A Voyage to Terra Australis/Volume 1/Book 1/Chapter 10
CHAPTER X.
1802.
May.
Monday 3.On the 3d of May at daylight, the anchor was weighed to go out of Port Phillip with the last half of the ebb; and the wind being from the westward, we backed, filled, and tacked occasionally, dropping out with the tide. When the entrance was cleared, and five miles distant, Mr. Westall took a view of it,(Atlas,
Plate XVII,
View 13.) which will be an useful assistance in finding this extensive, but obscure port; and at eleven o'clock, when we bore away eastward to pass Cape Schanck, he sketched that cape and the ridge of hills terminating at Arthur's Seat.(View 14.) Cape Schanck is a cliffy head, with three rocks lying off, the outermost of which appears at a distance like a ship under sail: the latitude is 38° 29′ or 30′ south, and longitude 144° 5′ east. It will always be desirable for vessels to get sight of this cape, before they run far into the great bight for Port Phillip; and if the wind blow strong from the southward, it will be unsafe to run without having seen it.
Cape Schanck is also an excellent mark for ships desiring to go into Western Port, of which it forms the west side of the principal entrance; but as there are many breakers and shoals on that side, which extend almost to mid-channel, it will be necessary to give the cape a wide berth, by keeping over to Phillip Island on the starbord hand.
At noon, Cape Schanck bore N. 36° W. five or six miles; the breeze was fresh from the westward, with cloudy weather, and we steered for Point Grant, at the east side of the entrance into Western Port. There is a square-topped rock surrounded with a reef lying off the point; but the Lady Nelson has passed between them, with 3 fathoms water. On reaching within a mile of this reef, at one o'clock, I set
C. Schanck, distant 9 or 10 miles, at . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
N. 85° | W. |
A cliffy head up the entrance, distant 5 miles, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
N. 16 | W. |
Square-topped rock, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
N. 85 | E. |
Cape Wollamai, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
S. 80½ | E. |
We then steered eastward along the south side of Phillip Island, and passed a needle-like rock, lying under the shore. Cape Wollamai is the east end of the island, and forms one side of the small, eastern entrance to the port; and at three o'clock, when it bore N. 14° E, five or six miles, its longitude was ascertained by means of the time keepers to be 145° 25′ east: the latitude deduced from bearings, is 38° 33′ south. Wollamai is the native name for a fish at Port Jackson, called sometimes by the settlers, light-horseman, from the bones of the head having some resemblance to a helmet; and the form of this cape bearing a likeness to the head of the fish, induced Mr. Bass to give it the name of Wollamai.
We ran south-eastward along the shore, at the rate of six or seven knots, until sunset; when a steep head, supposed to be the Cape Liptrap of Captain Grant, was seen through the haze, and our bearings of the land were,
Cape Wollamai, distant six leagues, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
N. 49° | W. |
A low projection, distant seven miles, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
N. 21 | E. |
Cape Liptrap, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
S. 50 | E. |
We soon afterwards hauled to the wind off shore, under treble-reefed top sails; and the gale increasing, with much swell from the south-westward, the close reefs were taken in. At midnight, tacked to the northward, and stood off and on till day break;Tuesday 4. the wind being strong at west, and weather squally with rain. We then bore away for the land, which was seen to leeward; and at seven, the bearings of the principal parts were as under:
Land indistinct, apparently C. Liptrap, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
N. | 5° | W. |
Wilson's Promontory, south extreme, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
S. | 85 | E. |
A peaked I. (Rodondo of captain Grant), . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
S. | 71 | E. |
Besides Rodondo, which lies about six miles to the south-by-east of the promontory, I distinguished five or six less conspicuous isles, lying along the south and west sides of this remarkable head land: these are called Glennie's Isles. To the N. 88° E. from Rodondo, and distant about two leagues, was a small island which appears to have been one of Moncur's Isles; and in steering south-eastward, we got sight of the Devil's Tower, and of the high island and rocks named Sir Roger Curtis' Isles. These names were given by captain Grant in 1800; but he was not the discoverer of the places to which they are applied. They are all laid down upon my chart of 1799, on the authority of Mr. Bass; and when it is considered that this enterprising man saw them from an open boat, in very bad weather, their relative positions to Wilson's Promontory will be thought surprisingly near the truth. Unfortunately the situation of the promontory itself, owing to some injury done to his quadrant, is considerably in error; being twelve or fourteen miles wrong in latitude. A reef is mentioned by captain Grant, as lying to the southward between Rodondo and Moncur's Isles; and a rock, level with the water, was seen in the same situation by the ships Cato and Castle of Good Hope, from which last it received the appropriate name of Crocodile Rock. This also was seen by Mr. Bass, and laid down in its relative situation; but in the Investigator, I was not sufficiently near to get sight of this important danger.
We continued to steer south-eastward, round all these islands, having a fresh gale at west-south-west with squally weather; and at noon our situation was in
Latitude observed, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
39° | 35 | ||
Longitude by time keepers, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
146 | 30 | ||
Rodondo bore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
N. | 15 | W. | |
Sir R. Curtis' Island, the peak, dist. 7 miles, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
N. | 46 | E. | |
| (The Devils Tower being nearly on with the north side.) | ||||
Two pointed rocks, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
N. 57° and 62 | E. | ||
Wilson's Promontory was no longer visible; but from the best bearings I had been able to obtain in such blowing weather, its south-eastern extremity lies in latitude 39° 11½′ south, and longitude 146° 24′ east.
Not seeing any more islands to the southward from the mast head, we bore away east soon after noon, to make Kent's Groups; and before three o'clock they both came in sight, as did an island to the northward, which seems to have been one of the small cluster discovered by Mr. John Black, and named Hogan's Group. The longitude by time keepers at this time was 146° 58′ east, and the following bearings were taken:
Sir R. Curtis' Island, the peak, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
N. 71° | W. |
Hogan's highest Island, from the mast head, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
N. 5 | E. |
Kent's large Group, south end of the eastern I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
N. 70 | E. |
Small Group, dist. 6 or 7 miles, hiding the north-west end of the large group, |
N. 52° to 45 | E. |
In steering past the south sides of the two groups at the distance of four to six miles, I was enabled to correct their positions; and also that of the pyramid, which was set at S. 4½° E. ten miles at four o'clock. When these lands had been laid down in the Francis and Norfolk in 1798, it was without the assistance of a time keeper, and therefore liable to considerable errors in longitude.
At five in the evening, I thought myself fortunate to get a sight of Furneaux's great island through the haze; and also of a small, craggy isle which had been before fixed relatively to the inner Sister. To obtain the positions of these places by our time keepers, was to me an important object; since they were connected with the former survey of Furneaux's Islands and the north-eastern part of Van Diemen's Land. The bearings taken at five were,
Furneaux's great I., hills on the west part, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
S. 48° | E. |
Small craggy isle, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
S. 69 | E. |
Kent's large Group, extremes, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
N. 7° to 47 | W. |
Small Group, the largest isle, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
N. 77 | W. |
A small rock, not seen before, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
N. 88 | E. |
The hills upon Furneaux's great island, which I believe, but could not certainly ascertain to have been upon the westernmost point, will therefore lie very nearly S. 48° E., from the bluff south-west end of Kent's large Group, instead of S. 38° E., as before marked. This places the great island 10′ of longitude further east from the group, than was given by my run in the Francis during the night of Feb. 8, 1798.
We passed to the northward of the small new rock at the distance of three miles, and I judged it to lie four, or four-and-half leagues from the eastern side of Kent's large Group. No kind of danger was observed between them, but it was then nearly dark; and the wind being fresh and favourable, and not having more than ten days provisions in the ship, I felt it necessary to leave this and some other parts of Bass' Strait to a future examination; and we steered onward, east-north-east for Port Jackson.
Wednes 5.At daylight of the 5th, the course was altered more northward; and at noon, land was seen from the mast head to the north-north-west, probably some of the hills at the back of the Long Beach, and distant not less than twenty leagues: our latitude was 38° 32′ south, and longitude 149° 35′ east. The wind had then moderated, and having shifted to north-west, we kept close up to make Cape Howe. At four, hove to and sounded, but no bottom could be had with 90 fathoms; the land extended in patches from west-northwest distant twenty-five or more leagues, to near the Ram Head at north; and consequently the hills at the back of the Long Beach must be of considerable elevation, superior to any other land near the sea in the southern, or perhaps any part of New South Wales.
Thursday 6.On the wind shifting to the east side of north, next day, I tacked to get in with the land; being desirous of running near to as much of the coast, and correcting its longitude in our way to Port Jackson, as could be done without loss of time; but at noon the wind veered back, and our north-eastern course was resumed. The land could not then be further distant than nine or ten leagues; but no part of it was in sight, nor from the dulness of the weather, could any observation be taken.
After a squally night, the wind fixed at west-by-north; and at daybreak of the 7th,Friday 7.
(Atlas,
Plate VIII.) the land was visible from west to north-west, and our course was parallel to it. At noon, the latitude was 36° 24′ south, and longitude 151° 16′ east; Mount Dromedary was in sight bearing N. 85° W., and by the difference of longitude, was distant fifty-two miles: I estimate its highest southern part to lie in 36° 19′ south, and 150° 11′ east. The wind returned to the north-west in the afternoon, and we lost sight of the land; but becoming fairer afterwards, and the southern current not having much strength, by four next daySaturday 8. the heads of Port Jackson were in sight. At dusk the flag-staff upon the South Head bore west-south-west, and our distance from the shore was seven or eight miles.
I tried to beat up for the port in the night, being sufficiently well acquainted to have run up in the dark, had the wind permitted; but we were still to leeward in the morning,Sunday 9.
(Atlas,
Pl. XVIII.
view 1.) and Mr. Westall made a good sketch of the entrance. At one o'clock we gained the heads, a pilot came on board, and soon after three the Investigator was anchored in Sydney Cove.
There was not a single individual on board who was not upon deck working the ship into harbour; and it may be averred, that the officers and crew were, generally speaking, in better health than on the day we sailed from Spithead, and not in less good spirits. I have said nothing of the regulations observed after we made Cape Leeuwin; they were little different from those adopted in the commencement of the voyage, and of which a strict attention to cleanliness, and a free circulation of air in the messing and sleeping places formed the most essential parts. Several of the inhabitants of Port Jackson expressed themselves never to have been so strongly reminded of England, as by the fresh colour of many amongst the Investigator's ship's company.
So soon as the anchor was dropped, I went on shore to wait upon his Excellency Philip Gidley King, Esq., governor of New South Wales, and senior naval officer upon the station; to whom I communicated a general account of our discoveries and examinations upon the South Coast, and delivered the orders from the Admiralty and Secretary of State. These orders directed the governor to place the brig Lady Nelson under my command, and not to employ the Investigator on other service than that which was the object of the voyage; and His Excellency was pleased to assure me, that every assistance in the power of the colony to render, should be given to forward a service so interesting to his government, and to himself. The Lady Nelson was then lying in Sydney Cove; but her commander, lieutenant Grant, had requested permission to return to England, and had sailed six months before.
Besides the Lady Nelson, there were in the port His Majesty's armed vessel Porpoise, the Speedy, south-whaler, and the Margaret privateer; also the French national ship Le Naturaliste, commanded by captain Hamelin, to whom I communicated captain Baudin's intention of coming to Port Jackson so soon as the bad weather should set in. Le Géographe's boat had been picked up in Bass' Strait by Mr. Campbell of the brig Harrington, and the officers and crew were at this time on board Le Naturaliste.
The duties required to fit the ship for prosecuting the voyage with success being various and extensive, Cattle Point, on the east side of Sydney Cove, was assigned to us by the governor for carrying on some of our employments, whilst others were in progress on board the ship and in the dockyard. On the morning after our arrival, we warped to a convenient situation near the point, and sent on shore the tents, the sail-makers and sails, and the cooper with all the empty casks. Next day the observatory was set up, and the time keepers and other astronomical instruments placed there under the care of lieutenant Flinders; who, with Mr. Franklin his assistant, was to make the necessary observations and superintend the various duties carrying on at the same place; and a small detachment of marines was landed for the protection of the tents.
I had found the barricade of the quarter deck to stand so high, as to be not only an obstacle to beating to windward, but a great inconvenience to surveying the coast; for when the wind was on the side next to the land, there were no means of taking bearings over it but by standing on the top of the binnacle; or otherwise by removing the compass to different places, which I had found could not be done without materially changing the variation. These inconveniences being stated to the governor, his permission was obtained to reduce it so low as that it might be overlooked in all cases; and an order was given that four convict carpenters, and such other assistance from the dockyard should be furnished as was necessary. To supply the place of the cutter we had lost at the entrance of Spencer's Gulph, I contracted for a boat to be built after the model of that in which Mr. Bass made his long and adventurous expedition to the strait. It was twenty-eight feet seven inches in length over all, rather flat floored, head and stern alike, a keel somewhat curved, and the cut-water and stern post nearly upright; it was fitted to row eight oars when requisite, but intended for six in common cases. The timbers were cut from the largest kind of banksia, which had been found more durable than mangrove; and the planking was of cedar. This boat was constructed under the superintendance of Mr. Thomas Moore, master builder to the colony; and proved, like her prototype, to be excellent in a sea, as well as for rowing and sailing in smooth water. The cost at Port Jackson was no more than £30.; but this was owing to some of the materials being supplied from the public magazines.
Whilst these branches of our refitment were going on, a thorough examination was made and survey taken of all the ship's stores; as well for the purpose of sending away those unserviceable and replacing them with others so far as they could be obtained, as with a view to enable the warrant officers to pass their accounts and obtain their pay up to this time; a precaution which the nature of our voyage rendered more peculiarly necessary. After the surveys were ended, the seamen were employed in stripping and re-rigging the masts, and preparing the hold to receive a fresh stock of provisions and water; the naturalist and his assistants, as also the two painters, made excursions into the interior of the country; and my time was mostly occupied in constructing the fair charts of our discoveries and examinations upon the South Coast, for the purpose of their being transmitted to the secretary of the Admiralty.
June.On the 4th of June, the ship was dressed with colours, a royal salute fired, and I went with the principal officers of the Investigator to pay my respects to His Excellency the governor and captain-general, in honour of His Majesty's birth day. On this occasion, a splendid dinner was given to the colony; and the number of ladies and civil, military, and naval officers was not less than forty, who met to celebrate the birth of their beloved sovereign in this distant part of the earth.
On the 6th, the Speedy, south-whaler, sailed for England. By Mr. Quested, the commander, I transmitted to the Admiralty an account of my proceedings upon the south coast of Terra Australis; but the charts being unfinished, were obliged to be deferred to a future opportunity. To the Astronomer Royal I sent Arnold's time keepers, No. 82 and 176, which had stopped; together with a statement of the principal astronomical observations hitherto made, and an account of Earnshaw's two time keepers, No. 543 and 520, which continued to perform well.
Captain Baudin arrived in Le Géographe on the 20th, and a boat was sent from the Investigator to assist in towing the ship up to the cove. It was grievous to see the miserable condition, to which both officers and crew were reduced by scurvy; there being not more out of one hundred and seventy, according to the commander's account, than twelve men capable of doing their duty. The sick were received into the colonial hospital; and both French ships furnished with every thing in the power of the colony to supply. Before their arrival, the necessity of augmenting the number of cattle in the country had prevented the governor from allowing us any fresh meat; but some oxen belonging to government were now killed for the distressed strangers; and by returning an equal quantity of salt meat, which was exceedingly scarce at this time, I obtained a quarter of beef for my people. The distress of the French navigators had indeed been great; but every means were used by the governor and the principal inhabitants of the colony, to make them forget both their sufferings and the war which existed between the two nations.[1]
July.His Excellency, governor King, had done me the honour to visit the Investigator, and to accept of a dinner on board; on which occasion he had been received with the marks of respect due to his rank of captain-general; and shortly afterward, the captains Baudin and Hamelin, with monsieur Peron and some other French officers, as also colonel Paterson, the lieutenant governor, did me the same favour; when they were received under a salute of eleven guns. The intelligence of peace, which had just been received, contributed to enliven the party, and rendered our meeting more particularly agreeable. I showed to captain Baudin one of my charts of the South Coast, containing the part first explored by him, and distinctly marked as his discovery. He made no objection to the justice of the limits therein pointed out; but found his portion to be smaller than he had supposed, not haying before been aware of the extent of the discoveries previously made by captain Grant. After examining the chart, he said, apparently as a reason for not producing any of his own, that his charts were not constructed on board the ship; but that he transmitted to Paris all his bearings and observations, with a regular series of views of the land, and from them the charts were to be made at a future time. This mode appeared to me extraordinary, and not to be worthy of imitation; conceiving that a rough chart, at least, should be made whilst the land is in sight, when any error in bearing or observation can be corrected; a plan which was adopted in the commencement, and followed throughout the course of my voyage.
Amongst our employments was that of fitting up a green house on the quarter deck, and sawing plank to make boxes for the reception of such plants as might be found by the naturalist, and thought worthy of being transported to His Majesty's botanic garden at Kew. This green house had been received at Sheerness, and stowed away in pieces; but I saw that when filled with boxes of earth, the upper works of the ship, naturally very weak, would be incapable of supporting the weight; and that in bad weather, we should be obliged to throw it over board for the safety of the ship, I therefore proposed its reduction to two-thirds of the size; and Mr. Brown being of opinion it would then contain all the plants likely to be collected in any one absence from Port Jackson, it was reduced accordingly; and the feet lowered down close to the deck. This arrangement required an alteration in the tiller, and a short one, with two arms, was fitted to the after part of the rudder head; with which expedient, and leading the main braces forward, the green house was not likely to cause much inconvenience to the working of the ship. The plants already collected on the South Coast had been landed on our arrival, in good order; and deposited in the governor's garden until such time as, the objects of the voyage being completed, we should be ready to sail for England.
The ship had never made more than three inches of water in an hour, after leaving the Cape of Good Hope; so that much caulking was not required, either within or out board. What was found necessary, was finished by the middle of July, at the same time with the barricading of the quarter deck; and the masts being then new rigged, and holds nearly completed with water and provisions, the sails were bent and the ship was painted. On the 21st, the last bag of bread and turn of water were received, the new whale boat was brought off, and we dropped down the harbour; being then ready for going to sea next morning.
In consequence of the directions given by His Majesty's principal secretary of state for the colonies, the Lady Nelson, a brig of sixty tons, commanded by acting-lieutenant John Murray, was placed under my orders, as a tender to the Investigator. This vessel was fitted with three sliding keels; and built after the plan of that ingenious officer commissioner (now vice-admiral) Schanck. When the sliding keels were up, the Lady Nelson drew no more than six feet water; and was therefore peculiarly adapted for going up rivers, or other shallow places which it might be dangerous, or impossible for the ship to enter. Mr. Murray's crew was mostly composed of convicts; and having no officer in whom he could place entire confidence, I lent to him Mr. Denis Lacy, one of my young gentlemen acquainted with the management of a time keeper, to act as his chief mate.
The price of fresh meat at Port Jackson was so exorbitant, that it was impossible to think of purchasing it on the public account. I obtained one quarter of beef for the ship's company, in exchange for salt meat, and the governor furnished us with some baskets of vegetables from his garden; and in lieu of the daily pound of biscuit, each man received a pound and a quarter of soft bread, without any expense to government. But with these exceptions, I was obliged to leave the refreshment of the people to their own individual exertions; assisting them with the payment due for savings of bread since leaving the Cape of Good Hope, and the different artificers with the money earned by their extra services in refitting the ship. Fish are usually plentiful at Port Jackson in the summer, but not in the winter time; and our duties were too numerous and indispensable to admit of sending people away with the seine, when there was little prospect of success; a few were, however, occasionally bought along-side, from boats which fished along the coast.
In purchasing a sea stock for the cabin, I paid £3. a head for sheep, weighing from thirty to forty pounds when dressed. Pigs were bought at 9d. per pound, weighed alive, geese at 10s. each, and fowls at 3s.; and Indian corn for the stock cost 5s. a bushel.
To complete the ship's provisious, I entered into a contract for 30,000 pounds of biscuit, 8000 pounds of flour, and 156 bushels of kiln-dried wheat; but in the mean time, the ship Coromandel brought out the greater part of the twelvemonths' provisions, for which I had applied on sailing from Spithead; and the contractor was prevailed upon to annul that part of the agreement relating to flour and wheat. The biscuit cost 33s. per hundred pounds; and considering that the colony was at short allowance, and that the French ships were to be supplied, it was a favourable price. From two American vessels which arrived, I purchased 1483 gallons of rum at 6s. 6d. per gallon; which, with what remained of our former stock, was a proportion for twelve months. In other respects our provisions were completed from the quantity sent out from England; and the remaining part was lodged in the public stores, in charge of the commissary, until our return.
In addition to the melancholy loss of eight officers and men, at the entrance of Spencer's Gulph, and the previous deficiency of four in the complement, I found it necessary to discharge the man who had been bitten by a seal at Kanguroo Island, as also a marine, who was invalided; so that fourteen men were required to complete my small ship's company, Mr. John Aken, chief mate of the ship Hercules, was engaged to fill the situation of master, and five men, mostly seamen, were entered; but finding it impossible to fill up the complement with free people, I applied to the governor for his permission to enter such convicts as should present themselves, and could bring respectable recommendations. This request, as every other I had occasion to make to His Excellency, was complied with; and when the requisite number was selected, he gave me an official document, containing clauses relative to these men, well calculated to insure their good conduct. As this document may be thought curious by many readers, it is here inserted; premising, that the men therein mentioned, with the exception of two, were convicts for life.
"Whereas captain Matthew Flinders, commander of His Majesty's ship Investigator, has requested permission to receive on board that ship the undermentioned convicts as seamen, to make up the number he is deficient. I do hereby grant
| Thomas Toney | Thomas Martin | Joseph Marlow |
| Thomas Shirley | Joseph Tuzo | Richard Stephenson |
| Thomas Smith | Francis Smith | Charles Brown |
permission to ship themselves on board His Majesty's ship Investigator; and on the return of that ship to this port, according to captain Flinders' recommendation of them, severally and individually, they will receive conditional emancipations or absolute pardons, as that officer may request.
"And in the interim I do, by virtue of the power and authority in me vested, Grant a provisional-conditional emancipation to the said Thomas Toney, &c.; for the purpose of their being enabled to serve on board His Majesty's said ship Investigator, whilst in the neighbourhood of this territory; which conditional emancipation will be of no effect, in case any of those named herein do individually conduct themselves so ill, as to put it out of captain Flinders' power to recommend them for a conditional or absolute pardon on his return to this port.
(Signed)Philip Gidley King, (L.S.)"
Several of these men were seamen, and all were able and healthy; so that I considered them a great acquisition to our strength. With respect to themselves, the situation to which they were admitted was most desirable; since they had thereby a prospect of returning to their country, and that society from which they had been banished; and judging from the number of candidates for the vacancies, such was the light in which a reception on board the Investigator was considered in the colony. When the master was entered, one of the men, being over the complement, was sent to the Lady Nelson, with a reserve of the privilege above granted.
I had before experienced much advantage from the presence of a native of Port Jackson, in bringing about a friendly intercourse with the inhabitants of other parts of the coast; and on representing this to the governor, he authorised me to receive two on board. Bongaree, the worthy and brave fellow who had sailed with me in the Norfolk, now volunteered again; the other was Nanbaree, a good-natured lad, of whom colonel Collins has made mention in his Account of New South Wales.
My instructions directed me to consult with governor King upon the best means of proceeding in the execution of the voyage; they also pointed out my return to the South Coast, as the first step after refitting the ship at Port Jackson; but His Excellency was of opinion, as well as myself, that it would be unsafe to do this in the middle of the winter season; and that to remain six months in port waiting for the fine weather would be a sad waste of time; I had, besides, left very little of importance to be examined upon the South Coast, a circumstance which the instructions had not contemplated. Upon all these considerations, it was decided to proceed to the northward,—examine Torres' Strait and the east side of the Gulph of Carpentaria before the north-west monsoon should set in,—proceed as I might be able during its continuance,—and afterwards explore the North and North-west Coasts; returning to Port Jackson when, and by such route as might be found most advisable, and conducive to the general purposes of the voyage.
It was probable that the north-west monsoon would not set in before the beginning of November; I therefore intended to examine such parts of the east coast of New South Wales in my way to the northward, as had been passed by captain Cook in the night, and were not seen in my expedition with the Norfolk sloop in 1799. The openings of Keppel and Shoal-water Bays, and the still larger of Broad Sound, I was also anxious to explore; in the hope of finding a river falling into some one of them, capable of admitting the Lady Nelson into the interior of the country. These desirable objects I expected to accomplish before the approach of the monsoon would call me into the Gulph of Carpentaria.
The French ships were in no forwardness for sailing; and it was understood that captain Baudin intended sending back Le Naturaliste to France, by the way of Bass' Strait, so soon as the season should be favourable. He had purchased a small vessel of between thirty and forty tons at Sydney, to serve him as a tender; and he told me that we should probably meet in the Gulph of Carpentaria in December or January. I understood that he meant to return to the South Coast, and after completing its examination, to proceed northward, and enter the Gulph with the north-west monsoon; but it appeared to me very probable, that the western winds on the South Coast would detain him too long to admit of reaching the Gulph of Carpentaria at the time specified, or at any time before the south-east monsoon would set in against him.
Before leaving Sydney Cove, I placed in the hands of governor King two copies of my chart of the south coast of Terra Australis, in six sheets; with three other sheets of particular parts, on a large scale. One copy I requested him to send with my letters to the secretary of the Admiralty, by the first good opportunity that offered; the other was to remain in his hands until my return, or until he should hear of the loss of the Investigator, when it was also to be sent to the Admiralty.
During our stay of twelve weeks at Port Jackson, there were not many days favourable to our pursuits at the observatory, the weather being dull and rainy for the greater part of the time; by watching all opportunities however, a sufficient number of observations were obtained to show the rates of the time keepers, and to answer the purposes of geography and navigation
The Latitude of Cattle Point, from thirty meridian altitudes in an artificial horizon, of which fourteen were taken by Mr. Crosley and seven by me in 1795, and nine by lieutenant Flinders at this time, is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
33° | 51′ | 45″,6 S. |
Longitude from forty-four sets of distances of the sun and moon, of which the individual results are given in Table VI of the Appendix to this volume, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
151 | 11 | 49 E.[2] |
| Flag staff on the south head, | latitude | 33° | 51½′ | south, |
| longitude | 151 | 16½ | east. |
Ramsden's universal theodolite was set up at the observatory, and intended to be used as a transit instrument; but from the unfavourable state of the weather and my numerous occupations, it was not adjusted to the meridian; and the rates of the time keepers were therefore deduced from equal altitudes, taken with a sextant and artificial horizon in the usual way. Their errors from mean Greenwich time, at noon there July 18, and the mean rates of going in the last fifteen days, which were selected as the best, were as under:
| Earnshaw's No. | 543, | slow | 0ʰ | 16′ | 39″,72 | and losing | 8″,63 | per day. |
| 520, | slow- | 1 | 18 | 53,00 | - - - | 19,52 |
The longitude of Cattle Point, given by the time keepers with the Kanguroo-Island rates on May 10th, the first day of observation after our arrival, was by
| No. | 543 | - | 151° | 31′ | 21″ | |
| 520 | - | 151 | 26 | 49 | east. |
The mean is 17′ 16″ more than deduced from the lunar observations; and when rates are used equally accelerating from those at Kanguroo Island, to what were found on first arriving at Port Jackson, the longitude by the time keepers would still be 14' 57",4 to the east; so that they appear to have gone less regularly during this passage than before. In fixing the longitudes of places between the two stations, the time keepers with their accelerated rates have been used; and the error of 14′ 57″,4 has been corrected by quantities proportionate to the times of observation, between April 6 at Kanguroo Island, and May 9 at Port Jackson.
The mean dip of the south end of the needle at
Cattle Point was . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
62° 52′ |
Variation of the compass, observed by lieutenant Flinders on Garden Island in the following year, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
8° 51′ east. |
No remarks were made at this time upon the tide; but it is known to be high water in Port Jackson about eight hours and a quarter after the moon's passage over and under the meridian; and the usual rise to be between four and six or seven feet. When high water takes place between three or four in the afternoon and one or two in the morning, it rises from six to eighteen inches higher than the preceding flood; and the following ebb descends a few inches lower than that which preceded the high tide.
The range of the thermometer on board the ship, was from 51° to 69°; and nearly the same on shore. The mercury in the barometer stood from 29,60 to 30,36 inches; but it was remarkable that it stood lowest in the fine weather, when the wind came from the westward off the land, and was highest in the rainy, squally weather, with the wind from the sea. According to the information communicated by colonel W. Paterson, F.R.S., commander of the troops at Port Jackson, this relation between the mercury and the weather was general here in the winter season, when the eastern winds bring rain with them; and I had frequent occasion to remark upon the South Coast, that sea winds raised the mercury in the barometer, whilst those from the land, even with fine weather, caused it to descend.
- ↑ These liberal proceedings, which do so much honour to governor King and the colonists, are handsomely acknowledged by M. Peron in his account of the French voyage.
- ↑ In 1795 and 1796 I took sixty sets of distances upon Cattle Point, an equal number on each side, which gave the longitude 151° 17′ 12″; but these observations not having been calculated with great nicety, nor corrected for the errors of the lunar and solar tables, the result is not considered to be of equal authority with that given above. The present admiral D'Espinosa, when an officer in the voyage of Malaspina, observed an eclipse of the sun at Port Jackson, and occultations of the first and second satellites of Jupiter, from which he deduces the longitude of the town of Sydney to be 151° 12′ 45″ east of Greenwich; not differing more than a minute of longitude from the above forty-four sets of corrected lunar observations.