A Voyage to Terra Australis Volume I Part 11

Feb. 2., Mr. Ba.s.s sailed to Corner Inlet; and next day fell in with the five convicts, whom he put across to the long beach.* but was himself unable to proceed until the 9th, in consequence of foul winds. Corner Inlet is little else than a large flat, the greater part of it being dry at low water. There is a long shoal on the outside of the entrance, which is to be avoided by keeping close to the sh.o.r.e of the promontory; but when the tide is out the depth, except in holes, no where exceeds 2 fathoms. A vessel drawing twelve or thirteen feet may lie safely under the high land, from which there are some large runs of most excellent water. The tide rises a foot less here than in Sealers Cove, and flows an hour later; arising, probably, from the flood leaving it in an eddy, by setting past, and not into the inlet.

[* Nothing more had been beard of these five men., so late as 1803.]

Feb. 9, Corner Inlet was quitted with a strong south-west wind, and Mr.

Ba.s.s steered E. by N. along the sh.o.r.e. At the distance of five miles, he pa.s.sed the mouth of a shallow opening in the low sandy beach, from which a half-moon shoal stretches three miles to the south-eastward. Four or five miles further, a lesser opening of the same kind was pa.s.sed; and by noon, when the lat.i.tude was 38 34' (probably 38 46'), he had arrived at the point of the long beach, which in going out, had been quitted to steer for the promontory. His general course from thence was N. E. by E.

along the sh.o.r.e, until nine o'clock, when judging the coast must begin to trend more eastwardly, he again steered E. b. N.; the wind blowing a fresh gale at W. S. W., with a following sea. At daylight, Feb. 10, the beach was distant two miles, and trending parallel to the boat's course.

The western gale died away in the morning, and was succeeded by one from the eastward. The boat was in no condition to struggle against a foul wind; and Mr. Ba.s.s, being unwilling to return to Corner Inlet, ventured through a heavy surf and took refuge upon the beach; having first observed the lat.i.tude to be 37 47' south.

The country at the back of the beach consisted of dried-up swamps and barren sand hills. Some natives came down with very little hesitation, and conducted themselves amicably: they appeared never to have seen or heard of white people before.

(Atlas, Plate VIII.)

Feb. 11. the foul wind had ceased to blow, and the clouds threatened another gale from the south-west. So soon as there was sufficient daylight, the boat was launched, and at four the same afternoon anch.o.r.ed under the Rain Head. Mr. Ba.s.s was kept there till the 14th in the evening; when a strong breeze sprung up suddenly at south-west, and he sailed immediately, pa.s.sing Cape Howe at ten o'clock. By noon of the 15th, he had reached Two-fold Bay, where the lat.i.tude was observed to be 36 53' south;* and having ascertained that _Snug Cove_, on its north-west side, afforded shelter for shipping, he steered northward, and pa.s.sed Mount Dromedary soon after midnight. At noon, Feb. 16, Mr. Ba.s.s landed upon a small island lying under the sh.o.r.e to the south-east of the Pigeon House, to examine a pole which he had before observed, and supposed might have been set up as a signal by shipwrecked people; but it proved to be nothing more than the dead stump of a tree, much taller and more straight than the others. He sailed next morning; but the wind hung so much in the north and east quarters that he was forced successively into Jervis Bay, Shoals Haven, and Port Hacking; and it was not until the 24th at night, that our adventurous discoverer terminated his dangerous and fatiguing voyage, by entering within the heads of Port Jackson.

[* The true lat.i.tude of the mouth of Two-fold Bay is 37 5', showing an error of 12' to the north, nearly similar to what has been specified in the observations near Wilson's Promontory.]

It should be remembered, that Mr. Ba.s.s sailed with only six weeks provisions; but with the a.s.sistance of occasional supplies of petrels, fish, seal's flesh, and a few geese and black swans, and by abstinence, he had been enabled to prolong his voyage beyond _eleven_ weeks. His ardour and perseverance were crowned, in despite of the foul winds which so much opposed him, with a degree of success not to have been antic.i.p.ated from such feeble means. In three hundred miles of coast, from Port Jackson to the Ram Head, he added a number of particulars which had escaped captain Cook; and will always escape any navigator in a first discovery, unless he have the time and means of joining a close examination by boats, to what may be seen from the ship.

Our previous knowledge of the coast scarcely extended beyond the Ram Head; and there began the harvest in which Mr. Ba.s.s was ambitious to place the first reaping hook. The new coast was traced three hundred miles; and instead of trending southward to join itself to Van Diemen's Land, as captain Furneaux had supposed, he found it, beyond a certain point, to take a direction nearly opposite, and to a.s.sume the appearance of being exposed to the buffetings of an open sea. Mr. Ba.s.s, himself, entertained no doubt of the existence of a wide strait, separating Van Diemen's Land from New South Wales; and he yielded with the greatest reluctance to the necessity of returning, before it was so fully ascertained as to admit of no doubt in the minds of others. But he had the satisfaction of placing at the end of his new coast, an extensive and useful harbour, surrounded with a country superior to any other known in the southern parts of New South Wales.

A voyage _expressly_ undertaken for discovery in an open boat, and in which six hundred miles of coast, mostly in a boisterous climate, was explored, has not, perhaps, its equal in the annals of maritime history.

The public will award to its high spirited and able conductor, alas! now no more, an honourable place in the list of those whose ardour stands most conspicuous for the promotion of useful knowledge.

FLINDERS. 1798.

During the time that Mr. Ba.s.s was absent on his expedition in the whale boat, the _Francis_ schooner was again sent with captain Hamilton to the wreck of his ship the Sydney Cove; to bring up what remained of the cargo at Preservation Island, and the few people who were left in charge. On this occasion I was happy enough to obtain governor Hunter's permission to embark in the schooner; in order to make such observations serviceable to geography and navigation, as circ.u.mstances might afford; and Mr. Reed, the master, was directed to forward these views as far as was consistent with the main objects of his voyage.

(Atlas. Plate VIII.)

Feb. 1, we sailed out of Port Jackson with a fair wind; and on the following noon, the observed lat.i.tude was 35 42', being 14' south of account. I prevailed on Mr. Reed to stand in for the land, which was then visible through the haze; and at sunset, we reached into Bateman Bay.*

When the two rocky islets in the middle of the bay bore S. by W. W., a short mile, we had 8 fathoms water, and 6 fathoms a mile further in. The north head is steep with a rock lying off it; but Bateman Bay falls back too little from the line of the coast to afford shelter against winds from the eastward. The margin of the bay is mostly a beach, behind which lie sandy, rocky hills of moderate elevation.

[* The bearings in the following account are corrected, as usual, for the variation; but I am sorry to say that the steering compa.s.ses of the schooner proved to be bad, and there was no azimuth compa.s.s on board.]

In the morning of the 3rd, we steered S. by W. along the sh.o.r.e; and saw, in lat.i.tude about 35* 58', and eight or nine miles from the south point of Bateman Bay, a small opening like a river running south-westward. It was here that Mr. Ba.s.s found a lagoon, with extensive salt swamps behind it, and observed the lat.i.tude 36 00'. At noon, the east point of the opening bore N. W. seven miles, and the top of Mount Dromedary was visible above the haze; but no observation could be taken for the lat.i.tude.

Soon after noon, land was in sight to the S. S. E., supposed to be the Point Dromedary of captain Cook's chart; but, to my surprise, it proved to be an island not laid down, though lying near two leagues from the coast. The whole length of this island is about one mile and a quarter, north and south; the two ends are a little elevated, and produce small trees; but the sea appeared to break occasionally over the middle part.

It is probably frequented by seals, since many were seen in the water whilst pa.s.sing at the distance of two miles. This little island, I was afterwards informed, had been seen in the ship Surprise, and honoured with the name of _Montague_.

When captain Cook pa.s.sed this part of the coast his distance from it was five leagues, and too great for its form to be accurately distinguished.

There is little doubt that Montague Island was then seen, and mistaken for a point running out from under Mount Dromedary; for its distance from the mount, and bearing of about N. 75 E., will place it in 36 17', or within one minute of the lat.i.tude a.s.signed to the point in captain Cook's chart.

(Atlas Pl. VI.)

At six in the evening, Mount Dromedary was set at N. 40 W. five leagues.

We steered S. S. W. until two in the morning, when the land was so near as made it necessary to alter the course; and at daybreak of the 4th, the sh.o.r.e was not more than three miles distant; it was moderately high and rocky, and at the back were many hummocky hills. Having been much upon deck in the night, I then retired to rest; and in the mean time, the schooner pa.s.sed Mr. Ba.s.s's _Two-fold Bay_ without its being noticed. At nine we came abreast of a smooth, sloping point which, from its appearance, and being unnoticed in captain Cook's chart, I named GREEN CAPE. The sh.o.r.e, for about seven miles to the northward, lies N. 16 W., and is rocky and nearly straight, and well covered with wood: the Cape itself is gra.s.sy. On the south side, the coast trends west, three or four miles, into a sandy bight, and then southward to Cape Howe.

The lat.i.tude at noon was 37 25', giving a current of twenty miles to the south, in two days; Green Cape bore N. by E. four leagues, and Cape Howe S. by W. five or six miles. Captain Cook lays down the last in 37 26', in his chart; but the above observation places it in 37 30', which I afterwards found to agree with an observation of Mr. Ba.s.s, taken on the west side of the cape. The sh.o.r.e abreast of the schooner was between one and two miles distant; it was mostly beach, lying at the feet of sandy hillocks which extend from behind Green Cape to the pitch of Cape Howe.

There were several fires upon the sh.o.r.e; and near one of them, upon an eminence, stood seven natives, silently contemplating the schooner as she pa.s.sed.

On coming abreast of Cape Howe, the wind chopped round to the south-west, and the dark clouds which settled over the land concealed it from our view; we observed, however, that it trended to the west, but sought in vain for the small island mentioned by captain Cook as lying close off the Cape.*

[* Hawkesworth, Vol. III. p. 80. Mr. Ba.s.s sailed close round the cape in his whale boat, but did not ace any island lying there.]

Our lat.i.tude was 38 30' next day, or 38' south of account, although the wind had been. and was still from that direction. Mr. Reed then steered W. by N., to get in again with the coast; and on the following noon, we were in 38 16' and, by account, 22' of longitude to the west of Point Hicks. The schooner was kept more northward in the afternoon; at four o'clock a moderately high, sloping hill was visible in the N. by W., and at seven a small rocky point on the beach bore N. 50 W. three or four leagues. The sh.o.r.e extended E. N. E. and W. S. W., and was low and sandy in front; but at some miles distance inland, there was a range of hills with wood upon them, though scarcely sufficient to hide their sandy surface.

At five in the morning of the 7th, the rocky point bore N. E. N. six or seven miles, and the furthest visible part of the beach W. S. The southern wind had died away in the night; and a breeze springing up at N.

E. by E., we steered before it along the same low, sandy sh.o.r.e as seen in the evening. The hills which arose at three or four leagues behind the beach, appeared to retire further back as we advanced westward; they would, however, be visible to a ship in fine weather, long before the front land could be seen.

The observed lat.i.tude at noon was 38 17' south, and by two sets of distances of the sun east of the moon, reduced up from the morning, the longitude was 147 37' east.* The beach was six or seven miles distant, but after obtaining the noon's observation, we closed more in; and at two or three miles off, found a sandy bottom with 11 fathoms fathoms of line.

Our course along the sh.o.r.e from two to four o'clock, was S. W. S., with a current in our favour. The beach then trended more to the west; but the breeze having veered to E. by N. and become strong, with much sea, it was considered too dangerous to follow it any longer. At five, the western and most considerable of two shallow-looking openings bore north-west, seven or eight miles; and at sunset, some high and remarkable land was perceived bearing S. W. by W., which proved to be the same discovered by Mr. Ba.s.s, and now bearing the name of _Wilson's Promontory_. It appeared, from a partial view given by a break in the clouds, as if cut in two, and the parts had been removed to some distance from each other: the gap was probably Sealers Cove.

[* It was 147 10'; but as I afterwards found that observations of the sun to the east gave 27' less, by this small five inch s.e.xtant, and those to the west 27' greater than the mean of both, that correction is here applied; but not any which might be required from errors in the solar or lunar tables.]

The state of the weather, and the land to leeward, made it necessary to haul up south-eastward, close upon a wind. At day-break of the 8th, neither Wilson's Promontory nor any other land to the northward could be seen; but between the bearings of N. 84 and S. 63 E., six or eight miles distant, there was land rather high and irregular, with a cliffy sh.o.r.e; and a separate cl.u.s.ter of rocky islets bore south to S. 16 W., from three to five miles. We pa.s.sed close to these last, at six o'clock, and perceived that the tide, which before had set to leeward, was then turned to the east: the moon had just before pa.s.sed the meridian.

This small cl.u.s.ter consists of a steep island, near one mile in length, of two smaller round islets, and two or three rocks; one of which obtained the name of _Judgment Rock_, from its resemblance to an elevated seat. The higher and more considerable land to the eastward was seen, as we advanced, to divide itself also into several parts. This group is princ.i.p.ally composed of three islands; and between the largest on the east and two others on the west, there appeared to be a deep channel. The other parts are rocks, which lie scattered mostly off the north-western island. These two cl.u.s.ters were called KENT'S GROUPS, in honour of my friend captain William Kent, then commander of the Supply.

Our lat.i.tude at noon was 39 38'; the steep island of the small group bore N. 50 W., and the pa.s.sage through the larger islands N. 12 E., six or eight miles. This observation places the centre of the pa.s.sage and of the large group, in about 39 29' south; and from the lunar observations of the preceding day, brought on by log, (for unfortunately I had no time keeper,) it should lie in longitude 147 25' east. It is, however, to be observed, that a fortuitous compensation of errors can alone render a dead reckoning correct in the way of such tides as we had experienced during the last twenty-four hours.*

[* The longitude of the large group, as given by my time keepers in a future voyage, is 147 17'.]

By keeping the wind to the southward, we came up with a pyramidal-shaped rock through which there is a chasm: it bore W. 8 S. one mile, at four o'clock, when the eastern island of Kents large group was set at N. 17 E, five or six leagues. At six, the pyramid bore N. 38 W. five miles, and high land came in sight to the eastward: one piece extended from N.

75 to S. 87 E., apparently about five leagues distant, and the bluff, southern end of another range of hills bore S. 51 E., something further.

Captain Hamilton supposed these to be parts of the land he had seen to the north-west of Preservation Island, where the wreck of his ship was lying; but whether they might belong to Furneaux's Islands or to the main, was unknown to him. He had always gone to, and returned from his island by the east side of this land; and the wind having veered northward, the schooner was kept as much to the north-east as possible, in order to pursue the same track.

We came up with a low point or island at eleven at night, when the wind died away. At six in the morning of Feb. 9., the northern land extended from N. 49 E. three leagues, to S. 47 E. four or five miles; the southern land bore S. 24 to 2 E. five or six leagues, and seemed to form a hilly, separate island; although, as low land was seen between them, the two may probably be connected: there was also a cliffy island bearing north, seven or eight miles. On a breeze springing up from south-west, our course was steered to pa.s.s close round the northern land; but finding much rippling water between it and two islands called the _Sisters_ by captain Furneaux, we pa.s.sed round them also, and then hauled to the southward along the eastern sh.o.r.e.

This northern land, or island as it proved to be, has some ridges of sandy-looking hills extending north and south between the two sh.o.r.es; and they are sufficiently high to be visible ten leagues from a ship's deck in clear weather. On the west side of the north point, the hills come nearly down to the water; but on the east side, there is two or three miles of flat land between their feet and the sh.o.r.e. The small trees and brush wood which partly covered the hills, seemed to shoot out from sand and rock; and if the vallies and low land within be not better than what appeared from the sea, the northern part of this great island is sterile indeed. The Sisters are not so high as some of the hills on the great island, and are less sandy: the small, cliffy island, which lies eight or nine miles, nearly west, from the inner Sister, had no appearance of sand.

Whilst pa.s.sing round the north end of Furneaux's Islands, I experienced how little dependence was to be put in compa.s.s bearings, in such, at least, as were taken with my best instrument, the steering compa.s.s of the schooner. The south extreme of the inner Sister shut on with the north-west point of the great island at E. S., magnetic bearing; but after pa.s.sing round, they shut, on the other side, at W. by N. N.; so that, to produce an agreement, it was necessary to allow half a point more east variation on the first, when the schooner's head was N. by W., than on the last, when it was S. S. E. In a second instance, the north end of the outer Sister opened from the inner one at N. E. N.; but they came on again at S. W. W., making a difference of a whole point, when the head was N. by W. and E. S. E. These bearings were probably not correct within two or three degrees; but they showed that a change in the course steered produced an alteration in the compa.s.s.

The observed lat.i.tude at noon was 39 50 1/3', the centre of the outer Sister bore N. 34 W., nearly five leagues, and our distance from the sandy, eastern sh.o.r.e of the great island was about six miles. At two, o'clock, we came up with an island of three miles in length, and nearly the same s.p.a.ce distant from a sandy projection of the great island. The pa.s.sage between them is much contracted by shoal spits of sand which run out from each side; and it seemed doubtful, whether the water were deep enough in any part of the channel to admit a ship. The form of the land here is somewhat remarkable: upon the low projection of the great island there are three pyramidal hills, which obtained the name of the _Patriarchs_, and stand apart from the more western high land; and upon the south-west end of the island opposite there is also a pyramid, which, with other hills near it, presents some resemblance to the Lion's Head and Rump at the Cape of Good Hope. This island and two rocky islets lying off its south-east end were afterwards called the _Babel Isles_. The largest is covered with tufted gra.s.s and brush wood; and the whole appeared to be much frequented by s.h.a.gs, sooty petrels, and other sea birds.

We had scarcely pa.s.sed the Babel Isles, when the wind, which had been at W. by S., chopped round to the southward, with squally weather, and drove the schooner off to the north-east. In the night, it became less unfavourable; and at noon of the 10th, our lat.i.tude was 40 3'; the isles bore N. 78 W., three or four leagues, and the high land of _Cape Barren_ S. 13 to 34 W. Having a fair wind in the afternoon, we pa.s.sed along the outskirts of the Bay of Shoals, without perceiving any breakers; but in the s.p.a.ce between the great island and the land of Cape Barren there were many rocks, and a low island of three or four miles long, with a hill in the middle, lay at the entrance of the opening.

The high part of Cape-Barren Island, but particularly the peak, may be seen eleven, and perhaps more leagues from a ship's deck. The extremity of the cape is a low point, which runs out two miles east from the high land; and off this point lies a flat, rocky islet and a peaked rock. The sh.o.r.e is sandy on each side of the Cape point: it trends N. 40 W., for about five miles, on one side, and S. 49 W., past two sandy bights on the other, to a rocky projection on which are two whitish _cones_, shaped like rhinoceros' horns.

We steered south-westward, in the evening, round the Cape point, and were sufficiently close to hear the bellowing of the seals upon the islet.

Arrived off _Cone Point_, the schooner was hauled offsh.o.r.e; and the wind becoming strong and unfavourable in the night, it was not until the evening of the 12th, that we got to anchor in _Hamilton's Road_, at the east end of Preservation Island. This road is sheltered from all winds, except between south and S. S. E.; and these do not throw in much sea: the bottom is good-holding sand, in from 4 to 3 fathoms, at a quarter of a mile from the beach.

The ship Sydney Cove had been run on sh.o.r.e between Preservation and Rum Islands, and part of her hull was still lying there; but the sea thrown in by western gales had, in great measure, broken her up, and scattered the beams, timbers, and parts of the cargo, upon all the neighbouring sh.o.r.es.

My purpose of making an expedition amongst the islands was delayed by the schooner's boat being out of repair; but in the mean time, a base line was measured round the sandy north-east end of Preservation Island, and angles taken from all the conspicuous points.

Feb. 16. The boat was fitted, and I made an excursion of five days, through the channel which separates the land of Cape Barren from the more southern islands. It is called ARMSTRONG'S CHANNEL, from the master of the Supply, who had gone to afford a.s.sistance in saving the cargo of the Sydney Cove, and was the first to pa.s.s through it on his return towards Port Jackson; but he never arrived there, having, in all probability, perished at sea with his sloop and crew. The stations whence angles were taken for a survey of the channel and surrounding lands, were--1st.

_Point Womat_, a rocky projection of Cape-Barren Island, where a number of the new animals, called _womat_, were seen, and some killed. 2nd.

_Battery Island_; so named from four rocks upon it, resembling mounted guns; sooty petrels, and large hair seals were found there. 3rd. The sandy north-east point of Clarke's Island; which, with the opposite _Sloping Point_, forms the narrowest part of the channel. Its width was found to be three-quarters of a mile, but is somewhat contracted by rocks lying on the south side. These rocks were also frequented by hair seals, and some of them (the old males) were of an enormous size, and of extraordinary power. I levelled my gun at one, which was sitting on the top of a rock with his nose extended up towards the sun, and struck him with three musket b.a.l.l.s. He rolled over, and plunged into the water; but in less than half an hour had taken his former station and att.i.tude. On firing again, a stream of blood spouted forth from his breast to some yards distance, and he fell back, senseless. On examination, the six b.a.l.l.s were found lodged in his breast; and one, which occasioned his death, had pierced the heart: his weight was equal to that of a common ox.