Chapter 4 (1)

Leave King George the Third's Sound, and commence the survey of the West Coast at Rottnest Island. Another remarkable effect of mirage. Anchor under, and land upon Rottnest Island. Break an anchor. Examine the coast to the northward. Cape Leschenault. Lancelin Island. Jurien Bay. Houtman's Abrolhos. Moresby's Flat-topped Range. Red Point. Anchor in Dirk Hartog's Road, at the entrance of Shark's Bay. Occurrences there. Examination of the coast to the North-west Cape. Barrow Island. Heavy gale off the Montebello Isles. Rowley's Shoals. Cape Leveque. Dangerous situation of the brig among the islands of Buccaneer's Archipelago. Examination and description of Cygnet Bay. Lose an anchor, and leave the coast. Adele Island. Return to Port Jackson.

1822. January 6.

We sailed from King George's Sound on the 6th.

January 8.

But from south-westerly winds, were no further advanced by the 8th than the meridian of Cape Chatham. After which, entering a current setting at one mile an hour to the westward, the brig made considerable progress.

January 10.

At daylight, 10th, Cape Leeuwin came in sight from the masthead, and at eight o'clock was seen from the deck at the distance of ten leagues, bearing North 42 degrees East by compass.

At this, the south-westernmost extremity of New Holland, Captain Flinders commenced his examination of the south coast, but saw no part to the northward. The French expedition under Captain Baudin were upon this part at two different periods of their voyage, and it appears from an examination of their tracks that the coast between Capes Leeuwin and Peron, the latter of which is about five leagues to the southward of the entrance of Swan River, has been sufficiently examined by them. They landed in several parts of Geographe Bay which affords a shelter from southerly winds but is so exposed to those between North and West-North-West that the French ships ran great danger of being shipwrecked during a gale from that quarter.

The coast is sandy, and from M. Peron's description, barren and unprofitable. With the exception of the Recif du Naturaliste which lies about five leagues to the north of the Cape of that name there seems to be no danger in the vicinity of the bay. The small inlet of Port Leschenault is only the embouchure of a salt-marsh; it is scarcely attainable even by boats; for there appears to be only three feet water on the bar, and over and within it not more than fifteen feet. The French found no fresh water in any part of Geographe Bay. From Port Leschenault to Cape Peron the coast is low and sandy but inland it is of a moderate height and appears to be furnished with a slight vegetation. The French ships sailed along this coast at the distance of four or five miles from the beach, and the report made by them is sufficiently in detail for all the purposes of navigation.

Upon these considerations it was not deemed necessary that we should examine this part again, and therefore sailed at a distance from the land to ensure a quicker passage to Cape Peron, in order to explore the bay behind the Isles of Louis Napoleon. Swan River and Rottnest Island had been already carefully examined by the French; but from the latter island to the North-west Cape, with the exception of Shark's Bay, they saw very little of the coast, and have given its outline principally from Van Keulen.*

(*Footnote. Freycinet page 441.)

At noon on the 10th our latitude was 34 degrees 16 minutes 14 seconds, and a large bare, sandy patch upon the land, the Tache Blanche remarquable of Captain Baudin, bore North 77 degrees East (magnetic). At six o'clock in the evening we passed Cape Naturaliste, having experienced a strong current setting North 11 degrees West, at nearly two miles per hour; hence we steered to the northward, but it was dark when we passed near the position assigned to the Recif Naturaliste: after steering on for three hours longer we edged in for the land and at ten o'clock hauled to the wind for the night.

January 11.

The next day at noon we were in latitude 32 degrees 36 minutes 2 seconds, having the land about Cape Peron in sight from the masthead, bearing East by South 1/2 South; but during the day the wind was so light that we had not approached it within four leagues by sunset.

At this time the coast was visible as far as Cape Bouvard between which and Cape Peron it is low and sandy, but the hills appeared to be tolerably well wooded, and of a moderate height. Buache Island was visible as well as the small rocky islet between it and Cape Peron. The former is low and sandy, and its outline of hummocky shape; and to the eastward was some distant land trending towards the assigned entrance of Swan River. To the northward of Buache Island a small lump was seen on the horizon, which perhaps might have been Berthollet Island, but it was very indistinct. The sun set in a dense bank and the moment it disappeared a very copious dew began to fall.

January 12.

The next morning at daylight the land to the southward of Cape Peron was ten miles off, but at half-past nine o'clock we were between Capes Peron and Bouvard, and about five miles from the shore, which from the former extended in a North-East by North direction, still low and sandy.

At noon the latitude was observed to be 32 degrees 30 minutes 42 seconds, but by the land it was only 32 degrees 23 minutes 30 seconds, a difference of 7 minutes 12 seconds. This error was occasioned by the haze which concealed the true horizon, and caused an appearance of land all round us, on which rocks, sandy beaches, and trees were so plainly formed that the officer of the watch actually reported two islands on the western horizon. This was the most remarkable instance of mirage that we ever witnessed; the haze had only commenced a few minutes before noon, whilst the observation for the latitude was in the act of being taken; and immediately after I was employed upon the chart for half an hour, puzzling myself in attempting to reconcile the observed latitude with the bearings of the land. This curious phenomenon was also witnessed by the French in Geographe Bay. During the time this magical appearance continued, we had very light airs from the southward: the barometrical column fell to 29.76 inches, but the hygrometer indicated an extraordinary dryness of the air. At sunset the haze cleared away, when Rottnest Island was seen, bearing between North 10 degrees and 32 degrees East (magnetic); a breeze then freshened from West-South-West but gradually veered round to the southward; and at nine o'clock was very light from South-East.

January 13.

During the night we made short tacks. At four o'clock in the morning (13th) the latitude by the moon's meridional altitude was 32 degrees 16 minutes 17 seconds, and soon afterwards Rottnest was in sight in the North-North-East. At six o'clock the sky was clouded, and the weather threatened to be bad; the mercury fell to 29.69 inches, upon which all sail was made off the land, as appearances indicated a westerly gale: but after an interval of two hours, during which we had a fresh breeze from North-West by West, the weather cleared up and we steered towards Rottnest Island.

January 14.

The next morning the brig was anchored off the north-east end of the island in thirteen fathoms gravelly sand; and in the afternoon I went on shore in a bay on the east or leeward side, where we found the water smooth and the landing more practicable than upon the north side where a tremendous surf was rolling in upon the beach. We disturbed a great many seals but only killed three; and were much disappointed in finding that these animals were not of the fur species, as in M. de Freycinet's account of the island they are said to be; they were evidently the same description as those noticed at King George's Sound. The traces of a small kangaroo were everywhere abundant but the animals were not seen. We walked to the easternmost of the lakes which the French named Etangs Duvaildaily and which M. de Freycinet remarks as being surrounded by an extensive beach, composed entirely of bivalve shells, a species of cardium: the quantity was indeed extraordinary. The banks were frequented by gulls and sandpipers, of which many were shot. The water was found to be perfectly salt and from the circumstance of its rising and falling with the tide it must have some communication with the sea. The rocks of the island are principally calcareous and in a very advanced state of decomposition. The beaches were covered with dead shells of the genera buccinum, bulla, murex, trochus, and haliotis; but we found none with the living animal in them. Of the feathered tribe a hawk and a pigeon were the only land-birds seen; but boobies, terns, and sandpipers were very numerous about the shores. Mr. Cunningham was fully employed during the short time that we were on shore, and excepting the pleasing interest created in our minds by landing on an island which has been so seldom before seen, and which from Vlaming's account bears a prominent place in the history of this part of the coast, he was the only one of the party that derived any advantage from our visit. Of the productions of this island he makes the following brief remarks: "It is surprising that an island, situated at so short a distance from the south-west coast, should bear so small a feature of the characteristic vegetation of King George's Sound as not to furnish a plant of its several genera of Proteaceae or Mimoseae, and but a solitary plant of Leguminosae. It would therefore seem that these families are confined to the shores of the main, particularly about King George's Sound, where we have just left them in the greatest luxuriance and profusion. Among the botanical productions of this island there is no plant of so striking a feature as the callitris, a tree of about twenty-five feet high, with a short stem of three feet in diameter; it much resembles the Pinus cedrus, or cedar of Lebanon, in its robust horizontal growth; it is found abundantly over the island, and within a few yards of the sea-beach. The island is formed by a succession of small hills and intervening valleys; and although the soil is very poor, being principally a mixture of quartzose sand and a large proportion of marine exuviae, yet this tree grows to a considerable size, but covering the surface of the island, gives it a monotonous appearance which is however occasionally relieved by a spreading undescribed species of melaleuca (allied to Melaleuca armillaris, Smith) and the more elegant pittosporum, an arborescent species, also undescribed. In fact, these three trees constitute the timber of the island. The ground is in some parts profusely clothed with Spinifex hirsutus, Labil., in which I detected a new species of xerotes, a round bushy plant growing in large bodies.

"No fresh water has ever been discovered upon this island: indeed the loose filtering nature of the soil is not tenacious enough to retain that element at the surface. The woods are abundantly stocked with a small species of kangaroo of which we saw only the traces; nor did we see the animal, on account of whose numbers and resemblance to a rat the island received its name from Vlaming in 1619. M. Peron says that it forms a new genus, and of a very remarkable character.* Rottnest Island does not appear ever to have been inhabited or even visited by the natives from the main; probably on account of the stormy nature of the weather, and the prevalence of westerly winds, which would be quite sufficient to deter them from venturing to sea in such fragile vessels as they possess."**

(*Footnote. Peron volume 1 page 189.)

(**Footnote. Cunningham manuscripts.)

January 15.

On our return to the brig, we passed over a clear sandy bottom that would have afforded better anchorage than where we had brought up; for the vessel was not only exposed to a considerable swell but the ground was so foul that in weighing the anchor the following morning one of the flukes hooked a rock and broke off, besides which the cable was much rubbed.

As Swan River had been very minutely examined in Baudin's voyage by MM. Heirisson and Baily, the former an enseigne de vaisseau, the latter a mineralogist, an account of which is fully detailed in De Freycinet's and Peron's respective accounts of that voyage,* without their finding anything of sufficient importance to induce me to risk leaving the brig at anchor off Rottnest Island for so long a time as it would necessarily take to add to the knowledge of it that we already possess, I did not think it advisable to delay for such a purpose, and therefore as soon as we were underweigh steered for the mainland and continued to run northerly along the shore at the distance of six miles from it. At noon our latitude was 31 degrees 37 minutes 32 seconds. The coast is formed by sandy hillocks, or dunes, of from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet high, here and there sprinkled with shrubs, but in many parts quite bare: behind this frontier a second range of hills was occasionally seen on which the trees appeared to be of moderate size: the shore is rocky for two miles off and in many parts the sea broke. At half-past three o'clock we were abreast of a low, sandy projection, supposed to be Captain Baudin's Cape Leschenault. The appearance of the coast to the northward on this cape differed from what we passed in the morning, in that the coast hillocks are more bare of vegetation; there appeared to be several ridges behind the coast dunes, but they were all equally unproductive of vegetation. Lancelin Island was not distinctly made out but the two small rocky lumps on the bare sandhills that M. De Freycinet mentions, were seen and thought to be very remarkable. At seven o'clock, having reached in my plan the latitude 31 degrees 0 minutes 30 seconds, and longitude 115 degrees 0 minutes 0 seconds, we hauled off shore for the night.

January 16.

And at six o'clock a.m. stood towards the land again. At half-past ten o'clock we were so near to it as to see the beach: at noon the latitude was observed to be 30 degrees 52 minutes 13 seconds, its longitude being 114 degrees 56 minutes 45 seconds, at which time we were on the parallel of the two rocky lumps seen the last evening. Hence we steered north on a parallel direction with the coast and ran forty-five miles, passing the different projections of the beach at the distance of four or five miles, and sounding in between nineteen and twenty-five fathoms. At four o'clock we were abreast of a bare sandy point which appeared to be the north head of Jurien Bay, in which two rocky islets were seen, fronted by reefs, on which the sea in many parts was breaking violently. To the southward of the point the coast hills are rather high and principally formed of very white sand, bearing a strong resemblance, from the absence of vegetables, to hills covered with snow. Here and there however a few shrubs partially concealed the sand, and gave a variety to the scene which was dismally triste. The country to the northward bears a different character; the shore is very low and sandy and continues so for some distance in the interior towards the base of a range of tolerably-elevated hills, on which the French have placed three remarkable pitons, but these, perhaps from our being too close in shore, we did not discover.

(*Footnote. See De Freycinet page 175 et seq and Peron volume 1 page 178 et seq.)

This range extends in a North by West and South by East direction, and appears to be rocky. In the middle ground some trees were noticed and vegetation appeared to be more abundant than in the space between the bare sandy point and Cape Leschenault. In Jurien Bay towards its south part near the shore is a small hillock, on which some trees of a moderate size were seen; they are thus noticed because the existence of trees hereabout is so rare as to be deserving of record. No native fires were seen between this part and Rottnest Island, nor was there any other indication of the coast being inhabited; it is however likely to be as populous as any other part, for the hills in the interior, which we occasionally got a glimpse of, seemed to be wooded, and would therefore furnish subsistence to natives from hunting, even if the seashore failed in supplying them with fish. Between the bare sandy point and Island Point there is a deep bay, the shores of which are fronted by a reef partly dry, extending from the shore two miles.

At seven o'clock we were about a mile and a half from a reef that nearly crossed our course; and as it was time to haul off for the night we shortened sail and brought to the wind, then blowing a strong squally breeze from south; but notwithstanding this succession of bad weather, the mercury in the barometer had ranged steadily between 29.90 and 29.92 inches.

January 17.

At daybreak we steered in for the land but ran twenty-two miles before it was seen. At nine o'clock it bore between North-East and South-East, and at a quarter after nine heavy breakers were seen in the South-East at the distance of five miles. The weather was now fine and the wind South-South-East, but still blew strong; the horizon was so enveloped by haze that the land, although not more than seven miles from our track, was very indistinctly seen: it seemed to be formed of sandhills, from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet high, slightly studded with a scrubby vegetation; in the interior we perceived a range of hills of tabular form which are probably very high. At ten o'clock we passed another patch of breakers at the distance of about a mile and a half; but these appeared to have no connexion with those seen at nine o'clock. Our soundings were between fifteen and seventeen fathoms, and our distance from the beach from six to seven miles. At noon the wind veered back to South-South-West and blew hard: we were at this time in 29 degrees 5 minutes 1 second South and by chronometers in 114 degrees 40 minutes 30 seconds East; by which we found that a current had set us during the last twenty-four hours to the North-North-West at one mile per hour. At half-past twelve o'clock more breakers were seen bearing North-West 1/2 North, when we hauled off West-North-West in order to ascertain the distance between the land and the Abrolhos bank which, in Van Keulen's chart, is placed abreast of this part of the coast.

At half-past four o'clock the masthead man was cautioned to look out for breakers and in less than half an hour afterwards he reported some bearing North-West by North. On going to the masthead I saw them distinctly for they were not more than four miles off, and on looking round the horizon towards the westward, distinctly saw the island of Frederick Houtman's Abrolhos, which for some time the masthead man persisted was only the shadow of the clouds; but a small hummock being soon afterwards descried upon the summit of the largest, confirmed my conjectures. The group appeared to consist of three islands, all low and of small size. Beyond and around them the sea was smooth and to the southward another patch of breakers was observed. Preparations were now made to tack off, but I had scarcely reached the deck when the lookout man reported rocks under our lee bow, upon which the helm was immediately put up; and when the vessel's head was round upon the opposite tack the following bearings were taken:

Island of the Abrolhos: eight miles off, between West and South 75 degrees West.

Breakers: four miles off, North-North-West North.

Another patch: seven miles off, South-West.

And the small rock patch, half a mile off, West.

This last I did not see myself but two men perceived it distinctly from the masthead, and it is from their accounts that I am induced to give it a place upon the chart. The position of the vessel when we saw the breakers was in latitude 28 degrees 53 minutes and in longitude 114 degrees 2 minutes, and from the short interval between our obtaining sights for the chronometer and the meridional observation at noon, the position may be considered to be tolerably correct. After taking the bearings and before sail was made we sounded in twenty-five fathoms, fine shelly sand; but as we stood to the eastward the water gradually deepened to twenty-nine and thirty fathoms.

January 18.

The next morning at daylight the land was out of sight but at five o'clock was distinguished, forming a range of flat-topped land, probably about one thousand feet high. At the northern end of the range were four or five hills standing apart from each other, of which, in the view we then had of them, the northernmost was flat-topped, and the others peaked; at the south end of the range were three other distinct hills, the centre being peaked and the other two flat-topped. Near the centre of the main range was another summit that was remarkable for its form.

This range was seen by Captain Hamelin of the Naturaliste, and is thus noticed by M. De Freycinet in his account of the voyage. "Entre les paralleles de 29 degres et 28 degres 20 minutes, la terre est tres haute; on y remarque deux montagnes bien reconnoisables par leur forme qui approche de celle de la Grange, sur la cote de Saint-Domingue, ou de la Montagne de la Table au Cap de Bonne-Esperance; une autre ressemble un peu au Pouce, de l'Ile-de-France. La terre est aride, bordee de falaises rougeatres; on y voit peu de sable comparativement aux terres plus au sud."*

(*Footnote. De Freycinet page 181.)

We sought in vain for the resemblance to the Pouce, but as all the hills were flat-topped of course they were similar to the Table Land of the Cape of Good Hope, but probably inferior to it in point of height.

This range I called after Captain Moresby, R.N. C.B., in grateful recognition of the prompt assistance rendered by him to the wants and repairs of our vessel, during her late visit to Mauritius. The summit in the centre was called Mount Fairfax; the group of hills at the north end were named Menai Hills, and the three at the south end of the range were distinguished by the name of Wizard Hills; Mount Fairfax is in latitude 28 degrees 45 minutes 20 seconds, longitude 114 degrees 38 minutes 45 seconds. The shore in front of these hills is sandy and there was an appearance of two openings in the beach that were probably the outlets of mountain-streams. The country also appeared much better wooded than in other parts, and as large smokes were seen in the valleys the place most likely at the time of our passing frequented by natives.

Hence the coast trends to the North-West by North towards a patch of bare sand, which is remarkable because the coast is not so sandy as it is more to the south. At ten o'clock a very thick haze spread over the land and so enveloped it that nothing could be distinguished. At noon, the brig being in 28 degrees 25 minutes 42 seconds South, and 114 degrees 7 minutes 0 seconds East, the haze partially cleared away and showed that the coast had changed its character, being now steep, and in some parts cliffy, but still occasionally studded with spots of bare sand. In the interior a rocky, flat-topped hill was seen; it is probably the Mount Naturaliste of the French. The coast trends here in a North by West direction.

The passage or channel between the Abrolhos Bank and the coast has been distinguished by the name of Vlaming's ship, The Geelvink, since she was the first vessel that passed them (Anno 1697). Captain Hamelin in the Naturaliste also passed within them, imagining that he perceived them to the eastward, but what he saw must have been the summit of Moresby's Flat-topped Range.*

(*Footnote. So M. De Freycinet also thinks, for he says: "quelques personnes n'osent assurer que nous ayons vu les Abrolhos; d'autres, et je suis de ce nombre, peusent que ce que nous avons pris pour ce groupe d'iles est une portion du Continent." Freycinet page 180.)

The soundings of the coast upon our track between Rottnest Island and the Abrolhos have been gradually of a gravelly nature, mixed sometimes with shelly sand, and were generally coarser as we approached the shore. In some parts, particularly near Cape Naturaliste and Rottnest Island, the bottom appeared to be a bed of small water-worn quartzose pebbles not larger than a pin's head. Off Moresby's Flat-topped Range the bottom is of a soft dark-gray-coloured sand of a very fine quality that would afford good anchorage was it not for the constant swell that pervades this stormy coast; the water was however much smoother than in other parts, which might have been occasioned either by the Abrolhos bank's breaking the sea, or from the temporary cessation of the wind, for it was comparatively light to what it had been since our leaving Rottnest Island.

A large patch of bare sand terminates the sandy shores of this coast in latitude 27 degrees 55 minutes. A steep cliff then commences and extends for eight miles to the Red Point of Vlaming; behind which is a bight, called by the French Gantheaume Bay; in the south part of which there appeared a small opening. This bay did not seem to be so well calculated for taking shelter in from southerly gales, as Van Keulen's chart indicates; since it is exposed to winds from South-West by South, from which quarter it must frequently blow. The country appeared very rocky; the slight vegetation covering its surface gave it a greenish hue, but no trees were seen near the shore which is fronted by a sandy beach; the depth of the bight is probably five or six miles. The cliffs of Red Point partake of a reddish tinge and appear to be disposed nearly in horizontal strata. In the centre and about halfway between the base and summit of the cliffs is a remarkable block of stone, of very white colour, that at a distance appeared to be either a fort or house: some black marks on its face took our attention and resembled characters of a very large size, as if they had been painted for the purpose of attracting the attention of vessels passing by; but a closer examination with the telescope prove them to be only the shadows of the projecting parts of the surface.

At half-past seven o'clock we hauled off for the night and, standing off and on, sounded in between thirty-three and thirty-five fathoms.

January 19.

At daylight the next morning the land bore from East to East-South-East but the morning and forenoon were so hazy that it was very indistinctly seen; at noon a partial clearing away of the haze exposed to our view a long range of high and precipitous cliffs, the base of which was washed by the sea, breaking upon it with a tremendous roar, and heard distinctly by us. The wind falling in the afternoon induced me to stand off shore, when we soon lost sight of the land. At noon we were in latitude 27 degrees 5 minutes 18 seconds. At one o'clock the depth was forty-five fathoms fine gray sand. No land was seen during the rest of the day; for although the sky was beautifully clear and serene, the atmosphere for fifteen degrees above the horizon was enveloped in a thick hazy mist that caused an extraordinary dampness in the air, and from the unfavourable state of the weather we did not attempt to make it again.

January 20.

The next morning we saw that part of Dirk Hartog's Island which lies in 25 degrees 56 minutes, and when we had reached within four miles of the shore steered to the northward parallel to the beach, but the haze was still so great as to render the land very indistinct. We saw enough of it however to be convinced of its perfect sterility. The coast is lined with a barrier of rocks on which the sea was breaking high with a roar that was heard on board although our distance from the shore was at least three miles.

The warmth of the weather now began rapidly to increase; the thermometer at noon ranged as high as 79 degrees.

At one o'clock Cape Inscription, the north-westernmost point of Dirk Hartog's Island, was distinguished and the sea-breeze veered as far as South-West by West, which was two points more westerly than we had hitherto had it. At two o'clock the brig passed round the cape and, as there was an appearance of good shelter in the bay to the eastward of it, we hauled in and at half-past three o'clock anchored in twelve fathoms fine gravelly soft sand; the west point of Dirk Hartog's Island (Cape Inscription) bearing North 82 degrees West, and the low sandy point that forms its north-east end South 53 degrees West, at a mile and a half from the shore.

As we hauled round the cape and were passing under the lee of the land the breeze became so suddenly heated, by its blowing over the arid and parched surface of the coast, that my seaweed hygrometer, which had been quite damp since we left Rottnest Island, was in ten minutes so dried as to be covered with crystals of salt; and in this state it continued during our stay.

Upon rounding the cape two posts were descried upon its summit, which we conjectured to be those on which the French had affixed a record of their visit, as well as the more ancient one of the Dutch navigators, Dirk Hartog and Vlaming; for they were very conspicuously placed and appeared to be in good preservation.

We had not anchored five minutes before the vessel was surrounded by sharks, which at once impressed us with the propriety of Dampier's nomenclature. One that was caught measured eleven feet in length but the greater number were not more than three or four feet long. They were very voracious and scared away large quantities of fish, of which, however, our people during the evening caught a good supply.

January 21.

The following morning we landed at the Cape and with eager steps ascended the rocky face of the hill to examine the interesting memorials that were affixed to the post; but found to our great mortification that they had been removed; the only vestige that remained was the nails by which they had been secured. One of the posts was about two feet high and evidently made of the wood of the callitris, that grows upon Rottnest Island; it appeared to have been broken down; the other was still erect and seemed to have been either the heel of a ship's royal-mast or part of a studding-sail boom; upon one side of it a flag had been fastened by nails. A careful search was made all round but, as no signs of the Dutch plate or of the more recent French inscription were seen, it was conjectured that they had been removed by the natives; but since our return to England I have learnt that they are preserved in the Museum of the Institute at Paris, where they had been deposited by M. De Freycinet upon his return from his late voyage round the world. After this disappointment we returned to the sea-beach, whilst Mr. Cunningham botanised along the summit of the ridge; and before he rejoined us we had been fortunate enough to find two very fine turtles, and a large quantity of turtle-eggs. The animals had been left by the tide in holes of the rocks, from which we had some difficulty in extricating them. During our absence from the vessel our people had been very successful with the hook and line, having caught about five or six dozen snappers, besides some of the genus tetradon.

This seasonable supply and the probability of our procuring more turtles from the beach induced me to remain here a few days to perform some trifling repairs that could not be effected at sea. We were also prevented from moving, from the unfavourable state of the weather; for it was blowing a gale of wind all the time we remained; but as our people were living upon fresh food the time was not considered as lost.

January 22.

The next morning fifty turtles were turned, but as we could not convey them all on board forty were left on shore upon their backs for the night: upon landing the next morning they were all found dead, having killed themselves by their exertions to escape, and from their exposure to the heat of the sun which was so great during the day that I did not send any of the people on shore. We found, however, no difficulty in procuring more, some of which weighed four hundredweight.

The shore of this bay is fronted by a rocky reef covered with shell-fish, of which the principal sorts were species of trochus, chama, conus, voluta, cypraea, buccinum, ostrea, mytilus, and patella; among the latter was the large one of King George's Sound. Upon the beaches to windward of the cape we found varieties of sponge and coral; and beche de mer were observed in the crevices of the rocks but were neither large nor plentiful. Mr. Cunningham saw two land snakes, one of which was about four feet in length; the colour of its back was black and the belly yellow; the only quadruped seen was a small opossum. A seal of the hair species, like those of Rottnest Island, was seen on the rocks, probably of the same description that Dampier found in the maw of the shark;* and also what was found by the French on Faure Island, which M. Peron supposed to be an herbivorous animal and described as a dugong.**

(*Footnote. Dampier volume 3 page 87.)

(**Footnote. Peron volume 2 page 227 et seq and De Freycinet page 201.)

January 24.

On the 24th Mr. Roe visited the Cape to fix on the post a memorial of our visit; an inscription was carved upon a small piece of wood in the back of which was deposited another memorandum written upon vellum; the wood was of the size of the sheave-hole of the larger post, into which it was fixed, and near it Mr. Roe piled up a heap of stones. After this was accomplished the party walked for some distance along the beach to the south-west of the cape, where they found the remains of two or three whales that had been lately wrecked; a small piece of putrefied flesh was also seen, about two or three feet long, one side of which was covered with red hair, it was however too far gone to ascertain to what animal it belonged.

On examining into the state of our dry provisions it was mortifying to find that the rats and cockroaches had destroyed an incredible quantity, particularly of our biscuit and flour. In one of the casks of the latter more than two-thirds of its contents was deficient. The biscuit was completely drilled through and the greater part would not have been thought fit to eat if we had possessed any of a better quality; I still however hoped to have a sufficiency on board to complete the survey of the north-west coast before our return to Port Jackson, which I now found would of necessity be at least four or five weeks before the time I had fixed upon when we left the Mauritius. As it would take up a great portion of the time we had now left to make a more extensive examination of Shark's Bay than what the French have already performed, and would entirely prevent my going upon the north-west coast again; it was determined that we should not delay here, but pass on and resume our examination of the coast at Cape Cuvier, the northern head of the bay. The only part of Shark's Bay that seems to be at all interesting, and to require further examination, is the eastern side of the bay immediately opposite to the Islands of Dorre and Bernier; but from the very intricate and shoal nature of its approach it is very doubtful whether even a sight of the land in that direction could be procured.

The rocks of Dirk Hartog's Island are of a very remarkable formation, consisting of a congeries of quartzose sand, united in small circular kernels by a calcareous cement in which some shells were found embedded. The geological character of this rock is more fully treated upon in the Appendix by my friend Dr. Fitton.

"Upon the summit of the cliffs there are a few low shrubs, at this time much parched up, but among them Mr. Cunningham found a tolerably rich harvest. In his collection were the following plants, which were originally brought to Europe by Dampier; namely, Trichinium incanum, Br.; Diplolaena dampieri, Desf.; solanum, a thorny ferruginous species without fructification (Solanum dampieri ?) Dampiera incana, Br.; and a cordate melaleuca, figured by Dampier*: a beautiful loranthus (teretifolius, Cunningham) grew on the branches of an undescribed acacia (Acacia ligulata, Cunningham manuscript):"..."many were the wrecks of most interesting plants, and especially those of soft herbaceous duration, which had some time since fallen a sacrifice to the apparent long-protracted drought of the season; but it was impossible, amidst the sad languor of vegetation, not to admire the luxuriant and healthy habit of an undescribed species of pittosporum (oleifolium, Cunningham manuscript) which formed a small robust tree, ten feet high, laden with ripe fruit. We could perceive no traces either of remains of fires, or otherwise of natives, in the whole length of our walk along the edge of the cliffs or the plains, but we saw two snakes of very distinct kinds, each exceeding five feet in length; the one black with a yellow belly, the other green and black, but they quickly escaped into holes, leaving a serpentine impression of their bodies upon the sand. These marks were seen and remarked near the edge of all the holes, which were very numerous upon the surface of the island, before I discovered that they were the tracks of reptiles, from which it may be inferred that these animals are very abundant. The only bird seen was a solitary species of loxia, but upon a steep ledge of rocks I observed one of those nests of which frequent mention has been already made: I examined and found it built upon the pinnacle of some large rocks, very strongly constructed of long sticks; it was about five feet high and exceeded four feet in diameter, with a very slight cavity above; and seemed to have been very recently inhabited. The rocks that formed its base were ornamented with a prostrate capparis, or calyptranthus (Calyptranthus orbicularis, Cunningham manuscript) which afforded me good flowering specimens. In my walk I started a small black kangaroo: it was feeding upon the seeds of a small acacia and, upon perceiving my approach, fled across the down without reaching a single bush or rock large enough to conceal itself as far as the eye could discern it, so bare and destitute of vegetation are these arid, sandy plains."* The heat of the weather was so great as not to allow of any communication with the shore, excepting between daybreak and eight o'clock. Mr. Cunningham's visits were therefore necessarily much confined: this precaution I found it absolutely requisite to take to prevent the people from being exposed to the very great heat of the sun, which on shore must have been at least twenty degrees more powerful than on board, where the thermometer ranged between 71 1/2 degrees at midnight, and 85 and 87 degrees at noon. The barometer ranged between 29.76 and 29.99 inches, and stood highest when the wind was to the eastward of south, with which winds the horizon was much clearer, and the air consequently drier than when the wind blew from the sea.

(*Footnote. Cunningham manuscript.)

As an anchorage during the summer months Dirk Hartog's Road has everything to recommend it, excepting the total absence of fresh water which, according to the French, was not found in any part of Shark's Bay; the anchorage is secure and the bottom clear of rocks. There is also an abundance of fish and turtle, and of the latter a ship might embark forty or fifty every day, for they are very sluggish and make no effort to escape, perhaps from knowing the impossibility of their scrambling over the rocky barrier that fronts the shore, and dries at half ebb. Of fish we caught only two kinds; the snapper, a species of sparus, called by the French the rouge bossu, and a tetradon which our people could not be persuaded to eat, although the French lived chiefly upon it. There are some species of this genus that are poisonous but many are of delicious flavour: it is described by M. Lacepede in a paper in the Annal. du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle (tome 4 page 203) as le Tetrodon argente (Tetrodon argenteus).

January 26.

On the 26th we sailed and passed outside of Dorre and Bernier's Islands; nothing was seen of the reef that lies in mid-channel on the south side of Dorre Island: a rippling was noticed by Mr. Roe in an East by South direction from the masthead at twenty minutes before one o'clock but, if the position assigned to it by the French is correct, we had passed it long before that time. At six o'clock Kok's Island, the small rocky islet that lies off the north end of Bernier's Island, bore North 83 degrees East, distant seven miles.

January 27.

The following morning at daylight the land was seen in the North-East and at half-past eight o'clock we resumed our course and passed Cape Cuvier, a reddish-coloured rocky bluff that presents a precipitous face to the sea. The coast thence takes a North by East direction; it is low and sandy and fronted by a sandy beach, occasionally interrupted by projecting rocky points; those parts where patches of bare sand were noticed are marked upon the chart.

At one o'clock we were near a low sandy projection round which the coast extends to the East-North-East and forms a shallow bay. This projection was called after Sir Robert Townsend Farquhar, Bart., the late Governor of the Mauritius.

Farther on, in latitude 23 degrees 10 minutes 30 seconds, is a projection which, at Mr. Cunningham's request, was called after Mr. William Anderson of the apothecaries' garden at Chelsea. The coast to the northward of Point Anderson is higher than to the southward and falls back to the North-East, but was very imperfectly seen on account of the thick haze that enveloped it. At a quarter before seven o'clock we hauled to the wind for the night with a fresh gale from the southward.

January 28.

The next morning was cloudy and the horizon tolerably clear; but towards noon a light haze began to spread, which by sunset was so thick as entirely to conceal the land. The mercury fell as low as 29.76 inches and, although the thermometer was at 79 degrees and the sun powerful, yet the atmosphere was so charged with moisture that the decks and everything out of the immediate influence of the sun were quite damp. This extraordinary and constant humidity appeared only to occupy the atmosphere for the sky was always beautifully clear and serene.

During the night the gale blew strong from the southward with a high topping sea from the South-West; and being occupied in shifting the main topsail which had split during the night, we stood off until three o'clock before we tacked towards the shore.

January 29.

At eight o'clock being in latitude 22 degrees 19 minutes 23 seconds, the land was visible from North-East to South 35 degrees East at the distance of five or six leagues: by its outline which, from the glare of the sun was the only part at all discernible, it seemed to be of moderate height, very level, and offering no particular mark that could be set with any chance of recognition to obtain a cross bearing. As there is every reason to believe that this part of the coast is what was taken by former navigators for Cloates Island,* I have named the southernmost point of the high land Point Cloates.

(*Footnote. See volume 1.)

At noon we were in latitude 21 degrees 57 minutes 5 seconds, having experienced a current of twenty-three miles to the north since yesterday at noon. The northern extreme, Vlaming's Head, bore North-East by East 1/2 East and the south extreme South 7 degrees West; and in the bearing of between South 32 degrees to 82 degrees East the land is higher than in other parts and declines very gradually towards the extreme.

As the brig approached the land breakers were seen to extend the whole length of the shore, which is fronted by a sandy beach: the land is of moderate height but the summit is rather more rugged than that to the southward where the outline is perfectly level. At half-past three o'clock Vlaming Head bore south six miles and three quarters off: at four o'clock the latitude, by the moon's meridional altitude, was found to be 21 degrees 38 minutes 27 seconds, at which time sights were taken for the chronometer, which made the longitude of the head 114 degrees 2 minutes 16 seconds: the situation assigned to it on our first voyage was 114 degrees 1 minute 47 seconds; the mean of the two, 114 degrees 2 minutes 2 seconds, may therefore be considered its true situation.

From the above observation for the latitude of the North-West Cape agreeing nearly with those of our former voyage, I was induced to think that there might be some land more to the northward that the French saw and took for the cape; for they have placed it in 21 degrees 37 minutes 7 seconds South, which is nearly 10 minutes too northerly. Captain Horsburgh, in the supplement to his Directory, notices some islands seen by the San Antonio in 1818, called Piddington's Islands, that are said to lie in the latitude of 21 degrees 36 minutes, but after steering seventeen miles to the North-East from the above situation, without seeing anything like land, there remained no doubt in my mind that the French must have been deceived and that Piddington's Islands are some of the low, sandy islets to the eastward of Muiron Island.

January 30.

Having steered through the night on a north-east course, Barrow's Island came in sight the next morning, when it was about five leagues off; at eight o'clock it bore between South 27 East and North 87 degrees East. From noon to three p.m. we had calm, dull, and cloudy weather; and although the thermometer did not range higher than 87 degrees, the heat was extremely oppressive, and occasioned the death of three of our turtles. At three o'clock a breeze springing up from the westward enabled us to steer to the northward round the Montebello Islands, in doing which we saw nothing of Hermite Island, which the French have laid down as the westernmost island of that group. There is certainly no land to the westward of Trimouille Island; and the error can only be accounted for by Captain Baudin's having seen the latter at two different periods; indeed this conjecture is in some measure proved, since there is a considerable reef running off the north-west end of that island, which in the French chart is attached to Hermite Island; this reef might not have been seen by him at his first visit, and when he made the land again and observed the reef he must have concluded it to have been a second island.

After steering a north course until seven o'clock and deepening the water to sixty-five fathoms, we gradually hauled round the north end of the Montebello Isles; and at eleven p.m. steered East; but at two o'clock, having decreased the depth from seventy-two to forty-one fathoms, we steered off to the northward until daylight, and then to the East-South-East, in order to anchor in the Mermaid's Strait to the eastward of Malus Island, to take some stones on board as ballast, for the brig was so very light and leewardly that it would have been running a great risk to approach the land, as she then was. But in this we were disappointed, for after an interval of close sultry weather, and a severe thunderstorm, a gale of wind set in from the South-West, during which the barometer fell as low as 29.36 inches. The gale then veered gradually round to the North-West, and obliged us to make sail off the coast, and by the time it moderated we were so far to leeward of Dampier's Archipelago that I was constrained to alter my plan and give up the idea of taking ballast on board. I therefore determined upon making Rowley's Shoals, for the purpose of fixing their position with greater correctness, and examining the extent of the bight round Cape Leveque, which we were obliged to leave unexplored during the earlier part of this voyage.

1822. February 4.

The first of these objects was effected on the 4th; on which day we passed round the south end of the Imperieuse (the westernmost) Shoal; which we now found to extend nearly four miles more to the southward than had been suspected in 1818, at which period we steered round its north end.

A large patch of dry rocks was also seen on the north-east end of the reef about ten miles from the vessel's track, and Mr. Roe, from the masthead, thought that the east side of the shoal did not appear to be so steep as the western side.

From noon we steered east to make the shoal seen by the Good Hope, but having sailed in that direction as far as latitude 17 degrees 42 minutes 51 seconds and longitude 119 degrees 32 minutes 4 seconds, without seeing any signs of it for ten miles on either side of our course, we hauled to the wind for the night and sounded in one hundred and forty-five fathoms speckled sand and broken shells.

February 5.

At seven o'clock the following morning we were steering east when broken water was reported bearing from East to East-South-East, but it turned out to be a rippling which we passed through. These ripplings have been frequently noticed in the vicinity of the reefs, but we have been very little affected by the tides by which they must be occasioned. At noon we were by observation in 17 degrees 43 minutes 41 seconds and longitude 119 degrees 41 minutes 52 seconds, when we sounded in one hundred and twenty fathoms, speckled sand mixed with broken shells and stones; and at twenty miles farther to the eastward sounded again on the same depth.

February 6.

At eight o'clock the next morning, having steered through the night North-East by East, we were in ninety fathoms, sand, broken shells, and large stones.

February 8.

On the morning of the 8th the land was seen in the South-East and soon afterwards the brig passed round Cape Leveque at the distance of a mile and a half. On our way towards Point Swan we saw from the masthead a line of strong tide-ripplings, extending from the point in a North-West by West direction; within which we at first attempted to pass but, finding that they were connected to the point, hauled up to steer through them where they seemed to be the least dangerous. As we approached the noise was terrific and, although we were not more than two minutes amongst the breakers, yet the shocks of the sea were so violent as to make me fear for the safety of our masts. A smaller vessel would perhaps have been swamped; for although the sea was in other parts quite smooth and the wind light, yet the water broke over the bows and strained the brig considerably.

We then steered between Point Swan and two rocky islands lying five miles from the shore over a space which, at our last visit, appeared to be occupied by an extensive reef, but we were then probably deceived by tide-ripplings.