188 PHILIJEP Another excureion. 17BB During his interriews with the natives at Broken Bay he •AiMdL had many opportunities of observing their peculiar customs^ ThenstivH. which puzzled him a good deal — especially that of cutting off two joints from the little finger of the left hand among the women. He noticed also that the men had the right front tooth in the upper jaw knocked out, wore a piece of wood or bone in the nose, and were scarified about the breast and arms. Sojne of their graves were opened, and from the ashes found in them he '^ had no doubt but that they bum their dead/^ The next expedition set out on the 15th of April, when Phillip endeavoured to explore the country on the sea-coast a little to the north of Port Jackson. Landing at Shell Cove, between Manly Beach and the North Head,* he found, further on, '^ a passage with deep water into a branch of the harbour that runs to the north-west.*' On examining this part of the country he came across " a run of fresh water that came from the westward,'* and a few days afterwards he proceeded to trace it up to its source. In the course of this journey a large lake was met with and examined, but not without great labour, as it was " surrounded with a bog and a large marsh, in which we were frequently up to our middle.'* This lake is known to excursionists of the present day as Lake Narrabeen, and is frequently visited by coach on the road from Manly to Pittwater. Here Phillip saw a black swan for the first time, and thought it a noble bird." It took the party three days* hard work to get round the swamps and marshes which they met with on their way;
- There is another Shell Cove in Middle Harbour, between Hunter's Kay
and the Spit ; and a third between Mosaman's Bay (formerly called Great Siriufl Cove) and Neutral Bay, so named by Phillip when he directed that All foreign ships entering the harbour should anchor there. ' ' The Governor, thinking it probable that foreign ships might again visit this coast, and per- haps run into this harbour for the purpose of procuring refreshments, directed Mr. Blackburn to survey a larse bay on the North Shore, contiguous to this cove ; and a sufficient depth of water being found, his excellency inserted in the Port Orders that all foreign ships coming into this harbour should anchor in this bay, which he named Neutral Bav, bringing Rock Island to bear S.S.E., and the hospital on the west side of Sydney C^ve to bear S.W. byW."— C/ollins, p. 64. Lake Narrabeen Digitized by Google
