A Voyage to Terra Australis Volume I Part 34

This and wood, which was easily procured, were all that we found of use to ships; and for the establishment of a colony, which the excellence of the port might seem to invite, the little fertility of the soil offers no inducement. The wood consists princ.i.p.ally of the _eucalyptus_ and _casuarina_.

Of the climate we had no reason to speak but in praise; nor were we incommoded by noxious insects. The range of the thermometer on board the ship was from 66 to 78 and that of the barometer from 29.4 to 30.20 inches. The weather was generally clouded, the winds light, coming from the eastward in the mornings and southward after noon. On sh.o.r.e the average height of the thermometer at noon was 76.

The _lat.i.tude_ of our tents at the head of Port Lincoln, from the mean of four meridian observations of the sun taken from an artificial horizon, was 34 48' 25" S.

The _longitude_, from thirty sets of distances of the sun and stars from the moon (see Table IV. of the Appendix to this volume), was 135 44 51" E.

These observations, being reduced to Cape Donington at the entrance of the port, will place it in lat.i.tude 34 44' south, longitude 135 56' east.

No corresponding observation of the solar eclipse appears to have been made under any known meridian, and from the nature of circ.u.mstances, the error of the moon's place could not be observed at Greenwich; the distances would therefore seem most worthy of confidence, and are adopted; but the longitude deduced from the eclipse, as recalculated by Mr. Crosley from _Delambre's_ solar tables of 1806, and the new lunar tables of _Burckhardt_ of 1812, differs but very little from them: it is 135 46' 8" east.

The rates of the time keepers, deduced from equal alt.i.tudes on, and between Feb. 27 and March 4, and their errors from mean Greenwich time, at noon there on the last day of observation, were found to be as under:

Earnshaw's No.543 slow Oh 30' 30.54" and losing 8.43" per day.

520 slow 1h 9' 7.72" and losing 18.82" per day.

Arnold's No. 176 altered its rate prodigiously on March 1st, and on the 2nd it stopped. His watch, No. 1736, varied in its rate from 7.81" to 1.90", so that it continued to be used only as an a.s.sistant.

The longitude given by the time keepers with the King-George's-Sound rates, on Feb. 27, the first day of observation at the tents, was by

No. 543, 136 15' 9.0" east.

520, 135 58 53.55 176, 136 1 23.95.

But by allowing a rate accelerating in arithmetic progression, from those at King George's Sound to what were obtained at this place, the mean longitude by the two first time keepers would be 135" 52' 16", or 7' 25"

to the east of the lunar observations; which quant.i.ty, if the positions of the Sound and of Port Lincoln be correct, is the acc.u.mulation of their irregularity during fifty-seven days. In laying down the coasts and islands from the Sound up to Cape Wiles, the longitudes are taken from the time keepers according to the accelerated rates, corrected by an equal proportion of the error 7' 25" in fifty-seven days. From Cape Wiles to the head of Port Lincoln the survey is made from theodolite bearings and observed lat.i.tudes, without the aid of the time keepers.

The _Dip_ of the south end of the needle, taken at the tents, was nearly the same as in K. George's Sound, being 64 27'

Variation of the theodolite at the same place, 1 39 E.

And the bearings from different stations in the port were conformable to this variation, except at Cape Donington, where, at a station on the north-western part, it appeared to be as much as 4 east.

The observations for the variation on board the ship, at anchor in the lower part of the port, gave 2 23' _west_, when the ship's head was eastward, and 0 53' east, at south-south-east. According to the first, which were taken by lieutenant Flinders whilst the ship lay under Stamford Hill, the true variation should be 0 51' east; but by the second, observed by myself near Cape Donington, 2 7' east, or nearly the same as was found in Memory Cove. Were the mean taken, it would be 1 29', or 10' less than at the head of the port.

From Mr. Flinders` remarks upon the _Tide_, it appeared that the rise did not exceed three-and-half feet; and that, like Princess Royal Harbour, there was only one high water in twenty-four hours, which took place at night, about _eleven hours after_ the moon's pa.s.sage over the meridian, or one hour before it came to the lower meridian; yet at Th.o.r.n.y Pa.s.sage, which is but a few leagues distant, there were two sets of tide in the day. This difference, in so short a s.p.a.ce, appears extraordinary; but it may perhaps be accounted for by the direction of the entrance to the port, which is open to the north-east, from whence the ebb comes.

FRIDAY 5 MARCH 1802

On the 5th of March in the morning we ran down the harbour, and anch.o.r.ed under Cape Donington at the entrance of Spalding Cove in 7 fathoms, soft mud; the north-western extremity of the point bearing N. 16 E., one mile, and partly hiding Point Bolingbroke. In the evening, lieutenant Fowler returned from his search. He had rowed and walked along the sh.o.r.e as far as Memory Cove, revisited Thistle's Island, and examined the sh.o.r.es of the isles in Th.o.r.n.y Pa.s.sage, but could find neither any traces of our lost people nor fragments of the wreck. He had killed two or three kangaroos upon Thistle's Island.

SAt.u.r.dAY 6 MARCH 1802

On the following morning I landed at Cape Donington to take some further bearings, and Mr. Evans, the acting master, was sent to sound across the entrance of Spalding Cove, and between Bicker Isles and Surfleet Point, where a small ship-pa.s.sage was found. The boat was afterwards hoisted up; and our operations in Port Lincoln being completed, we prepared to follow the unknown coast to the northward, or as it might be found to trend.

CHAPTER VII.

Departure from Port Lincoln.

Sir Joseph Banks' Group.

Examination of the coast, northward.

The ship found to be in a gulph.

Anchorage near the head of the gulph.

Boat expedition.

Excursion to Mount Brown.

Nautical observations.

Departure from the head, and examination of the east side of the gulph.

Extensive shoal.

Point Pearce.

Hardwicke Bay.

Verification of the time keepers.

General remarks on the gulph.

Cape Spencer and the Althorpe Isles.

New land discovered: Anchorage there.

General remarks on Kangaroo Island.

Nautical observations.

[SOUTH COAST. SPENCER'S GULPH.]

SAt.u.r.dAY 6 MARCH 1802

At ten in the morning of March 6 we sailed out of Port Lincoln, and skirted along the east side of Boston Island and the entrance of Louth Bay. In the afternoon we pa.s.sed within two miles of Point Bolingbroke, and at six in the evening came to an anchor in 10 fathoms, off the north side of Kirkby Island, which is the nearest to the point of any of Sir Joseph Banks' Group, and had been seen from Stamford Hill. A boat was lowered down to sound about the ship, and I went on sh.o.r.e to take bearings of the different islands; but they proved to be so numerous that the whole could not be completed before dark.

SUNDAY 7 MARCH 1802

I landed again in the morning with the botanical gentlemen, taking Arnold's watch and the necessary instruments for ascertaining the lat.i.tude and longitude. Twelve other isles of the group were counted, and three rocks above water; and it is possible that some others may exist to the eastward, beyond the boundary of my horizon, for it was not extensive. The largest island seen is four or five miles long, and is low and sandy, except at the north-east and south ends; it was called _Reevesby Island_, and names were applied in the chart to each of the other isles composing this group. The main coast extended northward from Point Bolingbroke, but the furthest part visible from the top of Kirkby Island was not more than four or five leagues distant; its bearing and those of the objects most important to the connection of the survey were these;

Main coast, furthest extreme, N. 13 40' E.

Point Bolingbroke, N. 86 50 W.

Stamford Hill, station on the north end, S. 45 17 W.

Thistle's Island, centre of the high land, S. 5 37 W.

Sibsey Island, extremes, S. 16 27' to 13 2 W.

Stickney Island, S. 18 30 to 22 40 E.

Spilsby Island, S. 39 30 to 48 25 E.

Granite forms the basis of Kirkby Island, as it does of the neighbouring parts of the continent before examined; and it is in the same manner covered with a _stratum_ of calcareous rock. The island was dest.i.tute of wood, and almost of shrubs; and although there were marks of its having been frequented by geese, none of the birds were seen, nor any other species of animal except a few hair seals upon the sh.o.r.e. This description, unfavourable as it is, seemed applicable to all the group, with the exception of Reevesby and Spilsby Islands, which are higher and of greater extent, and probably somewhat more productive.

The _lat.i.tude_ of the north side of Kirkby Island, observed from an artificial horizon, was 34 33' 1" south, and _longitude_ by timekeepers, 136 10' 8" east. The _variation _from azimuths taken on board the ship at anchor, with the head south-by-west (magnetic as usual), was 2 40'

east; which corrected to the meridian would be 2 2' east, the same nearly as was observed in Memory Cove and at the entrance of Port Lincoln; but an amplitude taken on sh.o.r.e with the surveying theodolite gave 3 57' east. This seemed extraordinary when, except at Cape Donington, no local attraction of importance had been found in the sh.o.r.es of Port Lincoln, where the stone is the same. It was, however, corroborated by the bearings; for that of Stamford Hill, with 3 57'

allowed, differed only 2' from the back bearing with the allowance of 1 39'; which is a nearer coincidence than I have generally been able to obtain.

At two in the afternoon the anchor was weighed, and leaving most of Sir Joseph Banks' Group to the right, we steered northward, following the direction of the main land. The coast is very low and commonly sandy, from Boston Bay to the furthest extreme seen from Kirkby Island; but a ridge of hills, commencing at North-side Hill in Port Lincoln, runs a few miles behind it. In lat.i.tude 34 20' this ridge approaches the water side, and in its course northward keeps nearly parallel at the distance of two or three miles. It is moderately elevated, level, dest.i.tute of vegetation, and appeared to be granitic. At half-past six, when we hauled off for the night, the sh.o.r.e was five or six miles distant; the furthest part bore N. N. E. E., and a bluff inland mountain was set at N. 71 W., over the top of the front ridge.

The wind was moderate from the south-eastward; and at seven on the following morning [MONDAY 8 MARCH 1802], when the bluff inland mountain was bearing W. 2 N., we resumed our north-eastern course along the sh.o.r.e; which was distant seven miles, and had not changed its appearance.

Towards noon the water shoaled to 6 fathoms at three miles from a sandy beach; a lagoon was visible from the mast head, over the beach, and a small inlet, apparently connected with it, was perceived soon afterward.

A few miles short of this the ridge of hills turns suddenly from the sh.o.r.e, and sweeps round at the back of the lagoon, into which the waters running off the ridge appeared to be received. The corner hill, where the direction of the ridge is changed, was called _Elbow Hill_; and since losing sight of the bluff inland mount, it was the first distinguishable mark which had presented itself for the survey; it lies in lat.i.tude 33 43' and longitude 136 42'. The coast there trends nearly east-by-north, and obliged us to haul close to the wind, in soundings of 7 to 9 fathoms.

We had then advanced more than twenty-five leagues to the north-north-east from Cape Catastrope; but although nothing had been seen to destroy the hopes formed from the tides and direction of the coast near that cape, they were yet considerably damped by the want of boldness in the sh.o.r.es and the shallowness of the water; neither of which seemed to belong to a channel capable of leading us into the Gulph of Carpentaria, nor yet to any very great distance inland.

At two o'clock the sh.o.r.e again took a northern direction, but it was still very low in front, and the depth did not materially increase. Land was presently distinguished on the starbord bow and beam; and before four, an elevated part, called _Barn Hill_ from the form of its top, bore E. 4 N. We continued to follow the line of the western sh.o.r.e, steering north-north-east and north; and the wind being at south, we hauled north-westward at six o'clock, intending to anchor under the shelter of the land. From 7 fathoms the depth diminished to 5, and quickly to seventeen feet; upon which we veered round, ran back into 5 fathoms, and came to an anchor three or four miles off the sh.o.r.e on a sandy bottom.

The wind blew fresh, with rainy squalls; but a whole cable being veered out, we rode smoothly all night. The furthest land visible to the northward consisted of detached hummocks of which the highest was called _Mount Young_ in honour of the admiral. Abreast of the ship the land rose gradually from the beach to the ridge of hills which still continued to run behind it; but at this place some back hills were visible over the ridge; and the highest of several hummocks upon the top, which served as a mark in the survey, was named _Middle Mount_. Observations for the time keepers were taken in the morning [TUESDAY 9 MARCH 1802] before getting under way, and the situation of the anchorage was found to be in