Chapter 1 (1)

Intended mode of proceeding, and departure from Port Jackson. Visit Twofold Bay. Natives seen. Passage through Bass Strait and along the South Coast to King George the Third's Sound. Transactions there. Voyage to the North-West Cape, and Survey of the Coast between the North-West Cape and Depuch Island, including the examinations of Exmouth Gulf, Curlew River, and Dampier's Archipelago. Loss of Anchors, and Interview with the Natives. Remarks upon Dampier's account of Rosemary Island, and of the Island upon which he landed.

1817. December 21.

At the time that the Mermaid was ready to commence her voyage, it was the season when the westerly monsoon blows over that part of the sea which separates the islands of Timor and New Guinea from Australia; it was therefore necessary, in order to benefit by the direction of the wind, to commence the survey of the coast at its western extremity, the North-West Cape: but, to do this, the passage was to be made, by taking the western route, as it is called; that is, by passing either through Bass Strait, or round Van Diemen's Land, and steering up the West Coast. In doing this, the vessel would, doubtless, have to encounter much bad weather; and, on her arrival might, probably, be more fit to return than to commence the survey of a dangerous and an unknown coast. The passage to the northward, through Torres Strait, would have been, on all accounts, the most advisable route, had the season been more advanced; and, indeed, it would have been even better to wait until March for that purpose; but this would be a loss of time in which much might be effected, were we only fortunate enough to make the western passage without accident: under all these circumstances, I was induced to prefer the route of Bass Strait, rather than remain idle, after the vessel was completed.

Before we left Port Jackson, His Excellency the Governor was made acquainted with my intended mode of proceeding; that, having passed Bass Strait to King George the Third's Sound, I should there complete my water and fuel: then, by steering up the West Coast, to commence my survey at the North-West Cape, and examine the coast easterly until the westerly monsoon should begin to decline; upon which I proposed to leave the land, and proceed as far to the eastward as the remainder of the monsoon would allow; when I might examine the coast back with the easterly monsoon as long as my stock of water lasted; and lastly, if I could not get a supply upon the coast, to go to Timor, by which time my provisions would, probably, be so reduced as to oblige my returning to Port Jackson to prepare for a second voyage.

December 22.

Having made our final arrangements, we left Port Jackson on the 22nd of December, with a fresh northerly breeze, which continued until the evening of the 24th, when we were abreast of Cape Howe. After this a heavy gale of wind from South-West obliged us to run into Twofold Bay for shelter, and to repair some trifling damage which we had already sustained.

Twofold Bay was discovered by Mr. Bass in 1797; and, although it is for the most part too open and exposed to easterly winds for large ships, yet it has a cove on its northern side, in which small vessels find secure anchorage and a convenient place for stopping at, if bound to the southward; and hence its name of Snug Cove. It is completely land-locked, and it also conveniently affords both wood and water, and is neither difficult to enter nor to leave.

December 26.

When passing Red Point, which is on the south side of the bay, several natives were seen upon it; one of them came to the verge of the rocks that overhang the extremity of the point, and made violent gestures, but, whether they were those of friendship or hostility, could not be ascertained. Boongaree answered him in the Port Jackson language, but they were equally unintelligible to each other. The native had a spear in one hand, and either a throwing stick, or a club, in the other; both of which, with his legs widely extended, he flourished most furiously over his head. This man was quite naked, but a woman near him wore a kangaroo's skin over her shoulders. Several small parties of natives were seen in the other parts of the bay, but they appeared more anxious to avoid than to court a communication with us.

On anchoring in Snug Cove, I went on shore with Mr. Roe and Mr. Cunningham: Boongaree also accompanied us, clothed in a new dress, which was provided for him, of which he was not a little proud, and for some time kept it very clean.

Wood was abundant and near at hand, and the water, which is in a morass at the back of the beach, although shallow, and covered with a species of azolla, was both good and plentiful.

The soil of the hills, contiguous to Snug Cove, is very good, and covered with luxuriant grass. The country appeared to be thickly wooded, but near the water the trees, which were principally species of the eucalyptus and the casuarina, were small and stunted.

In our strolls during the day along the beach, and over the surrounding hills, we did not encounter any inhabitants, although recent signs of them were visible at every step; several beaten paths were observed leading to the morass from different directions, on the banks of which were many shells (Haliotis gigantea, Linn.) used by the natives for drinking-vessels.

In the evening, after hauling the seine on the beach without success, we were upon the point of embarking, when we discovered, at about seventy or eighty yards up the hill, the heads of three or four natives peeping above the long grass, evidently watching our movements, and probably awaiting our departure to allow them to go to the morass for water. Wishing very much to communicate with these people, we walked towards them, but they suddenly rose and scampered up the hill among the trees, which were so thick as soon to conceal them from our view. Boongaree called to them in vain; and it was not until they had reached some distance that they answered his call in loud shrill voices. After some time spent in a parley, in which Boongaree was spokesman on our part, sometimes in his own language, and at others in broken English, which he always resorted to when his own failed in being understood, they withdrew altogether, and we neither heard nor saw anything more of them.

December 27.

The next morning, the wind being easterly, we left the bay. On passing Red Point, twenty or thirty natives came to the extreme point of the cliff, shouting and hallooing and making violent gestures; a large group of women and children appeared in the background, timidly concealing themselves behind the trees and bushes; another party was quietly seated round small fires on the rocks near the sea-beach, apparently engaged in cooking their fish; and at a little distance from the last group, two canoes were hauled upon the rocks.

The breeze being fresh from the North-North-East, we made rapid progress; and at three o'clock p.m., rounded Cape Howe, with every prospect of passing through Bass Strait before the wind should again veer to the westward. In passing Cape Howe, we observed large fires burning on the hills, made by the natives for the double purpose of burning off the dry grass and of hunting the kangaroos, which are thus forced to fly from the woods, and thereby fall an easy prey to their pursuers.

December 28.

The next day at noon, Kent's Group, in the eastern entrance of Bass Strait, was seen; but, at one o'clock, the wind shifted suddenly and blew a gale from South-West, with heavy rain: after beating against it until the following day, we bore up and ran under the lee of Great Island, intending to pass round Van Diemen's Land: at five o'clock, we passed close to the Babel Islands, on which were heaped incredible numbers of sea-birds of various descriptions, each species huddled together in flocks separate from the other. On another part of the island many seals were seen, by the growl of which, and the discordant screams of the birds, a strange confused noise was made, not ill adapted to the name the island bears.

December 29.

By the following day, we had made some progress along the eastern side of Van Diemen's Land, but in the evening, the wind shifted to South-East, and induced us to try the Strait once more. In passing the low north-easternmost point of the land, called by the French, Cape Naturaliste, we had nearly run ashore from the darkness of the night, and the little elevation of the land. Our sounding in seven fathoms was the first indication of danger; and, on listening attentively, the noise of the surf upon the beach was distinctly heard.

December 30.

The next morning we passed through Banks Strait, and entered Bass Strait.

1818. January 2.

But the wind was so light and baffling, that we made no progress until the 2nd of January; when, with a freshening breeze from the eastward, we moved rapidly on our way, and flattered ourselves with the hope of clearing the strait before night. In this hope we were not deceived; but before it was effected, we had very nearly suffered from the careless look-out of the man at the masthead. At four o'clock we were near Three Hummock Island, and steered so as to pass close to its northern point, in order that we might obtain a correct latitude for sights for the chronometers. Being within half a mile of it, rocks were suddenly seen outside and so close to us, that it was then too late either to haul up or bear away; the rocks to windward and the land to leeward preventing us: nothing was therefore left to us but to proceed and take the chance of finding sufficient depth of water between the point and the rocks; providentially there proved to be a passage of one-eighth of a mile wide, and the cutter passed safely through. These islands were examined by Commodore Baudin, and an elaborate survey made of them by his officers; but this danger is not noticed on their plan of the group. The rocks bear North 30 degrees West (by compass) from the northernmost point of the island, and North 8 degrees East (by compass) from the northernmost hummock. I do not think they extend far from the shore.

At sunset, we were in the meridian of Albatross Island, and by midnight cleared the Strait, when we steered a course for King George the Third's Sound.

Upon examining our bread, we found that a considerable quantity was spoiled from damp and leaks, which necessarily obliged us to go at once upon a reduced allowance of that article.

January 16.

From a succession of westerly winds, the vessel was driven so near to the Archipelago of the Recherche, that we were induced to bear up for the anchorage in Goose Island Bay; but as we steered round Douglas's Isles, the wind veered back to the South-East, and we might have proceeded: we were, however, so near the anchorage, that I determined upon occupying it for the night; and steering in between Middle Island and Goose Island, the anchor was dropped off the first sandy beach to the eastward of the highest hill, at the north-west end of the former.

In the evening I landed with the botanist and Mr. Roe, but we found little that was worthy of our attention. The basis of the island is granitic, and covered with a shallow soil, formed of decayed vegetable matter, mixed with sand, which nourishes the stunted vegetation that thickly clothes the surface, particularly on the north-eastern, which is its most sheltered side.

No animals were observed, excepting some small quadrupeds, which were momentarily seen by Mr. Roe, and, from his description, were kangaroo-rats. On Goose Island, the bird from which it takes its name appeared to be abundant; but there was too much surf to permit our landing upon it, and we were not so much in want of fresh provisions as to induce our risking any damage to the boats: we found the bones of a whale which had been thrown up on the beach where we landed.

January 17.

The wind in the night veered to North-East by East, to which quarter the anchorage is much exposed; towards morning it blew fresh, but the anchor held well. At dawn of day, (17th) we got underweigh and steered through the islands; at noon, we were abreast of Termination Island, the latitude of which we found to be 34 degrees 32 minutes. Our friendly wind died away at midnight, and was succeeded by a short gale from the westward.

January 20.

On the 20th, at daylight, we were close to Bald Island, and in the afternoon took up an anchorage in King George the Third's Sound, between Seal Island and the first sandy beach, at the distance of half a mile to the eastward of a flat rock in seven fathoms, sand and weeds.

In the evening we landed on Seal Island, which we had much difficulty in effecting on account of the surf. Several seals were upon it, one of which we killed; and some penguins were also taken. On the summit of the island or rock, for it scarcely deserves the former appellation, the skeleton of a goat's head was found, and near it were the remains of a glass case bottle; both of which, we afterwards learnt, were left on the island by Lieutenant Forster, R.N., who put into this harbour in 1815, on his passage from Port Jackson to Europe, in the Emu, hired transport. We searched in vain for the bottle which Captain Flinders left there, containing an account of the Investigator's visit; my intention, in looking for this document, was not of course to remove it, but to ascertain its existence, and to add a few lines to the memorandum it contained.

Iguanas, geese, penguins, gulls, and seals of the hairy species, were the sole inhabitants of this rock. After leaving Seal Island, we landed on the sandy beach abreast of the anchorage; in doing this the boat filled, and the instruments were so wetted, that they were left on the beach to dry during our absence. Our ascent, from the hill being steep, and composed of a very loose drift sand, was difficult and fatiguing; but the beautiful flowers and plants, with which the surface of the hill was strewed, repaid us for our toil. These being all new to Mr. Cunningham fully occupied his attention, whilst I remained upon the summit, from whence a good view was obtained of the Eclipse Isles, and Vancouver's breakers, both of which are well laid down by Captain Flinders, whose correctness I had already many occasions to admire. An abundance of shells of the helix tribe (Helix bulimus) was found on the top and sides of the hill; and a calcareous substance was observed protruding from the ground in every part, as noticed both by Vancouver and Flinders;* the former also found it on the bare sandy summit of Bald Head, and supposed it to be coral, a circumstance from which he inferred that the level of the ocean must have sunk. Similar substances have since been discovered by Dr. Clarke Abel, near Simon's Town, at the Cape of Good Hope, and are described by him to be vegetables impregnated with carbonate of lime; but from the specimens we obtained, it would appear that it is neither coral, nor a petrified vegetable substance, but merely sand agglutinated by calcareous matter**.

(*Footnote. Vancouver volume 1 page 49. Flinders volume 1 page 63.)

(**Footnote. Vide Appendix, C.)

January 21.

The next morning we got under weigh, and stood over to the entrance of Oyster Harbour, off which we anchored to examine the bar; after satisfying myself on this head, and choosing a spot within the entrance to anchor at, we got under-sail, and in crossing the bar had not less than thirteen feet and a half, being nearly about the time of high water; but between the heads of the harbour it deepened to five, seven, and eight fathoms. Our anchorage was about twenty-five yards from the eastern shore, and not more than fifty yards within the narrowest part of the entrance; it was convenient for our purposes, as the wood was abundantly procured close to our water-holes, which were dug at the edge of the sand, within thirty yards of the vessel; so that the people employed in these occupations could be protected against the natives by the proximity of the cutter, without preventing the necessary repairs to the rigging being carried on at the same time by the remainder of the crew on board.

January 21 to 31.

During our stay in Oyster Harbour many parts of the neighbourhood were visited by us; and on one occasion, Mr. Roe walked round its shores; in doing which he got into great danger. Upon leaving the vessel, his intention was only to go to a projecting head on the western side, for the purpose of taking a sketch; but being tempted to extend his walk, he had half traversed the shore of the harbour before he thought of returning. He had already waded over the river that falls into the North-West corner of the port, which was not more than four feet deep; and to avoid crossing it again, he preferred returning to the tent, by making the circuit of the harbour: but after proceeding some distance further, he unexpectedly met with another river, deeper and wider than that which he had previously passed; this proved to be the Riviere de Francois of Captain Baudin; it falls into Oyster Harbour at its North-East corner, about two miles to the eastward of the Western River. In attempting to ford this, finding the water deeper than he expected, he was obliged to swim about two hundred yards; and, from being burdened with his clothes, narrowly escaped with his life. Fortunately he met with no further impediment to his return, and reached the tent much fatigued. We afterwards made an excursion up this river, but from the greater part of the day being spent in searching for the entrance, which is both shoal and intricate, we did not succeed in reaching farther than four miles from its mouth. At the part where we left off our examination, it was about sixty yards wide, and from ten to twelve feet deep; bounded on either side by gently rising and well wooded hills; but the soil was neither rich nor deep. The shoals of the river, which at the entrance were very extensive, were covered with large flights of water-fowl; among which curlews and teals were abundant.

Oyster Harbour is plentifully stocked with fish, but we were not successful with the hook, on account of the immense number of sharks that were constantly playing about the vessel. A few fish were taken with the seine, which we hauled on the eastern side of the small central island. At this place Captain Vancouver planted and stocked a garden with vegetables, no vestige of which now remained. Boongaree speared a great many fish with his fiz-gig; one that he struck with the boat-hook on the shoals at the entrance of the Eastern River weighed twenty-two pounds and a half, and was three feet and a half long. The mouths of all the creeks and inlets were planted with weirs, which the natives had constructed for the purpose of catching fish. Mr. Roe, on his excursion round the harbour, counted eleven of these weirs on the flats and shoals between the two rivers, one of which was a hundred yards long, and projected forty yards, in a crescent-shape, towards the sea; they were formed by stones placed so close to each other as to prevent the escape, as the tide ebbed, of such fish as had passed over at high water. This expedient is adopted in many parts of the continent; it was observed by Lieutenant Oxley, R.N., the surveyor-general of New South Wales, in his journey on the banks of the Lachlan River: the same was also seen by me on several parts of the North-West Coast; and, from its being used on the South-East, South-West, and North-West Coasts, it may be concluded to be the practice throughout the country.

While waiting for an opportunity of leaving this harbour, Mr. Roe assisted me in making a survey of the entrance, in the hope of finding it more available for large ships; but in vain; for ships drawing more than twelve feet water cannot pass the bar. The rise and fall of the tide is not only very inconsiderable, but also very irregular; under some circumstances we found that it rose three feet, but this was very unusual.

Our gentlemen made several excursions into the country in various directions, in the hope of meeting with natives, but not the least vestige of their immediate presence was found; they were not however far from us, for the smokes of their fires were seen every evening; probably the fear of punishment kept them away, as they had formerly made rather a mischievous attack upon some of the Emu's crew.

No marks were left of the ship Elligood's garden, which Captain Flinders found at the entrance of Oyster Harbour;* but a lapse of sixteen years will in this country create a complete revolution in vegetation; which is here so luxuriant and rapid that whole woods may have been burnt down by the natives, and grown again within that space of time; and it may be thus that the Elligood's garden is now possessed by the less useful but more beautiful plants and shrubs of the country.

(*Footnote. Flinders Terra Australis volume 1 page 55.)

Excepting the sea-fowl, which consisted of geese, wild ducks, teals, curlews, divers, sea-pies, gulls, and terns, very few birds were seen, and those chiefly of the parrot and cockatoo tribe; a species of the latter was noticed of a rich black plumage, and very like the black cockatoo of New South Wales. Kangaroos from their traces must be numerous, but only a very few were noticed; the only reptile that was found was a black snake, which Mr. Cunningham saw for a moment as it glided past him. This gentleman made a large collection of seeds and dried specimens from the vast variety of beautiful plants and flowers with which nature has so lavishly clothed the hills and plains of this interesting country.

A small spot of ground near the tent was dug up and enclosed with a fence, in which Mr. Cunningham sowed many culinary seeds and peach-stones; and on the stump of a tree, which had been felled by our wooding party, the name of the vessel with the date of our visit was inscribed; but when we visited Oyster Harbour three years and a half afterwards, no signs remained of the garden, and the inscription was scarcely perceptible, from the stump of the tree having been nearly destroyed by fire.

A little without the east entrance of the harbour, we saw one of those prodigious large nests which Captain Flinders observed near Point Possession; it was built on the summit of an almost inaccessible rock, exposed to the South-West winds; it measured four feet in diameter at the top, and nearly seven feet at the base: it appeared to have been deserted for some time, as the branches and sea-weed, with which it was made, were strewed about the rock. Captain Flinders thought it probable that the inhabitant was an eagle; but on our subsequent visit to King George's Sound in 1821, we saw the same nest occupied by a hawk of a moderate size.

On the 31st January we were ready to leave the port; but the weather was so unfavourable that we remained until the following day. In the evening a boat was sent to Seal Island to deposit a bottle, in which was enclosed a memorandum informing future navigators of our visit, and intentions with respect to our further proceedings. When the boat returned she brought two seals, which had been killed on the island for the sake of their skins, to be used for the purpose of refitting the rigging.

1819. February 1.

The next day (February 1st) the cutter was warped out of Oyster Harbour; and, as the wind was from the eastward, we profited by it: after beating out of the Sound we steered along the coast, and at eight o'clock were abreast of West Cape Howe.

On rounding Cape Leeuwin, our crew were attacked with a bowel complaint, and symptoms of dysentery; the want of a surgeon to our establishment was most anxiously felt, from the fear that, by an unskilful or improper use of medicines, I might increase, instead of lessen the progress of complaints, which from the fatigues of such a service, in so warm a climate and in the unhealthy season, threatened to be frequent and severe. One or two of the people had complained of this disorder before we left Oyster Harbour, but it was not until we had sailed, that it assumed any serious appearance. After two days it happily began to subside, or I should of necessity have been obliged to resort to some place for relief, for we had, at one time, only four seamen to keep watch.

February 10.

This sickness prevented our examining any part of the West Coast, as we passed it; our course was therefore held at a distance from the shore, and on the 10th the land to the southward of the North-West Cape was descried at daylight. Its outline was so level as to appear like a thick fog on the horizon; but, as the sun rose, we were undeceived. At seven miles from the shore we found no soundings with 80 fathoms; but at eight o'clock, being three miles nearer, we had 35 fathoms, sand, coral, and shells. The bottom then gradually shoaled to 22 fathoms; upon which we steered along the outer edge of a line of breakers that fronted the shore, and after rounding a projection of the reef, steered to the East-North-East, towards the extreme of the land.

The coast is here tolerably elevated, and may be seen at the distance of six or seven leagues; it is composed of a red-coloured, sandy-looking rock, which is very scantily sprinkled with small shrubs, and appears to be extremely arid and sterile. The shore is fronted with rocks that extend for three or four miles into the sea; on the extremity of which the surf breaks with a continued foam. To the north the land suddenly terminates with rather a steep slope, but a low sandy plain extends to the East-North-East for three miles further, the extremity of which is the North-West Cape. The fall of the high-land was called Vlaming Head, after the navigator who first discovered this part.

After obtaining the meridional observation, we rounded the Cape, and steered between it and a patch of breakers which lie at the distance of a mile and a half from the shore: we were no sooner under the lee of the land, than the air, before of a pleasant and a moderate temperature, became so heated as to produce a scorching sensation; and to raise the mercury in the thermometer from 79 to 89 degrees. We were also assailed by an incredible number of flies and other insects, among which was a beautiful species of libellula. The sea swarmed with turtles, sea-snakes, and fish of various sorts; and the dolphin was eminently conspicuous for its speed, and the varied beauty of its colours.

From the Cape, the low sandy land trended to the South-South-East for a mile and a half, and then with the same character to South-South-West 1/2 West, in which direction it was lost in distance; and in the north east, was a low rocky island.

The wind fell after passing round the Cape, and was so light during the afternoon that we made no progress, and were obliged to anchor at about three or four miles to the eastward of the Cape. At nine o'clock the wind freshened with the flood-tide, which raised a heavy swell in which the cutter rode very uneasily.

February 11.

And, in the morning, when we attempted to weigh the anchor, the cable parted, having been cut by rocks. Owing to the bad construction of the buoy, it did not watch; and, as the tide quickly swept us from the place, we had no chance left of recovering the anchor. As the sun rose the wind gradually fell; and, at noon, we were no farther advanced than a mile and a half to the southward of the north east trend of the Cape. Here the coast is low and sandy, and is of shoal approach. A small clump of mangrove-trees on the beach was the first sign of vegetation that we had seen; and, from the absence of verdure hereabout, is a conspicuous object. The thermometer stood at 89 degrees. The ebb tide then commenced and drifted us out near our last night's anchoring ground, and the evening was spent, without success, in searching for our lost anchor. At sunset a fresh breeze set in from the South-West, and fearing a repetition of our loss, we continued under sail during the night, which was past with great anxiety; and not without reason.

February 12.

For when the day broke, we found ourselves within one mile of the reef off the South-West end of the island in the north east (which proved to be Captain Baudin's Muiron Island), and drifting towards it so rapidly, that in less than half an hour the vessel would have been thrown upon the rocks. Standing to the eastward we discovered the three sandy islets--h, i, and k; and at noon, we were near two other sandy islets, y, and z, which appeared to be the north-westernmost of a group of low, sandy, or rocky islets, extending to the South-East, beyond the limits of our masthead view. The islets, y and z, are of circular shape, and not more than a quarter of a mile in diameter; they are so low as not to be visible from our deck at a greater distance than seven miles. Their summits are crowned with a slight shrubby vegetation, the bright verdure of which, separated from the dark blue colour of the sea by their glittering sandy beaches, formed a pleasing contrast to the dull, monotonous appearance of the mainland. These islets are in fact only the dry parts of a shoal, on which the sand has accumulated, and formed a soil to receive and nourish the seeds of plants, which have either been drifted on shore by the tide, or been brought by birds from the continent.

At sunset we anchored under the land, but soon afterwards the wind blew so fresh, that the fluke of our anchor broke, and we were obliged to drop another; which was the last we possessed, besides a small stream anchor that was too light to use, excepting in a calm.

February 13.

The next morning being fine, and favourable for another search after our lost anchor (the recovery of which from our last night's misfortune had become of very great consequence) we bore up along the shore, and soon arrived at the spot; but after some time spent in the search, without success, we were at last obliged to relinquish the attempt, and gave up all hope of ever finding it.

February 14.

We then returned into the gulf to prosecute its examination, but as usual, the wind fell, and the only progress we made was by the assistance of the flood-tide, which ran until sunset; a fresh breeze then sprung up, and the night was passed under sail. At daylight the following morning the cutter was about four miles from the western shore, but the day was so calm that very little progress was made. The thermometer indicated a temperature of 97 degrees, which, from the absence of the sea-breeze, and from our not having an awning to protect us from the sun's rays, was almost insufferable; and although our crew were happily in good health, yet my fears were momentarily alive lest any should be taken ill. A land-wind at night enabled us to make some progress, and before dark we had reached twenty-five miles into the opening without seeing anything like its termination; the western side still trended in a southerly direction, losing itself in distance, and bore the appearance of being an island.

February 15.

By the next day we descried some hills of peaked shape to the southward, which was the only indication we had of the termination of the gulf: to the eastward the islands were very numerous and low; but to the South-East the land was so continuous as to impress us with the idea of its being the continent. We steered towards it to satisfy our doubts but the water shoaled and prevented our approaching it near enough to ascertain the fact. The gulf was here so much narrower, and the bottom so uneven and rocky, that an anchorage was now of material importance, but our poverty in anchors made me fearful of risking our last upon a bottom of the least questionable nature. Before dark however we were fortunate in finding a bay on the western shore, in which the anchor was dropped in three fathoms muddy bottom, at one mile from the shore.

The discovery of this anchorage proved so welcome to our fatigued crew, that the place was not unaptly named the Bay of Rest. We remained here three days, in which time I was enabled to lay down my plan of the gulf, and give some little respite to the people who had been up both night and day, and most laboriously occupied, since we rounded the North-West Cape.

As soon as the vessel was secured Mr. Bedwell landed on the eastern shore of the bay, and found it to be of bold approach, but lined with coral rocks, and covered with dead shells, among which a buccinum of immense size was noticed. The soil, if such it can be called, is composed of a red quartzose sand; but on the hills it contained also a small portion of earth, which gave it a strong resemblance to brick-dust. The country is slightly sprinkled with a stunted vegetation, and bore a most desert-like appearance; and on the shore we noticed a few mangrove bushes.

The sea was abundantly stocked with fish and turtle, though it did not appear to be the season for the latter to lay their eggs. An immense shark was hooked, but it broke the hook and escaped: its length was about twelve feet, of an ashy-gray colour, spotted all over with darker marks; the belly was white, and the nose short; it was altogether different from any we had before seen. The impression of what appeared to have been an emu's foot was noticed upon the sand, there is reason, however, to think we may have been deceived; we never afterwards saw one of those birds on the north coast.

The country was covered with immense ant-hills; one that Mr. Cunningham measured was eight feet high, and nearly twenty-six in circumference; but on breaking it up, he found it to be deserted by its constructors: an iguana, which was hunted by that gentleman, took refuge in one of these hills, which proved a safe asylum, for, although he broke a great part down, it escaped.

February 16.

During the following day, Mr. Bedwell examined the bottom of the bay, where he found a narrow opening, communicating with an inner basin of small extent, containing from two to five feet water, well stocked with fish: during the afternoon Mr. Roe walked over the sand-ridges behind the beach, and provided me with an outline, and the particular features of a part of the coast.

The country at the back of the bay was in flames during our stay, which proved, if a proof were required, that this arid and barren extremity of Australia is not destitute of inhabitants; and although we saw none, it is probable that they were not ignorant of our presence, but from timidity intentionally avoided us. The heat was very great; on board, the thermometer did not stand higher than 90 degrees, whilst on shore it rose to 105 degrees, and when exposed to the sun to 119 degrees.

February 18.

On the morning of the 18th we resumed the examination of the inlet, but having proceeded only six miles farther, there was every appearance either of its termination, or of its communicating with the sea. The channel had become narrow and shoal, and as I was not prepared for so critical a navigation, the further examination was given up, and we bore up to coast along the eastern shore; but, from the shoalness of the water, we were obliged to sail at so great a distance that its continuity was by no means distinctly traced. The inlet was named Exmouth Gulf, in compliment to the noble and gallant Viscount.

February 19.

Having by night reached a clear space, the cutter was kept under sail; and the next morning Vlaming Head and Muiron Island were seen, as well as the islets y and z, and the others to the South-East. The course was then directed to the eastward, and having reached within four miles of the coast, the depth of water was only two and a half fathoms. At noon, we passed between two other islets; and, during the afternoon, steered along the coast parallel to it, and within a range of low sandy islets, of similar character with y and z, and the other islets in their vicinity. A low, sandy projection of the coast was named after Edward Hawke Locker, Esquire.

Twelve miles to the eastward of Cape Locker the shore is lined with mangroves, among which a small opening, like a rivulet, was observed. On attempting to approach it, we were prevented by a reef of rocks that stretched across its entrance; but we succeeded in finding an anchorage about three miles to the eastward of the inlet, in two and a half fathoms at about a quarter of a mile from the shore.

February 20.

The following morning, we ascended it in a boat for four miles. On our way to the entrance, which was between the reef and the shore, we had some difficulty, even with the boat, in finding a channel; but when we were within the heads, we found a regular depth of from ten to twelve feet, the banks on either side were, for two miles, impenetrably lined with mangrove bushes, which bore the marks of having been torn down by freshes or inundations. Beyond this the banks were low and sandy, but the channel of the river was of mud. At high water we landed to examine the country, and ascended a sand-hillock, the only elevation we could find, to procure a view around; it was so low that our prospect was very limited, yet still it was sufficient to satisfy us of the aridity and poverty of the soil: the country bore the appearance of having been under water, which seemed to be occasioned by high tides, for there were large patches of salt incrustations, which could only have been caused by an inundation of sea-water. Two or three stunted bushes of a species of eucalyptus were the only trees seen, excepting the mangroves. The soil is composed of a mixture of red quartzose sand, mud, and clay, in which the first bore the greatest proportion.

On no part of the coast did we find the heat so intense and oppressive as in this river; the thermometer stood at 94 degrees, and the ground was so heated that we were obliged to beat a bush down to stand upon, whilst we were taking the bearings of some of the islets in the offing.

Some natives and a dog had very recently been crossing the little creeks that fell into the river, for the impressions of their feet were observed below the high-water mark; the mouths of the creeks were planted with weirs, similar to those in the river at Oyster Harbour.

The river appeared to abound in fish, but the only sort that was caught was what the sailors called cat-fish; they were of a nauseous taste. Pelicans and curlews were very numerous, particularly the latter, in consequence of which the inlet was called Curlew River; but the most numerous and annoying of the inhabitants of this part were the flies, from their constantly creeping into the eyes, nostrils, and mouth, particularly during our meals; and it required some little trouble to partake of our repast without also conveying with it several of these troublesome insects.

On our return to the cutter, our party very imprudently bathed, which occasioned, to some of them, two or three days' indisposition, and it was fortunate that they did not suffer from a coup de soleil. This indiscretion was, however, never afterwards permitted.

During the absence of the boat, Mr. Bedwell landed abreast the anchorage, and walked a mile inland to one of the salt marshes. On his way, he passed several ant-hills of the same description as those seen by us at the Bay of Rest. The coast is here protected from inroads of the sea by a barrier of sand dunes, from ten to twenty feet high, on which were growing a variety of plants, particularly a species of convolvulus, which, from the great size and length of its stem, being an inch in diameter and extending along the beach for more than thirty yards, is very conspicuous. Behind these dunes the country is flat, and in most parts below the level of the sea; so that when the tides rise high enough to pass over the breaks in the dunes, the country is inundated, when, by the intense heat of the sun, the water is very speedily evaporated, and a salt incrustation, to a great extent, is formed upon the plains. At the distance of four or five miles from the beach, a small range of rocky hills, apparently destitute of vegetation, formed a boundary to the view. The shore is lined by a barrier of sharp rocks, covered with species of ostrea and nerita, but although these were the only living testaceous animals that were found, the beach was covered with a multitude of dead and imperfect shells of various species.

In the evening, after our return from the river, the weather clouded, but afterwards cleared up with a change of wind from the South-East, which, from its heat, and from the listless sensations it caused, resembled the hot land-wind of Port Jackson: this seems to afford additional ground for the hypothesis that the interior of this immense island is occupied by vast sandy deserts.

February 22.

On leaving this anchorage it was low water, when the depth was only six inches more than the vessel's draught; but the bottom being of mud, it deepened inch by inch, until we reached four, five, and six fathoms; and upon this depth we sailed the whole day, passing through a cluster, or rather range of sandy islets. In the evening we anchored under one of larger size than usual, about four miles from the mainland, the shores of which had been traced during the day, without losing sight of any part of it; it was still low, and bounded either by dunes of sand, or an impervious forest of mangroves, beyond which no part of the interior could be seen.

February 23.

The following day was spent in examining a bight, but we were prevented from penetrating to the bottom by the shoalness of the water. We were, however, near enough to see large sheets of water over the mangrove belt that lined the shore, in which many openings were observed that communicated with it. Beyond the lakes was a range of rocky hills, that bounded our masthead view. The bight is fronted by a crowded range of sandy islets, from which we did not extricate ourselves until the next day.

Having passed out between two sandy islets, our course was held to the northward, outside of a range of islets, and parallel to the mainland; which was soon afterwards lost to view by trending to the eastward. At one o'clock we passed round a larger and a more elevated island, as well as of a more rocky character than those to the southward; and then steered to the eastward, towards the next projecting point of the main, named after my friend Richard Preston, Esquire, on our way to which we left a small island about one mile to the northward of our track. In the evening, we steered close round Cape Preston, but were disappointed in an attempt to find anchorage near it, from the rocky state of the bottom, so that the night was passed under sail, which, considering the number of low islets scattered about, was running a dangerous risk, and this was increased by encountering a severe squall of wind from the South-East, which blew so insufferably hot that the thermometer stood at 89 degrees, having been at 91 degrees all the previous day.

February 24.

The next morning it was calm and sultry; at ten o'clock we anchored near a small sandy isle in the centre of the bay, until the sea-breeze set in, which was taken immediate advantage of; and after weighing the course was directed towards a steep rocky head, forming the South-West point of an island, subsequently called Enderby Island, after a very old and valued friend. On our way we had to pass round a sandy islet and a rocky reef of considerable extent; after which we anchored off a sandy beach to the eastward of Rocky Head.

Soon after anchoring the sky became black and clouded over the land to the South-East, and assumed a very threatening appearance; heavy, dense clouds, in which streams of vivid forked lightning momentarily appeared, were rolling rapidly towards us, and made us fear a repetition of last night's storm; the stream-anchor, the only resource we had, was therefore dropped; and, with the topmast struck, we awaited the bursting of the storm with much anxiety, and just cause of alarm for the safety of the vessel: the clouds continued to roll towards us, but just as the storm was on the point of bursting, the clouds suddenly dispersed and in half an hour the night turned out as fine as it had threatened to be the reverse.

February 25.

The next morning I landed with Mr. Roe, and climbed the summit of Rocky Head before the sun rose; in the ascent we crossed several deep ravines which, together with the hills, were thickly covered with a wiry grass (spinifex) growing over and amongst heaps of rocks that were piled up in all directions as if it had been done purposely; the greater part of the surface of the island being covered with these stones, we had a considerable difficulty in advancing, and it was not without some labour that we arrived at the summit of the hill. Here the view was very extensive; the coast to the eastward of Cape Preston trends inward and forms a bay, the shores of which are very low. The land on which we were appeared to be the south-westernmost island of a considerable archipelago; and the land to the eastward was observed to be rocky and high, in comparison to the low sandy country we had been lately passing.

From Dampier's description of Rosemary Island I was, at first, induced to think that we had landed upon the identical island he visited; but this error was soon discovered. An island to the northward, on which are three hummocks, was soon recognised as Captain Baudin's Ile Romarin, it therefore bears the name of Rosemary Island in my chart, and I have no doubt of its being that under which Captain Dampier anchored, but not the one upon which he landed. To the eastward of Enderby Island, a strait of nearly two miles wide separates it from Lewis Island; and between Enderby and Rosemary Islands is Goodwyn Island. The shores of the bay were plentiful in shell-fish, particularly oysters; and beche de mer* were also abundant in the crevices of the rocks; but there were no traces of this part of the coast having been visited by the Malays, who annually visit it to the eastward, for the purpose of taking that animal. The tracks of natives and their fireplaces were everywhere visible and around the latter the bones of kangaroos and fishes were strewed.

(*Footnote. Trepang, a species of Holothuria (Priapulus sp., Lam. iii. 76), an animal collected by the Malays for the Chinese market. Vide Flinders Terra Australis volume 2 pages 231 and 257.)

On the north side of Rocky Head, in a ravine, under the shade of a ficus, eight or ten gallons of water were found and brought on board; and near it on a spot of tolerable soil Mr. Cunningham sowed some peach-stones.

February 26.

At daylight we left this anchorage, and proceeded to penetrate to the eastward towards a deep bight or strait; the wind was, however, so light, that we were compelled to anchor until the sea-breeze set in, when the vessel was again under sail, and proceeded onwards. As we advanced, three natives were seen in the water, apparently wading from an island in the centre of the strait towards Lewis Island: the course was immediately altered to intercept them, but as we approached, it was discovered that each native was seated on a log of wood, which he propelled through the water by paddling with his hands. Having hove to close by them, they became much alarmed, and cried out in loud tones which were increased when our boat was lowered and despatched after them; but it was not without the greatest difficulty that Mr. Bedwell succeeded in bringing one on board. On the boat's coming up with the nearest Indian, he left his log and, diving under the boat's bottom, swam astern; this he did whenever the boat approached him, and it was four or five minutes before he was caught, which was at last effected by seizing him by the hair, in the act of diving, and dragging him into the boat, against which he resisted stoutly, and, even when taken, it required two men to hold him to prevent his escape. During the interval of heaving to and bringing him on board, the cutter was anchored near the central island, where a tribe of natives were collected, consisting of about forty persons, of whom the greater number were women and children; the whole party appeared to be overcome with grief, particularly the women, who most loudly and vehemently expressed their sorrow by cries, and rolling on the ground, and covering their bodies with the sand. When our captive arrived alongside the vessel and saw Boongaree, he became somewhat pacified, and suffered himself to be lifted on board; he was then ornamented with beads and a red cap; and upon our applauding his appearance, a smile momentarily played on his countenance, but it was soon replaced by a vacant stare. He took very little notice of anything until he saw the fire, and this appeared to occupy his attention very much. Biscuit was given to him, which, as soon as he tasted, he spat out, but some sugared water being offered to him, he drank the whole; and upon sugar being placed before him, in a saucer, he was at a loss how to use it, until one of the boys fed him with his fingers, and when the saucer was emptied, he showed his taste for this food by licking it with his tongue. He was then taken to the side of the vessel from which his companions were visible, when he immediately exclaimed, with much earnestness, and in a loud voice, "coma negra," and repeated the words several times. After he had been on board for half an hour, during which time he had been greatly caressed, in order to induce him to give a favourable account of us to his companions, he was taken half way towards the shore in our boat, and then launched upon his log, to which was lashed an axe, and around his neck a bag was suspended containing biscuits, and a little of everything that he appeared to fancy or be amused with during his short captivity.