east. As Pier Head lay almost exactly in the meridian, from the ship, its magnetism would not alter the direction of the needle; and I therefore consider 7 deg. 40' to be very nearly the true variation, when unaffected by local causes: in Port Bowen, it varied from 7 deg. 40' to 8 deg. 30' east.

Notwithstanding this very sensible effect upon the needle, both horizontally and vertically, I did not find, any more than captain Cook, that a piece of the stone applied to the theodolite drew the needle at all out of its direction; nevertheless I am induced to think, that the attraction was rather dispersed throughout the mass of stone composing Pier Head, than that any mine of iron ore exists in it. The stone is a porphyry of a dark, blueish colour.

MONDAY 6 SEPTEMBER 1802

On the 6th, at noon, when the observations were finished and I had proposed to quit Thirsty Sound, the wind and tide were both against us. To employ the rest of the day usefully, I went over in the whale boat, accompanied by the landscape painter, to the 6th, 7th, and 8th Northumberland Islands, which, with many low islets and rocks near them, form a cluster three or four leagues to the north-east of the Sound. Orders were left with lieutenant Fowler to get the ship under way as early as possible on the following morning, and come out to meet us.

Nearly mid-way between Pier Head and the cluster, lie some rocks surrounded with breakers; and until they were passed the depth was from 6 to 8 fathoms, and 11 afterwards. We rowed to a beach at the north-west end of the 7th island, proposing there to pass the night, and hoped to turn some turtle; but proofs of natives having lately visited, or being perhaps then on the island, damped our prospects, and still more did the absence of turtle tracks; yet under each tree near the shore were the remains of a turtle feast.

TUESDAY 7 SEPTEMBER 1802

In the morning I ascended the highest hill on the 7th island, and took bearings; but the hazy weather which had come on with a strong wind at E. S. E., confined them within a circle of three leagues. This island is somewhat more than a mile in length, and was covered with grass, but almost destitute of wood; the rock is a greenish, speckled stone, with veins of quartz finely inserted, and is something between granite and porphyry. The 6th island is the largest of this little cluster, being two and a half miles long; and it was well covered with wood. We rowed over to it with some difficulty on account of the wind, but could not sound in the channel; it appeared to be deep, its least width three-quarters of a mile, and in fine weather a ship might anchor there and procure pines fit for top masts, at several places in the group. Water was found under the hills on the 6th island; but not in sufficient quantities for the purpose of a ship.

I looked anxiously, but in vain, for lieutenant Fowler to come out of Thirsty Sound; for the wind blew so strong that it was uncertain whether the boat could fetch over, or that it was even safe to attempt it; our provisions, besides, were nearly exhausted, and nothing more substantial than oysters could be procured. Pressed by necessity, we set off under close-reefed sails; and the boat performing admirably, fetched the low neck to leeward of Pier Head, whence another boat took us to the ship; and at high water in the evening, the whale boat floated over the neck and followed.

When Mr. Fowler had weighed in the morning, according to my directions, the ship had driven so near the shore before the stream anchor was at the bows, that he let go the small bower; but the cable parted, and obliged him to drop the best bower, being then in 3 fathoms water with the wind blowing strong into the sound. By means of a warp to the brig, the best bower was shifted into 4 fathoms; and when I got on board, the stream and small bower anchors had just been recovered. The weather tide made at nine in the evening, and we ran into 7 fathoms in the channel; and at daylight stood out of the sound, with the brig in company, having then a moderate breeze at south-east.

Of Thirsty Sound as a harbour, very little can be said in praise; the north-east and east winds throw in a good deal of sea, and there is not room for more than three or four ships, without running up into the narrow part; and what the depth may be there I did not examine, but saw that there were shoals. The entrance of the sound may be known by two round hills, one on each side, lying nearly north and south, one mile and a half from each other: the northernmost is Pier Head. The surrounding country is clothed with grass and wood; but on the Long-Island side the grass is coarse, the trees are thinly scattered, and the soil is every where too stony for the cultivation of grain.

There were many traces of natives, though none recent. Judging from what was seen round the fire places, turtle would seem to be their principal food; and indeed several turtle were seen in the water, but we had not dexterity enough to take any of them. In fishing with the seine, at a small beach two miles up the sound, we always had tolerably good success; but no fresh water accessible to boats could be found in the neighbourhood.

The latitude of Pier Head, from an observation made at the top in an artificial horizon, is 22 deg. 6' 53" S.

Longitude from thirteen sets of distances of the sun west of the moon, observed by lieutenant Flinders, 149 deg. 47' 50"; but by the survey and the fixed position in Broad Sound, with which the time-keepers agreed, it will be more correctly 150 deg. 0' 10" E.

Captain Cook specifies the situation of Thirsty Sound to be in latitude 22 deg. 10', longitude 149 deg. 42' (Hawkesworth, III, 128); but in the chart published by Mr. Dalrymple, it is 22 deg. 7' and 149 deg. 36', which agrees nearer with the deductions of Mr. Wales (Astron. Obs. p. 135). In either case it appears, that my longitude was getting more eastward from captain Cook as we advanced further along the coast.

WEDNESDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 1802

The tides in Thirsty Sound were neaped at this time, and the rise, judging by the lead line, was from ten to twelve feet; but captain Cook says, "at spring tides the water does not rise less than sixteen or eighteen feet," which I have no doubt is correct. It ceases at ten hours and three quarters after the moon passes over and under the meridian.

On quitting Thirsty Sound we steered north-westward, to pass round a chain of rocks extending six miles out from Pier Head, and behind which there was a bight in Long Island, with some appearance of an opening. It was my intention to examine Broad Sound up to the furthest navigable part, and we hauled up between the north point of Long Island and a cluster of small isles lying three miles to the north-west; but finding the water too shallow, and that it would be more advantageous to begin the examination on the west side, I desired Mr. Murray to lead round the North-point Isles and across the sound. A small reef lies between four and five miles N. E. by E. from the largest and easternmost of these isles; it is covered at half tide, and therefore dangerous, but we had 7 to 8 fathoms at less than a mile distance, on the inside.

At noon, the depth was 8 fathoms, the largest North-point Isle, which is nearly separated into two, was distant four miles, and our situation was as under:

Latitude observed to the north, 21 deg. 56' 17" Pier Head top, bore S. 38 E. Northumberland Island, peak marked 'h', N. 15 W. North-point I., westernmost, highest part, S. 56 W. North-point I., largest, S. 37 to 16 W.

In steering W. by N., rippling water was seen ahead at one o'clock. and the depth diminishing to 4 fathoms, we hauled a little to the southward and then resumed our course. This rippling seems to have been on a part of the same shoal near which captain Cook anchored in 3 fathoms; for it lies five miles from the North-point Isles, and as he says, "half way between them and three small islands which lie directly without them."

[EAST COAST. BROAD SOUND.]

Our course for the west side of Broad Sound passed close to some low, flat isles, lying to the south-east of the peaked West Hill set from Pier Head. At dusk I sought to anchor behind the hill, for it had the appearance of being separated from the main land; but the water being too shallow, we hauled off upon a wind. At ten o'clock, however, the breeze having become light and the sea gone down, an anchor was dropped in 5 fathoms, sandy bottom; whence the top of West Hill bore N. 68 deg. W. three miles. A flood tide was found running from the N. N. E., one mile and a quarter per hour.

THURSDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 1802

In the morning I landed with the botanical gentlemen, and wished to ascend the top of the hill; but the brush wood was too thick to be penetrable. Upon a projecting head on the north-east side, I took a part, and about half way up the hill on the south-east side, the remainder of a set of bearings, which included many of the Northumberland Isles not before seen, and other of the Flat Isles within Broad Sound. The furthest visible part of the main land towards Cape Palmerston, was distant about five leagues, and behind it was a hill to which, from its form, I gave the name of Mount Funnel; the shore both to the north and south was low, and the Flat Isles to the southward of the ship were mostly over-run with mangroves. I did not go round West Hill, and could not see whether it were connected with the main land, or not; but if joined, it must be by a very low isthmus. The bearings at this station, most essential to the connection of the survey, were these:

Main coast, the extremes, N. 1 deg. and S. 10 deg. 45' E. Pier Head, the top, S. 61 25 E. Northumberland Isles, peak marked 'h', N. 61 45 E. Northumberland Isles, high northmost marked 'i', dist. 11 L. N. 19 15 E.

The stone of the hill had in it specks of quartz or feldtspath, and was not much unlike that of Pier Head; but it had a more basaltic appearance. A piece of it applied to the theodolite, drew the needle two degrees out of its direction, and yet the bearings did not show any great difference from the true variation; for an amplitude taken on board the ship by Mr. Flinders, when the head was N. N. E, gave 6 deg. 18', or corrected to the meridian, 7 deg. 17' east, and the variation on the eastern side of the hill was 8 deg. 15', according to the back bearing of Pier Head.

From an observation of the sun's upper and lower limbs in an artificial horizon, the latitude was 21 deg. 50' 18", and the ship bore from thence S. 68 deg. E. two miles and a half; the latitude of the ship should therefore have been 21 deg. 51' 14"; but a meridian altitude observed to the north by lieutenant Flinders, gave 21 deg. 49' 54"; and I believe that altitudes from the sea horizon can never be depended on nearer than to one minute, on account of the variability of the horizontal refraction. From this cause it was that, when possible, we commonly observed the latitude on board the ship both to the north and south, taking the sun's altitude one way and his supplement the other, and the mean of the two results was considered to be true; separately, they often differed 1', 2', and even 3', and sometimes they agreed. The observation to the north most commonly gave the least south latitude, but not always, nor was there any regular coincidence between the results and the heights of the barometer or thermometer; though in general, the more hazy the weather, the greater were the differences. At this time, the wind was light from the eastward and weather hazy; the thermometer stood at 72 deg., and barometer at 30.15 inches.

At two o'clock we got under way to go up Broad Sound, it being then near low water. After steering south-east one mile, the depth rapidly diminished and we tacked; but the ship was set upon a bank of sand, where she hung five minutes and then swung off. I afterwards steered nearer to the shore, in deeper water; and at dusk the anchor was dropped in 5 fathoms, sandy bottom, between the Flat Isles and the main, West Hill bearing N. 35 deg. W. three leagues; the master sounded towards the coast, which was five miles off, and found the deepest water to be on that side. In the morning [FRIDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 1802] the wind had shifted to south, and we beat up in a channel formed by the Flat Isles and the shoals attached to them, on one side, and the shelving banks from the main coast, on the other. We had the assistance of a strong flood tide till eleven o'clock; at which time the anchor was let go, one mile from the north end of the 4th Flat Island.

I landed immediately, with the botanists; and at the south-east end of the island, which is a little elevated, took bearings and the meridian altitude of both limbs of the sun from an artificial horizon. The latitude deduced was 22 deg. 8' 33"; and the ship bearing N. 19 deg. 30' W., two miles, it should have been for her, 22 deg. 6' 40"; but lieutenant Flinders' observation to the north gave 22 deg. 5' 19", or 1' 21" less, nearly as on the preceding day; and it was ascertained that the difference arose neither from the eye nor the instrument. Amongst the bearings were,

West Hill, the top, N. 16 deg. 40' W. Northumberland Isles. the peak marked 'h', N. 25 15 E. Long Island, extreme of the north point, N. 73 35 E. Upper Head, on the west shore up Broad Sound, S. 39 55 E.

The 4th Flat Isle is about one mile long, and there is a smaller lying off its south-east end; they are a little elevated, and bear grass and small trees; but the shores are covered with mangroves, and surrounded with extensive flats of mud and sand. The main coast, from which they lie two or three miles, is also low, with mangroves and shelving mud banks; but there is a deep channel between, of a mile in width. In the evening, when the flood made, we steered into this channel with a light sea-breeze; but not having time to clear it before dark, the anchor was dropped in 4 fathoms at six o'clock.

My attention was attracted this evening by the vast extent of mud left dry on each side of the channel, and I ordered particular attention to be paid to the tides during the night. At eleven o'clock, when the flood had ceased running, the depth was sounded and the lead line measured, and the same at half past five in the morning [SATURDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 1802] when it was low water; the difference was no less than thirty-two feet, and it wanted a day of being full moon; so that the springs may reach two or three feet higher. The flood set S. by E., but its greatest rate did not exceed one mile and three quarters an hour.

At daylight the wind was south-east, directly against us. We backed and filled, drifting up with the flood between the shoals on each side, and having the Lady Nelson and a boat ahead; but on approaching the end of the channel, our passage into the sound was blocked up by a bank running across, upon which there was not water enough for the ship by a fathom, and we therefore anchored. At nine the tide had risen a fathom. and we passed over into the open sound; the depth immediately increasing to 4 and 7 fathoms, reduced to low water. So long as the flood continued running we worked up the sound; and when it ceased, anchored three miles from a shallow opening in the low western shore, the second which had been observed. We again proceeded upwards with the evening's tide until dusk; and at nine next morning [SUNDAY 12 SEPTEMBER 1802] passed a fifth opening, and anchored abreast of the hilly projection on its east side, which I have named Upper Head, in 4 fathoms, soft bottom, two-thirds of a mile from the shore. This was the first place on the main where there was any prospect of being able to land; for the western shore, thus far up, was equally low, and as much over-run with mangroves and defended by muddy flats, as the shores of Keppel Bay.

It being my intention to explore the head of Broad Sound with the brig and whale boat, a situation where tents could be fixed and an easy communication held with the ship during my absence, was the object now sought; and I immediately went with a party of the gentlemen, to ascertain how far Upper Head was calculated for our purpose. We landed at half flood, without difficulty; and on ascending the hill, obtained a view of the Sound which exceeded my expectations. Amongst the many bearings taken, were the following fixed points in the survey.

Pine Mount, of Shoal-water Bay, S. 84 deg. 38' E. Pier Head, the western part, N. 36 7 E. West hill, the top, N. 28 5 W. Flat Isles, the 4th, station there, N. 39 53 W.

The breadth of the Sound, from Upper Head over to the inner end of Long Island, appeared to be three leagues, but it contracted upwards, and assumed the same river-like form as Shoalwater Bay; and it was to be feared, from the mangrove shores and muddiness of the water, that it would terminate in the same manner. No shoals could be then distinguished; but towards low water in the evening I again ascended the hill, and saw to my regret, that the upper parts were mostly occupied with banks of mud and sand, many of which were dry, and extended downward past the inner entrance of Thirsty Sound. Amongst the banks were various channels; but that of about two miles wide where the ship lay, was by far the most considerable. The small fifth opening, close on the west side of Upper Head, ran some miles in the low land towards the foot of a ridge of hills, lying three or four leagues at the back of the shore; but the greater part of this inlet was also taken up by mud banks, and the borders covered with mangroves. There was no fresh water at Upper Head, nor did I see any prospect of obtaining wherewith to complete the holds of the two vessels before leaving the coast; unless it were at a place a little higher up on the same side, to which the appearance of another opening between two hills, induced me to move the ship.

MONDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 1802

Next morning, when the flood made, we drifted upwards, with the Lady Nelson and a boat sounding ahead. After advancing three miles the brig suddenly took the ground, and we dropped a stream anchor; but in swinging to it, the ship was caught upon a bank of quick sand in eleven feet; and the tide running strong upon the broad side, it made her heel in a manner to excite alarm. The sails were immediately clewed down, and the top-gallant yards struck; and it appearing that the stream anchor allowed the ship to drive further up the bank as the tide rose, the best bower was let go, and then she righted and swung to the tide. The Lady Nelson also got off safe; but a part of the after sliding keel was carried away.

I went in a boat to examine the place which had presented the appearance of an opening; but it proved to be only a bending in the shore, and the mud banks and mangroves did not admit of landing; we therefore went back with the returning ebb to Upper Head, and moored the ship nearly in our first situation; where there was something more than 3 fathoms all round, at low water.

TUESDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 1802

On the following morning, the time keepers and other instruments were sent on shore under the charge of lieutenant Flinders, with two of the young gentlemen to assist him, and a guard of marines for the protection of the tents. It had appeared from the survey, that the time keepers were losing more than the Port-Jackson rates supposed; and before quitting this coast for the Gulph of Carpentaria, it was necessary to take fresh observations. Mr. Flinders undertook as usual to perform this service, whilst I should be absent up the Sound; and lieutenant Fowler was directed to examine and air all the stores, and make the ship ready for sea against my return.

Having made these dispositions, I embarked in the Lady Nelson with the naturalist, taking my whale boat and surveying instruments. We had a strong flood tide; and after grounding on a bank, anchored eleven miles above the ship, in 3 fathoms, that being the greatest depth to be found. It was then high water; and the brig being expected to be left dry by the ebb, we prepared for it by mooring, to prevent all chance of settling on the anchor, and hove up the fore and after keels; the new main keel being swelled by the wet, could not be raised, and when it took the ground, the vessel turned about violently and dragged both the anchors, until the keel broke off, and then she lay easy.

At low water, the seamen went out upon the dry flat and found the best bower cable parted, and the anchor so far buried in the quicksand, that it could not be raised. At ten o'clock the flood tide came rolling in, and presently set the brig afloat; the anchor was then weighed with ease, by means of a hawser previously bent to it, and the vessel rode by the small bower, against a tide which ran at the strongest between four and five knots.

WEDNESDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 1802

The Lady Nelson again took the ground at six in the morning. On sounding over to the east shore, distant half a mile, I found a small channel leading upwards, with four or five feet more water in it than where the brig lay; the western shore was two miles distant over a silty flat, which was dry at low water and level as a race ground.

At eleven, the flood came in, six or eight inches perpendicular, with a roaring noise; and so soon as it had passed the brig, I set off with Mr. Brown and Mr. Lacy in the whale boat, to follow it up the small channel on the eastern shore; and having a fair wind we outran the tide and were sometimes obliged to wait its rising before we could proceed. At the end of six miles the small channel led across to the western side; and the rare opportunity of a landing place induced me to pitch our tent there for the night: two miles higher up, the whole breadth of the Sound was reduced to half a mile.

The country here was a stiff, clayey flat, covered with grass, and seemed to have been overflowed at spring tides; though the high water of this day did not reach it by five feet. Three or four miles to the southward there were some hills, whence I hoped to see the course of the stream up to its termination; and having time before dark, we set off. The grass of the plain was interspersed with a species of sensitive plant, whose leaves curled up in, and about our footsteps in such a manner, that the way we had come was for some time distinguishable. From the nearest of the small hills, I set the bearings of Double and Pine Mounts, our tent, and the brig at anchor, by which this station was fixed as in the chart; but in order to reconcile the bearings, I found it necessary to allow 12 deg. of east variation.

Towards Double Mount and Shoal-water Bay, the country consisted of gently-rising hills and extensive plains, well covered with wood and apparently fertile. The stream at the head of Broad Sound could not be traced from hence more than three or four miles above the tent; but it may possibly run up much further to the south-eastward, though too small to be distinguished in the wood, or to be navigable for boats. To the south and westward there was a ridge of high land, which appeared to be a prolongation of the same whence the upper branches of Port Bowen and Shoal-water Bay take their rise, and by which the low land and small arms on the west side of Broad Sound are bounded. A similar ridge ran behind Port Curtis and Keppel Bay, and it is not improbable that the two are connected, and of the same substance; for at Port Curtis the basis stone of the country was a granite, and this small hill was the same. It has been more than once observed, that granite is amongst the substances which exert an influence upon the magnetic needle; and it is to the attraction of the ridge of mountains to the south and westward, that I attribute the great variation found in the bearings at this station.

We returned to the tent at sunset; and there passed a disagreeable night amongst musketoes, sand flies, and ants. At four in the morning [THURSDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 1802] the ebb had made, and we embarked in the boat; but the depth of water was so little that we could not proceed, and were obliged to re-land and wait for the following tide; not without apprehension of being left till the next springs came on. At two in the afternoon the flood came up rapidly, and in half an hour it was high water; we set off immediately, and after some trouble from the shoals, reached the brig at five o'clock. Mr. Murray got under way at three the next morning [FRIDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 1802] to beat down to Upper Head, the wind being from the northward; but the Lady Nelson getting aground, I went off with Mr. Brown in my boat, and reached the ship at seven o'clock, and in the evening, the brig arrived.

Lieutenant Fowler had gone through the most essential duties, and the ship was nearly ready for sea; but on landing at the tents I found that the time keepers had been let down, and the business of finding new rates for them was to be recommenced. This accident would require a week to be repaired; and being unwilling to remain so long inactive, I determined to leave Mr. Flinders at Upper Head, and take the ship over to the inner end of Thirsty Sound, where it appeared there was something to correct in captain Cook's chart.

SATURDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 1802

The Lady Nelson had lost two sheets of copper, and the trunks of the sliding keels required some reparation; I therefore desired lieutenant Murray to lay his vessel on shore and get these matters arranged, to cut wood for himself, and be ready to sail in a week for Torres' Strait; and his stock of water was completed out of the Investigator.

SUNDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 1802

On the 19th in the morning we unmoored the ship, and a little before low tide stretched over towards Thirsty Sound; but the numerous shoals to be encountered, and which cannot be concisely described otherwise than in a chart, caused much delay; and it was near noon of the day following [MONDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 1802] before we anchored at the south end of Long Island, in 3 fathoms, and about one mile from the low mangrove shore. At the south end of the island was a small hill, bearing S. 55 deg. E. one mile and a half from the ship, where I landed with a party of the gentlemen; it forms the west point of the inner entrance to Thirsty Sound, as some low red cliffs, one mile and a half distant, do the east point; but a shoal, dry at low water, lies in the middle, and the channels on each side are not calculated for a ship. The small hill was found to be on a detached islet one mile long, the greater part of which is mud covered with mangroves; the hill is partly excavated by an arched way running through it, and the stone is of a mixed red and white colour, and of an ochry consistence. From the highest top, I set:

Upper Head, bearing S. 28 deg. 22' W. Double Mount. S. 53 20 E. Pine Mount, S. 61 5 E.

These bearings place the inner end of Thirsty Sound in latitude 22 deg. 16'; and curtail the distance of thirty miles from Pier Head in captain Cook's chart, to twelve miles and a half.

TUESDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 1802

On the 21st, the botanical gentlemen went over in the launch to the east side of Thirsty Sound, the main land having been always found more productive in the objects of their pursuit, than any island however large. I went to examine along the west side of Long Island; but had not proceeded two miles before an opening presented itself amongst the mangroves. It led to the eastward, and then separated into two branches; and in following that which trended north-east I came into Thirsty Sound, and landed five miles above the inner entrance, at an islet in mid-channel, which had been set from Pier Head and is laid down by captain Cook.

No less than five different pieces of land were found to be cut off from the south end of Long Island, by winding channels amongst the mangroves; and I now saw the prospect of a passage through the middle, leading out at the bight between the north point and Pier Head. A woody and rather elevated islet obscures the inner end of the opening, and seems to have prevented captain Cook's observing this separation when going up Thirsty Sound in his boat. I found in it a good bottom, with 3 to 5 fathoms water, and room for a ship to swing, or sail through as far as the outer opening to sea; but another island lies in the outlet, the bottom is rocky, and the regular depth at low water is not so much as 3 fathoms on either side.

Having taken a second set of angles, and passed out by the new opening, I steered northward along the east side of Long Island; but although the land be high and rather steep, there was seldom so much as 3 fathoms at a mile distance. I landed at the north end of the island, to ascertain better the forms and positions of the North-point Isles; and then, steering southward along the west side, entered a cove where the form of the surrounding land gave a hope of finding fresh water for the ship; but the borders were covered with mangroves, and we could not get sufficiently far up to know whether any part of the stream running through them were fresh. Another set of angles was taken from a hill on the south side of the cove; and the sun being then set, our tent was pitched for the night.

WEDNESDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 1802

Next morning I steered onward along the west side of Long Island, landing occasionally to examine the gullies made by the rains; but at this time they were all dry. As far to the south as Westside Islet, the shore is tolerably high and the water deep; and near to the inner end of the islet, where I landed to take angles, there was no bottom with 10 fathoms; but the shore from thence to the ship was low and covered with mangroves, and even the rocky points cannot be approached within half a mile, except by boats.

Not a single Indian was seen during this excursion round Long Island; nor from the length of the grass and appearance of their fire places, do I think they had been there for some months.

THURSDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 1802

Next day I made a further examination of the winding channels at the south end of Long Island; and also went to an inlet on the east side of Broad Sound, the entrance of which is so much obstructed by shoals, that it was difficult to find a sufficient depth, even for the boat. I landed with the naturalist at a low, cliffy head on the north side of the entrance; but not without wading a quarter of a mile in the mud. We saw from thence, that this inlet, though presenting the appearance of a respectable river when the tide was in, had no perceptible breadth at five miles within the land, that it was almost wholly dry at low water, and that the shores were covered with mangroves to a great extent; even the cliffy head where we stood, was surrounded with mangroves, and appeared to be insulated at spring tides.

FRIDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 1802

In the morning of the 24th, we got under way to return to Upper Head; and having the same difficulties to encounter amongst the shoals as before, did not reach our former anchorage until next day [SATURDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 1802]. On landing at the tents, I found, to my no less surprise than regret, that the time keepers had again been let down; and no more than one day's rates had been since obtained. Twenty-five sets of distances of the sun and moon had been taken to correspond with an equal number on the opposite side; and it appeared that lieutenant Flinders being intent upon these, had forgotten to wind up the time keepers on the 22nd at noon.

This fresh difficulty was very embarrassing. To go away for Torres' Strait and the Gulph of Carpentaria without good rates, was to cripple the accuracy of all our longitudes; and on the other hand, the expected approach of the contrary monsoon on the North Coast admitted of no longer delay in Broad Sound. On comparing the last day's rates with those of the four days previously obtained, the letting down did not appear to have produced any material alteration; and I therefore determined to combine the whole together, and to sail immediately.

SUNDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 1802

The following day was occupied in completing the holds with wood, taking on board our shore establishment, and preparing for sea; and next morning [MONDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 1802] we steered down Broad Sound, with the Lady Nelson in company, keeping near the western side to avoid the middle shoals. On a sea breeze coming in at north, we tacked towards the North-point Isles; and at sunset, the flood tide having then made, anchored in 8 fathoms, upon a bottom of sand and rock, the north-westernmost isle bearing N. 6 deg. E., two leagues. In the morning we passed round the North-point Isles, with a breeze from the south-east; and thus quitted Broad Sound, steering off for the outermost and largest of the Northumberland Islands.

There remains little to be said upon the navigation of Broad Sound, more than what has been related of our courses in it, and what will be found in the chart. The western channel, between the Flat Isles and the main, is not to be recommended; but after steering up the middle of the Sound and passing these isles, the western shore should be kept nearest a-bord. A ship may then reach Upper Head without difficulty, and lie there in perfect safety from all winds, at two-thirds of a mile off; but cannot go higher up the sound without risk of grounding on the banks. From half flood to half ebb, landing is easy at Upper Head, and it is perhaps the sole place on the main possessing that advantage; every where else the shore is very low, fronted with mud banks, and covered, in some places miles deep, with interwoven mangroves, amongst which the tide flows at high water.

The stone of Upper Head, and apparently of all the hills in its neighbourhood, is granitic; whilst that of Long Island and West Hill approach nearer to porphyry. At the inner entrance of Thirsty Sound the points are mostly composed of an earth, which is not heavy, is sometimes red, but more frequently white, or mixed; and of a consistence not harder than ochre.

Long Island, though covered with grass and wood, is stony and incapable of ordinary cultivation. On the main land, the low parts between the mangroves and the hills seemed to be of a tolerably good soil; and according to the report of some of the gentlemen, who made an excursion at the back of Upper Head, the vallies there produce good grass and appeared fertile. There seems, indeed, to be a considerable extent of land about Broad Sound and on the peninsula between it and Shoal-water Bay, which, if not calculated to give a rich return to the cultivator of wheat, would support much cattle, and produce maize, sugar, and tobacco; and cotton and coffee would grow upon the more rocky sides of the hills, and probably even upon Long Island. Should it ever be in contemplation to make an establishment in New South Wales within the tropic, in aid of Port Jackson and the colonies to the southward, this neighbourhood would probably be chosen; and the great rise of tide presents advantages which might be some time turned to account in ship building. On the west side of the sound, near the Flat Isles, the rise at spring tides is not less than thirty, and perhaps reaches to thirty-five feet. At Upper Head it is from twenty at the neaps, to thirty or more at the springs; but the bottom rises so much towards the top of the sound, that the tide there never seems to exceed twelve feet. The time of high water is nearly eleven hours after the moon's passage over and under the meridian; though the flood runs up near an hour on the west side of the sound, after it is high water by the shore.

The places best calculated for the construction of docks, appear to be at the uppermost or 4th Flat Isles, where the shoals form a natural harbour, and at the entrance of the opening near Upper Head, in which is a small islet of sand and rock, not covered with mangroves nor surrounded with mud flats. The pines of Port Bowen, Shoal-water Bay, and the Northumberland Isles, would furnish the necessary spars and lighter planking; and there is no reason to think that the eucalyptus, which grows all over the country, should not be as fit for timbers, etc., as it is found to be further southward. No iron ore was seen in the neighbourhood; but were a colony established and the back ridge of mountains well examined, this and other metallic productions might be found. The attraction which the mountains seemed to have upon the needle, is in favour of this probability; but the iron work might be prepared at Port Jackson where the ore exists, and in whose vicinity there are plenty of coals.

Fresh water was scarce at this time, none being any where discovered near the sea side, except a small rill at the back of Upper Head, little more than adequate to the supply of the tents; it can however be scarcely doubted, that fresh water for domestic purposes would be found in most parts of the country; and there is a season of the year, most probably the height of summer, when rain falls abundantly, as was demonstrated by the torrent-worn marks down the sides of the hills.

Not a single native was seen, either on the shores of Thirsty, or Broad Sounds, during the whole time of our stay.

There are kangaroos in the woods, but not in numbers. The shoals all over the sound are frequented by flocks of ducks and curlews; and we saw in the upper part, some pelicans, an individual of a large kind of crane, and another of a white bird, in form resembling a curlew. Many turtle were seen in the water about Long Island, and from the bones scattered around the deserted fire places, this animal seemed to form the principal subsistence of the natives; but we had not the address to obtain any. Hump-backed whales frequent the entrance of the sound, and would present an object of interest to a colony. In fishing, we had little success with hook and line; and the nature of the shores did not admit of hauling the seine.

The climate here, being one degree within the tropic, was warm at this season, which may be considered as the spring and the driest time of the year. On board the ship, the height of the thermometer did not exceed 76 deg., with the warm winds from the northward, but at the tents it averaged at noon somewhat above 90 deg.; and the musketoes and sand flies were very troublesome at all places near the mangroves. We did not see any snakes or other venemous reptiles or insects.

The latitude of Upper Head, from six meridian observations in the artificial horizon, is 22 deg. 23' 24" S.

Longitude from fifty sets of distances of the sun and moon, given in Table II of the second Appendix to this Volume, 149 deg. 46' 53" E.

The errors of the time keepers from mean Greenwich time, at noon there Sept. 26, and their mean rates of going during seven days, of which four were before and three after they had been let down the second time, were as under:

Earnshaw's No. 543 slow 2h 3' 37.23" and losing 9.62" per day. Earnshaw's No. 520 slow 3h 29' 15.57" and losing 21.41" per day.

These errors and rates were found by lieutenant Flinders, from equal altitudes taken with a sextant on a stand, and using an artificial horizon of quicksilver.

The longitudes given by the time keepers on Sept. 12 a.m. at Upper Head, with the Port-Jackson rates, were these:

No. 543, 149 deg. 54' 27" east. No. 520, 149 deg. 53' 47.5" east.

The mean is 7' 14" to the east of the lunars; but on using rates equally accelerated from those at Port Jackson to the above at Upper Head, and commencing the acceleration on Aug. 15, at Keppel Bay, where the time keepers were found to be keeping their former rates, the mean longitude will be 149 deg. 48' 56.6", or 2' 3.6" from the lunar observations; which is therefore the presumable sum of their irregularities after August 15, or in 27.7 days.

In fixing the positions of places along the East Coast, I have made use of the time keepers from Port Jackson to Port Curtis, without any correction. From Port Curtis to Broad Sound, the coast and islands are laid down from theodolite bearings taken on shore, combined with the observed latitudes; and consequently the accuracy in longitude of the first portion depends upon that of Port Jackson and the time keepers, and of the last, upon Upper Head and the survey. These two unconnected longitudes meet at Port Curtis, and the difference between them is there no more than 5".

From observations with the theodolite upon the top of Upper Head, the variation was 8 deg. 37' east; but on moving the instrument ten yards to the south-west, it was 45' less. At two other stations on the west side of the sound, it was 8 deg. 15', and 8 deg. 0'; and on board the ship 7 deg. 17' and 7 deg. 46', corrected. On the east side of the sound it differed at six stations on shore, from 8 deg. to 6 deg.; and on board the ship was 6 deg. 44' corrected. As general results, therefore, but subject to many small deviations, the variation may be taken,

On the west side of Broad Sound at 8 deg. 0' E. On the east side 7 0 At the head of the sound it was, at one station 12 deg., at another 10 deg.; the mean, 11 0

The differences between the two sides of the sound, both on shore and on board, are nearly similar to what took place in Shoal-water Bay.

The rise of tide and time of high water have been mentioned; but it may be proper to say what I conceive to be the cause of the extraordinary rise in Broad Sound. From Cape Howe, at the southern extremity of the East Coast, to Port Curtis at the edge of the tropic, the time of high water falls between seven and nine hours after the moon's passage, and the rise does not exceed nine feet; but from thence to the northward, commencing with Keppel Bay, the time becomes later, and the rise augments, till, at Broad Sound, they reach eleven hours, and between thirty and thirty-five feet. The principal flood tide upon the coast is supposed to come from the south-east, and the ebb from the north, or north-west; but from the particular formation of Keppel and Shoal-water Bays, and of Broad Sound, whose entrances face the north, or north-west, this ebb tide sets into them, and accumulates the water for some time, becoming to them a flood. This will, in some degree, account for the later time and greater rise of the tide; and is conformable to what captain Cook says upon the same subject (Hawkesworth, III. 244); but I think there is still a super-adding cause. At the distance of about thirty leagues to the N. N. W. from Break-sea Spit, commences a vast mass of reefs, which lie from twenty to thirty leagues from the coast, and extend past Broad Sound. These reefs, being mostly dry at low water, will impede the free access of the tide; and the greater proportion of it will come in between Break-sea Spit and the reefs, and be late in reaching the remoter parts; and if we suppose the reefs to terminate to the north, or north-west of the Sound, or that a large opening in them there exist, another flood tide will come from the northward, and meet the former; and the accumulation of water from this meeting, will cause an extraordinary rise in Broad Sound and the neighbouring bays, in the same manner as the meeting of the tides in the English and Irish Channels causes a great rise upon the north coast of France and the west coast of England.

That an opening exists in the reefs will hereafter appear; and captain Cook's observations prove, that for more than a degree to the north-west of Broad Sound, the flood came from the northward. I found, when at anchor off Keppel Bay, and again off Island Head, that the flood there came from the east or south-east; but when lying three miles out from Pier Head, there was no set whatever; and I am disposed to think that it is at the entrance of Broad Sound, where the two floods meet each other.

CHAPTER IV.

The Percy Isles: anchorage at No. 2. Boat excursions. Remarks on the Percy Isles; with nautical observations. Coral reefs: courses amongst them during eleven days search for a passage through, to sea. Description of a reef. Anchorage at an eastern Cumberland Isle. The Lady Nelson sent back to Port Jackson. Continuation of coral reefs; and courses amongst them during three other days. Cape Gloucester. An opening discovered, and the reefs quitted. General remarks on the Great Barrier; with some instruction relative to the opening.

[EAST COAST. PERCY ISLES.]

TUESDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 1802

On quitting Broad Sound, we steered for the north-easternmost of the Northumberland Islands., which I intended to visit in the way to Torres' Strait. These are no otherwise marked by captain Cook, than as a single piece of land seen indistinctly, of three leagues in extent; but I had already descried from Mount Westall and Pier Head a cluster of islands, forming a distinct portion of this archipelago; and in honour of the noble house to which Northumberland gives the title of duke, I named them Percy Isles.

(Atlas, Plate XI.)

At noon, the observed latitude on both sides was 21 deg. 51' 20"; the west end of the largest North-point Isle bore S. 18 deg. W. three or four leagues, and the Percy Isles were coming in sight ahead. The weather was hazy; and the wind at E. S. E. preventing us from fetching No. 2, the largest isle, we tacked at five o'clock, when it bore S. 31 deg. to 54 deg. E, two or three leagues; No. 5, the north-westernmost of the cluster, bearing N. 24 deg. W., two miles and a half. At dusk the anchor was dropped in 14 fathoms, sandy ground, two or three miles from some rocky islets which lie off the west side of No. 2. The flood tide at this anchorage came from the north-east, one mile per hour.

We got under way again in the morning [WEDNESDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 1802]; but the wind being light and unfavourable, and the tide adverse, I went off in the whale boat, accompanied by Messrs. Brown and Westall, to examine the passage between the rocky islets and No. 2, directing lieutenant Fowler to follow with the ship when the signal should be made. We first landed at the islets, where the same kind of pine as seen at Port Bowen and other places, was abundant; and leaving the two gentlemen there, I sounded the passage, which was a mile and a half wide, with a sandy bottom of 8 to 13 fathoms deep, and sheltered from all eastern winds. The signal was then made to the ship; and so soon as she was brought to anchor, I went to examine a little cove, or basin, into which the height of the surrounding hills gave expectation of finding a run of fresh water. The entrance is little more than wide enough for the oars of a rowing boat, the basin, within side, is mostly dry at low water, and the borders are over-run with the tiresome mangrove; but when the tide is in, it is one of the prettiest little places imaginable. In searching round the skirts, between the mangroves and feet of the hills, a torrent-worn gully was found with several holes of water; and one in particular, near the edge of the mangroves, where, by cutting a rolling way for the casks, the holds of the two vessels might be filled; and at a beach without side of the entrance to the basin, several hauls of the seine were made with good success.

THURSDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 1802

Early next morning, lieutenant Fowler landed with a party of men prepared to cut through the mangroves; but fresh water was discovered to ooze out from amongst them, much below high-water mark; and by digging in the sand at half ebb, our casks might be filled more easily, and with better water than in the gully. Whilst this duty was going on, the carpenters were sent to cut fire wood and pine logs upon the rocky islets, the botanical gentlemen followed their pursuits where it best pleased them, and my time was occupied in surveying. From a hill near the head of the basin, I took bearings of all the objects to the south and westward; amongst which, the five following were the most important to the connexion of the survey.

Mount Westall on the main (not distinct), S. 23 deg. 5' E. Northumberland Islands, the 4th, a peak, S. 18 20 E. Northumberland Islands, the 7th, station on the hill, S. 19 30 W. Northumberland Islands, a peaked I. marked 'h', S. 89 deg. 55' to N. 87 35 W. Northumberland Islands, high northmost, marked 'i', N. 57 0 W.

The circle was completed in the afternoon, from a higher part of the island near the north point; and the weather being tolerably clear, nearly the whole of the Northumberland Islands were comprehended in the bearings from one or the other station. Two distant pieces of land in the N. W. by N., marked k and k1, situate near the eastern Cumberland Islands of captain Cook, were also distinguished; but to the north-east, where I expected to see a continuation of the reefs discovered by captain Campbell of the brig Deptford, in 1797, neither reef nor island was visible.

SATURDAY 2 OCTOBER 1802

On the 2nd of October, Mr. Brown accompanied me to No. 1, the southernmost of the Percy Isles, which is near five miles long, and the second of the group in magnitude. Fresh water was found in ponds near the shore, and there were clusters of pine trees; but in general, this island is inferior to No. 2, both in soil and productions. Of the two peaked hills upon it, the south-easternmost is highest; but being craggy and difficult to be ascended, my bearings were taken from the western hill. In returning to the ship in the evening, we passed between No. 6 and the east side of No. 2, and round the north end of the latter island, in order to see the form of its coasts: the water was deep, and there appeared to be no hidden dangers.

SUNDAY 3 OCTOBER 1802

On the 3rd, Mr. Bauer, the natural-history painter, went with me to the northern Percy Isles, upon each of which is a hill somewhat peaked; but that on No. 3 is much the most so, and the highest; and being thickly covered with pine trees, is called Pine Peak: it lies in 21 deg. 311/2' south and 150 deg. 141/2' east. My principal object was to take angles for the survey; and not being able to ascend Pine Peak, from its great acclivity, we went onward to the two smaller islands No. 4; and from the top of the easternmost, a third Cumberland Island, marked k2, was distinguished, and the following amongst many other bearings, were taken.

Percy Isle No. 3, Pine Peak, distant 21/2 miles, S 2 deg. 5' W. The ship, at anchor under No. 2, S. 10 48 W. Northumberland I., the 7th, station, S. 14 0 W. Northumberland I., the peak marked 'h', S. 67 35 W. Northumberland I., the high, northmost, marked 'i', N. 73 10 W. Cumberland I., marked 'k', centre, N. 36 0 W. Cumberland I., marked 'k2', centre, N. 42 50 W.

There is no shelter amongst the northern Percy Isles against east winds; but ships may pass between them, taking care to avoid a rock which lies one mile northward from the Pine Peak, and is dry at low water. Nothing was seen on these islands to merit more particular notice; and their forms and situations will be best learned from the chart.

On returning to the ship at nine in the evening, I found lieutenant Fowler had quitted the shore with his tents and people, the holds were completed with water, and both vessels ready for sea.

No. 2, the largest of the Percy Isles, is about thirteen miles in circumference; and in its greatest elevation perhaps a thousand feet. The stone is mostly of two kinds. A concreted mass of different substances, held together by a hard, dark-coloured cement, was the most abundant; I did not see either coral or pumice-stone in the composition, but it otherwise much resembled that of Aken's Island in Shoal-water Bay, and still more a stratum seen at the north-west part of Long Island: it was found at the tops of the highest hills, as well as in the lower parts. The second kind of stone is light, close-grained, and easily splits, but not in layers; it is of a yellowish colour, and probably argillaceous.

The surface of the island is either sandy or stony, or both, with a small proportion of vegetable soil intermixed. It is generally covered with grass and wood; and some of the vallies round the basin might be made to produce vegetables, especially one in which there was a small run, and several holes of fresh water. The principal wood is the eucalyptus, or gum tree, but it is not large; small cabbage palms grow in the gullies, and also a species of fig tree, which bears its fruit on the stem, instead of the ends of the branches; and pines are scattered in the most rocky places.

No inhabitants were seen upon any of the islands, but there were deserted fire places upon all. The Indians probably come over from the main land at certain times, to take turtle, in which they must be much more dexterous than we were; for although many turtle were seen in the water, and we watched the beaches at night, not one was caught. There are no kangaroos upon the Percy Isles; nor did we see any useful birds. The large bats or vampyres, common to this country, and called flying-foxes at Port Jackson, were often found hanging by the claws, with their heads downward, under the shady tops of the palm trees; and one solitary eel of a good size, was caught on clearing out the hole where our water casks had been first intended to be filled.

Pines, fresh water, and fish will be some inducement to visit the Percy Isles; as perhaps may be the hump-backed whales, of which a considerable number was seen in the vicinity. The best and most convenient anchorage, and indeed the only one to be recommended, is that where the Investigator lay, directly off the basin; in mid-channel between No. 2 and the western pine islets. It is sheltered at fourteen points to the eastward, and three towards the west; and there being a clear passage out, both to the north and south, no danger is to be apprehended: the bottom, however, does not hold very well.

A wet dock might be made of the basin without other trouble or expense than a little deepening of the narrow entrance, and throwing a pair of gates across; and were the mud to be cleared out, the basin would contain fifteen or twenty sail of merchant ships with great ease.

The flood tide came from the north and the ebb from the south, past the anchorage; but on the outside, they run south-west and north-east. It is not extraordinary that the rise and fall by the shore did not exactly coincide with the swinging of the ship; but that the time of high water should differ three hours, and the rise twenty feet from Broad Sound, is remarkable. According to Mr. Fowler's observations in the basin, it was high water there eight hours after the moon's passage; and the rise at the neaps and springs appeared to be from eight to twelve feet.

Three meridian observations to the north, taken by lieutenant Flinders, gave the latitude of our anchorage, 21 deg. 39' 31" S.

Longitude, according to the position of Upper Head and the survey from thence, 150 deg. 12' E.

Variation of the needle, observed on the low south-west point of No. 2, 8 deg. 28' E.

Three compasses on board the ship at anchor, gave 5 deg. 34' when the head was east, or corrected to the meridian, 8 deg. 4' E.

Upon the different elevated places whence bearings were taken, the variation differed from 7 deg. 30' to 9 deg. 30' east.

MONDAY 4 OCTOBER 1802

Early in the morning of the 4th, we got under way, with the Lady Nelson in company, to proceed on our voyage to Torres' Strait and the Gulph of Carpentaria. The wind was at E. by N., and we kept close up to weather the northern Percy Isles; for I had a desire to fall in with the reefs laid down by Mr. Campbell, three-quarters of a degree to the eastward, in latitude 211/2 deg.; and to ascertain their termination to the north-westward.

[EAST COAST. BARRIER REEFS.]

The tide prevented us from weathering the islands till three in the afternoon; we then passed between No. 4 and some rocks lying two miles to the north-east, with 33 fathoms water. During the night we tacked every two hours, working to the eastward, in from 30 to 36 fathoms; and at daylight [TUESDAY 5 OCTOBER 1802], my station on the eastern isle No. 4 bore N. 89 deg. W., four leagues. Nothing was seen in the offing, but in stretching to the N. N. E, reefs were discovered from the mast head a little before noon; and after the observation for the latitude was taken, I set one bearing East to E. by S., two leagues, and another N. 14 deg. W. to 29 deg. E., four or five miles. Our situation was in 21 deg. 15 2/3' south, and longitude from the bearing of the Pine Peak, 150 deg. 34' east.

These reefs were not exactly those seen by Mr. Campbell; but they are probably not more than five or six leagues to the north-westward of them, and form part of the same barrier to the coast. In standing on between the two reefs above set, others, or parts of the same, came in sight ahead; upon which I shortened sail to the three top sails, desired the Lady Nelson to take the lead, and bore away north-westward along the inner side of the northern reef. In an hour we had passed its west end; but another reef came in sight, and for a time obliged us to steer W. by S. At four o'clock we ran northward again, following the direction of the reef on its lee side; and at six anchored in 27 fathoms, coarse sand, in the following situation:

Latitude observed from the moon., 21 deg. 4' S. Longitude from bearings, 150 19 E. Nearest part of the reef, dist. 21/2 miles, E. 1/2 S. A smaller reef, distant 3 miles, N. W. 1/2 N. Percy Isles, Pine Peak of No. 3, S. 9 0 W. Cumberland Island marked 'k', W. 6 0 N.

The reefs were not dry in any part, with the exception of some small black lumps, which at a distance resembled the round heads of negroes; the sea broke upon the edges, but within side the water was smooth, and of a light green colour. A further description of these dangers is unnecessary, since their forms and relative positions, so far as they could be ascertained, will be best learned from the chart.

Until midnight, five hours after the moon had passed the meridian, a tide came from S. by E., half a mile per hour. The ship then tended to the N. E. by E.; and this tide, whose rate was one mile, appearing to be the flood, led me to suppose there might be an open sea in that direction. In the morning [WEDNESDAY 6 OCTOBER 1802], I sent a boat to lieutenant Murray with instructions for his guidance in case of separation; and appointed him Murray's Islands in Torres' Strait, discovered by captain Edwards in 1791, for the first rendezvous; cautioning him to be strictly on his guard against the treachery of the natives.

We weighed at seven o'clock, and steered N. N. E., close to the wind; at ten, reefs came in sight, extending from W. by N., to N. by E. 1/2 E., which we weathered one mile, having 35 fathoms water. Our situation at noon was in latitude 20 deg. 45' 40", from observations to the north and south, and the longitude by time keeper 150 deg. 28'; the east end of the great reef to leeward bore S. W. 1/2 W. two miles, and it extended in patches to N. 16 deg. W., where, at the distance of two leagues, was either a dry white sand or high breakers but which could not be discerned from the reflection of the sun. Nothing was seen to the north-east, and we now lay up in that direction; but at one o'clock there was a small reef bearing N. 1/2 E.; and at three, a larger one extended from N. by W. 1/2 W. to E. N. E., and on the outside of it were such high breakers, that nothing less than the unobstructed waves of the ocean could produce them. We stood on for this reef, until four; and being then one mile off, tacked to the southward, having 33 fathoms, nearly the same depth as before.

The larbord tack was continued to six o'clock, at which time we anchored in 32 fathoms, white sand, shells, and pieces of coral, having neither reef nor danger of any kind in sight; but the smoothness of the water left no doubt of many lying to windward. From the high breakers seen in the afternoon, however, hopes were entertained of soon clearing the reefs; for by this time I was weary of them, not only from the danger to which the vessels were thereby exposed, but from fear of the contrary monsoon setting in upon the North Coast, before we should get into the Gulph of Carpentaria.

At this anchorage, the tide came from between S. W. by S. and W. by S., till midnight; and at two in the morning [THURSDAY 7 OCTOBER 1802] the ship rode north, and afterwards N. E. by E., to the flood; which seemed to imply two openings in the reefs, and one of them near the high breakers. The depth of water changed from 35 to 32 fathoms, in the night; but a part of the difference might arise from irregularities in the bottom.

We got under way at daybreak, and stretched south-east to gain the wind; at nine, a reef was passed on each beam; and at noon, when we tacked to the northward in 20 deg. 58' south and 150 deg. 48' east, there were five others, distant from two to five miles, bearing from S. 20 deg. W., round by the east and north to N. 25 deg. W.; but apparently with passages between most of them. Upon these reefs were more of the dry, black lumps, called negro heads, than had been seen before; but they were so much alike as to be of no use in distinguishing one reef from another; and at high water, nearly the whole were covered.

In the afternoon, a very light wind at north-east left no prospect of weathering the reef before dark, upon which the high breakers had been seen; we therefore tacked to the E. S. E., and anchored at sunset in 84 fathoms, fine white sand, not far from our noon's situation; a reef, partly dry, was then distant one mile and a half, and bore E. 1/2 S. to S. E. The flood tide here ran something more than one mile an hour, and came from between north and north-west, the ship tending to it at one in the morning.

FRIDAY 8 OCTOBER 1802

At seven, when the flood had done running, the two vessels were lying up E. N. E., with a light breeze from the northward; but a rippling which extended a mile from the reef, caused us to tack until a boat was sent to sound upon it; for the Lady Nelson was so leewardly, that much time was lost in waiting for her. At ten we passed through the rippling, in from 14 to 34 fathoms; and at noon were in latitude 20 deg. 55', and longitude 150 deg. 55' by time keeper. We seemed at this time to be surrounded with reefs; but it was ascertained by the whale boat, that many of these appearances were caused by the shadows of clouds and the ripplings and eddies of tide, and that the true coral banks were those only which had either green water or negro heads upon them. Of these, however, there was a formidable mass, all round ahead, with but one small channel through them; and this I was resolved to attempt, in the hope of its carrying us out to windward of the high breakers.