An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales Volume II Part 18

August.] In the beginning of this month the governor spent some days in an excursion from Prospect-Hill to the settlement which he had established on the banks of George's river. Having before examined the country between Parramatta and that river, he now traced it in another direction, and had the gratification of finding it equally favourable to cultivation with what he had before observed. The distance from the hill was about five miles, over excellent ground, well adapted both for cultivation and pasturage, and equal to any on the banks of the Nile of New South Wales. The settlers whom he had placed there were all doing well, had not any complaints to make, and had not been molested lately by the natives. On quitting them he proceeded down the river to Botany Bay, and thence walked overland to Sydney, between which places there was nothing but barren and uneven ground, but every where covered with the most beautiful flowering heath.

Shortly after his return, the _Norfolk_ sloop came in from the northward, having been absent about six weeks upon a particular service, the following account of which is taken from the Journal of Lieutenant Flinders, which he delivered to the governor after his arrival.

The governor being very desirous of gaining some information respecting the coast to the Northward of Port Jackson, particularly of two large openings marked by Captain Cook, the Northernmost of which he named Hervey Bay, and appeared to lie about the lat.i.tude of 24 degrees 36 minutes south, he directed Lieutenant Flinders, who had been employed before with Mr. Ba.s.s in the circ.u.mnavigation of Van Diemen's Island, to proceed in the _Norfolk_ sloop to the northward, and examine them with as much accuracy as the limited time of six weeks would admit. He was also directed, if on his return he should find that he had some time to spare, to enter Hunter's river, there to make what observations he could relative to its extent, the quant.i.ty of coal to be found there, and the nature of the country.

The vessel was manned with volunteers from the two king's ships, and Lieutenant Flinders was accompanied by Bong-ree, a native of the north side of Broken Bay, who had been noted for his good disposition, and open and manly conduct. To guard against accidents, they were supplied with provisions for eleven weeks, and on this service they sailed on the 8th of the last month, July, and proceeded to the Northward.

At half past seven in the morning of Sunday the 9th they sounded, but without finding ground with fifteen fathoms of line, at the distance of half a mile from a small reef of black rocks, which ran off from a sugar-loaf point. There were two very low, and therefore dangerous rocks, lying at S 20 degrees E three or four miles, and SE about two miles from this point. Captain Cook pa.s.sed this part of the coast in the night, and therefore did not see the rocks; but they required to be particularly looked out for by any vessel coming near the land.* The lat.i.tude of the point is about 32 degrees 27 minutes S, Cape Hawke lying N 1 degree or 2 degrees E from it; and the intermediate coast was mostly beach, but divided at intervals by short stony heads.

[* This and other nautical observations made by Lieutenant Flinders are inserted, as it is presumed they (never having been published) may be of use to such ships as may hereafter be employed in the whale fishery upon the coast.]

Sounding with ten fathoms of line at half a mile distance from the sh.o.r.e of Cape Hawke, they got ground. The two hills here mentioned by Captain Cook were found to stand upon the pitch of the Cape, and were covered with brush down to the low cliffs. The strata in these cliffs lay forty or fifty degrees from the horizontal line. From the Cape the coast falls back, forming a kind of double bay. The land was low, and rose, but very gradually, ridge over ridge inland to a moderate height, the country looking pleasant enough from the sea; but the trees appeared small, and mixed with brushwood.

At daylight in the morning of the 10th they perceived the vessel to have been carried by an extraordinary current considerably to the southward of their expected situation, and at noon their lat.i.tude gave them a difference of thirty-three miles, which current they attributed to their being five or six leagues off the sh.o.r.e; for in the preceding twenty-four hours, when she was close in with the sh.o.r.e, the difference between the observation and the log was eight miles in her favour.

They found this morning that the sloop had unfortunately sprung a very bad leak, which admitted so much water as kept one pump constantly at work. By its coming on suddenly, it was judged not to have been occasioned by any straining of the vessel. It was, however, a serious cause of alarm; and the maize with which the sloop had been before loaded was continually choking up the pumps.

The Solitary Isles were seen on the 11th. It had been Mr. Flinders's intention to have landed upon some of these islets, had any inducement presented itself; but on them he saw not either seal or bird. They seemed to be covered with short brush; and two of them having been lately burnt proved that they were visited by natives. In the colour of the rock, and in their general appearance, they much resembled the small islands lying off Tasman's heads, and might with equal propriety be termed the Miserable as the Solitary Isles. Some breakers lying between them, Mr. Flinders thinks it would be dangerous for a ship to pa.s.s within any of them until they should be better known. At noon the observed lat.i.tude was 29 degrees 57 minutes 25 seconds south. The country still retained the same woody, hilly, and irregular, though not unpleasing, appearance; but in running along the sh.o.r.e it manifestly grew worse, having more tendency to sand. The small projections of land which appeared as they sailed along often presented the delusive appearance of openings behind them; and they were the more inclined to entertain these hopes, as Captain Cook pa.s.sed along this part of the coast in the night.

At half past two a small island opened off from a low rocky point, behind which there was a small river running into the SW; but breakers seemed to extend mostly across the entrance. If there was any pa.s.sage, it would be found on the south side of the island.

At half past three, a peaked hill, standing four or five miles inland, and more conspicuous than usual, bore true East. Before five, the vessel stood in for what appeared to be an opening, and about dusk was in the entrance to a wide shoal bay; soon after which she anch.o.r.ed in two and a half fathoms, on a hard sandy bottom.

The objects in view that induced Mr. Flinders to enter this bay were, that he might have daylight to run along the remaining part of the coast, which had been pa.s.sed by Captain Cook in the night, and to ascertain a place of safety to run for, should the wind come dead on the coast on his return. The leak in the sloop was also a material part of the inducement; for should the place turn out to be of consequence enough to be worth expending a few days in its examination, and a convenient place offer itself for laying her on sh.o.r.e, he intended in the interval to get it stopped.

On examining this bay in his boat, he found it to be very shallow; the north point of the entrance into it was only a projecting spot of sandy ground. Having returned to the sloop about noon, he landed on the south head for the purpose of observing for the lat.i.tude. The sun being more than half an hour distant from the meridian gave him time to examine three huts which stood at a little distance. They were of a circular form, and about eight feet in diameter. The frame was composed of the stronger tendrils of the vine, crossing each other in all directions, and bound together by strong wiry gra.s.s at the princ.i.p.al intersections. The covering was of bark of a soft texture, resembling the bark of what is called the Tea-tree at Port Jackson, and so compactly laid on as to keep out the wind and rain. The entrance was by a small avenue projecting from the periphery of the circle, not leading directly into the hut, but turning sufficiently to prevent the rain from beating in.* The height of the under part of the roof is about four and a half, or five feet, and those that were entered had collected a coat of soot, from the fires which had been made in the middle of the huts. They much resembled an oven. One of them was a double hut, comprising two recesses under one entrance, intended most probably for kindred families, being large enough to contain twelve or fifteen people. Bong-ree readily admitted that they were much superior to any huts of the natives which he had before seen.

He brought away a small hand basket, made of some kind of leaf, capable of containing five or six pints of water, and very nearly resembling those used at Coupang in the island of Timor for carrying toddy, which Mr. Flinders had noticed there.

[* How much superior in contrivance to those about Port Jackson, or in Van Diemen's Island!]

The meridional alt.i.tude of the sun gave 29 degrees 26 minutes 28 seconds S for the lat.i.tude of the entrance into the bay.

Many white c.o.c.katoos and paroquets were seen about here, and a crow whose note was remarkably short and hasty. Numbers of pelicans, with some gulls and red bills, frequented the shoals, and the country itself was very sandy wherever they landed. The palm nut-tree which grows here was the third kind of palm mentioned by Captain Cook as being produced on the eastern coast of New South Wales.* This, he says, was found only in the northern parts; and as Bong-ree, who was tolerably well acquainted with the country as far as Port Stephens, never saw or heard of it before, this was probably one of the most southern situations in which it would be found.

[* Vide Hawkesworth's Voyages, Vol III p 624.]

The individual nuts were seen scattered about the fire-places of the natives; and it was observed, that the lower end of them had been chewed and sucked in the manner that artichokes are eaten. This method, on procuring some that were ripe, was afterwards practised.

The taste was rather pleasant at first, but left an astringency behind that scarcely tempted one to try a second time. The eatable part of the nut in this way was so small, as to be not worth the trouble of sucking it out from the fibres. They were about the size of a walnut; within the outer skin was a hard sh.e.l.l like that of the cocoa nut; and within this, two, or perhaps more, almond-like kernels. The nut, as taken from the tree, was an a.s.semblage of these kernels set into a cone, and was from the size of a man's two fists, to that of his head. Its size, and the furrows or indentations upon the surface, appeared on the first view like the exterior form of the bread fruit, but a pine apple may be a better object of comparison. The stem of the tree was short, and none were observed to be two feet or even eighteen inches in diameter. The branches did not ramify into twigs, but preserved their size to the extreme, where the leaves were produced surrounding the fruit. One or two smaller branches here and there struck off from the main branch, and produced their leaves in the same way, without fruit. The height of the tree all together might be from fifteen to twenty-five or thirty feet. Suckers or branches of all sizes were seen shooting out below those bearing fruit, and, growing downwards along the stem, entered the ground, where they not only formed roots, but became supporters to the tree.

Mr. Flinders thought this fruit might be the mellori of the Nicobar Islands. The description given of the mellori* in the third volume of the Asiatic Researches corresponded with it in every particular, as far as his examination went; but not having at that time any idea of the value of the tree, and the subject being foreign to his pursuit, he did not give it much attention.

[* The manner of cooking this fruit, mellori, is given in the description, and may be found in the Annual Register for 1794.]

This bay not appearing to deserve more than a superficial examination, Mr. Flinders did not think it worth consuming much of his time, and therefore got under way at one o'clock in the afternoon of the 12th.

He could not give any particular mark that would point out the situation of Shoal Bay, except its lat.i.tude, and the somewhat remarkably peaked hill lying about four leagues to the southward of it. Were any vessel ever likely to visit it, it would be necessary to observe, that either of two heads, which bore from the vessel SW by W and W by N behind which there was some appearance of an inlet, might be mistaken for the south head of the bay.

On Sat.u.r.day the 13th, about ten in the morning, they were three miles distant from Cape Byron, and at the same time the peak of Mount Warning was just appearing over it. Having hauled more off the sh.o.r.e soon after noon, to avoid the reef lying off Point Danger, on the following morning they found themselves at a considerable distance from the land. They now steered west for a large s.p.a.ce, where no land was visible, and, perceiving breakers off the south point of the opening, were satisfied that this was Moreton Bay. Pa.s.sing between these breakers and Point Lookout, they got ground in twenty fathoms water. As they drew nearer, there appeared to be a very large extent of water within the opening; but Mr. Flinders suspected that there was not any pa.s.sage for a vessel in the direction he was then steering, along the sh.o.r.e for the northern extreme of the land. The country to the sea-ward was wretchedly sandy. At dusk Cape Moreton bore west, distant two or three miles; and the highest Gla.s.s-House, whose peak was just presenting itself over the distant land, had opened round it at W 3 degrees or 4 degrees N. Two hummocks resembling hayc.o.c.ks, distinct from any other land, opened soon after a few degrees to the southward.

The vessel was now hauled in round Cape Moreton, to go into Gla.s.s-House Bay. They steered west till eight o'clock, when, having little wind, and that little being from the southward, they dropped anchor for the night.

Weighing again the next morning, the 14th, they worked near the eastern sh.o.r.e until noon, at which time their lat.i.tude was 27 degrees 00 minutes 29 seconds south; and Cape Moreton bearing E 10 degrees N two or three miles would be in the same lat.i.tude, allowing the variation to be 10 degrees east. This differs four miles and a half from its situation in Captain Cook's Narrative.

While ranging within a mile of the sh.o.r.e, ten natives were counted, half of whom were probably women, from their keeping behind the others. The men made many antic gestures to our people. One had a green branch in his hand, which he waved to and fro at the extent of his arm, from the ground on one side of him to that on the other; and some of them would run into the water occasionally, and beat the surf with sticks. They appeared to be friendly, using nearly the same word in calling our people that would have been made use of by a Port Jackson native, and seemed desirous that they should proceed up the bay.

At eight in the evening they anch.o.r.ed in eleven fathoms water, about two miles from a low sandy sh.o.r.e on the west side of the bay.

At daylight on Tuesday the 16th, they again weighed to turn up the bay, having the wind still from the southward. In their progress, they met with various depths of water; and, perceiving an opening in the low western land, Mr. Flinders wished to anchor near it, but was prevented by shoal water. At a quarter past eight in the morning they anch.o.r.ed in three fathoms water for the night.

After breakfast Mr. Flinders went in his boat toward the opening, taking Bong-ree the native with him. As they approached the sandy point on the east side of the opening, some dogs came down upon the beach, and soon after several natives made their appearance, most of them carrying fishing nets over their shoulders. They lay upon their oars some time, conversing with them by signs, and repeating the words which they made use of. As they seemed to be friendly, Bong-ree wished to make them a visit; and, seeing nothing among them but the pieces of fire-wood which the natives usually carry with them, the boat was backed in, and he jumped on sh.o.r.e, naked, and as unarmed as they themselves appeared.

He quickly made an exchange with the yarn belt from his waist, for a fillet made of kangaroo hair. The muskets were kept at hand in the boat, to be prepared against any treachery; but, every thing seeming to go on well, the natives appearing rather shy than otherwise, Mr. Flinders joined his companion, taking his gun with him. By making friendly signs, laying down the gun, and offering them a woollen cap, he was suffered to approach, and one took the cap; but when Mr. Flinders made signs that he expected to have his net bag in return, he gave him to understand that he must first give him his hat. This hat was made of the white filaments of the cabbage-tree, and seemed to excite the attention and wishes of the whole party.

As the hat was not given to him, he came forward, first throwing the cap that he had received upon the bank behind him, to secure it, and seemed very anxious for either the hat or gun, or both. Every thing, however, was carried on very amicably; and Mr. Flinders, with his native, retreated slowly toward the boat, but turned again, upon finding that they pressed close after them. One of them then, laughing, and talking at the same time to Mr. Flinders, attempted to take the hat off his head with a long hooked stick; which, on his discovering, created a laugh.

Behind him another was stretching out a long arm to the same object, but was fearful of coming near enough to reach it.

On our people getting into the boat, and shoving her off into deep water, they did not seem pleased, but tried to persuade them to land again.

Finding they could not succeed, one of them threw his piece of fire-wood at them; but it falling short, the matter was treated as a joke, and laughed at. On this, another ran into the water, and threw his also, but it likewise fell short: he then took the hooked stick, and slipping off the hook, which it seems was only lashed or tied on, produced a spear, with which he ran up to the middle in water, and threw at them by hand.

It pa.s.sed over the centre of the boat, about a foot and a half above the gunwale, but touched no one.

After this impudent and unprovoked attack, Mr. Flinders snapped his gun at the man who threw the spear; but the flint having received some wet when it was laid upon the beach, it missed fire. It was loaded with buck shot, and he was strongly tempted to fire among the cl.u.s.ter of natives who were standing upon the beach; but, recollecting himself, he tried again at the offender, who was still standing in the water, with his back turned toward them, and calling to his companions. The gun again missed fire.

While this was transacting, the major part of the natives were observing Mr. Flinders's motions with much unconcern. On the third trial, however, it went off. The man in the water fell flat, as did every individual among them; but those on sh.o.r.e rose almost instantaneously, and scrambled away toward the bank, some upright, and some upon their hands and feet.

One of the people in the boat then fired among them, and they fell again upon their faces; but they all got up, and flew immediately behind the bank into the wood. Even the man in the water rose up, and made off, but his progress was much slower than that of the others, and he stooped a great deal, carrying one hand behind him upon his back. From hence it was conjectured that he was wounded, and he looked every now and then over his shoulder, as if expecting to see the spear that he supposed must be sticking in his back.* According to Bong-ree's account, another native had his arm broken by the second shot.

[* A certain proof of his total ignorance of the effect of fire arms, he thus unhappily being the first victim to their use in this part of the country.]

As this very wanton attack had unfortunately obliged the party to fire upon these people, in order to maintain that superiority which they meant upon all occasions to a.s.sert, Mr. Flinders thought it might be the means of preventing much future mischief, to give them a more extensive idea of his power, and thereby deter them from any future attempt in his intercourse with them. For as this bay was to be examined, and the leak which the sloop had sprung was to be stopped here, it became more than probable that they would often meet; and he was well satisfied of the great influence which the awe of a superior power has in savages, to create respect, and render their communications with each other friendly.

In this view, with two musket b.a.l.l.s in his gun, he fired at a man who was looking at them from among the trees, and who, being about two hundred yards off, perhaps thought himself secure. One of these b.a.l.l.s touched the edge of the bank in a right line for him, the other pa.s.sed over, but whether it took effect could not be seen. They afterwards landed, intending to bring away the nets, which it was supposed they had in their flight and alarm forgotten. On going upon the bank, previously to ascertain the position of the enemy, he saw several of them running different ways among the trees, apparently with a design of coming round upon them; and, not knowing their force or numbers, Mr. Flinders directed the native and a man who had also landed to return to the boat. But from information since gained from Bong-ree, whose eyes were better than those of Mr. Flinders, he believed they were running to conceal themselves.

They had not left their nets.

From the low sandy point where this affair happened, and which obtained the name of Point Skirmish, they proceeded up the opening, which proved to be a river leading to the Gla.s.s-House peaks. These peaks stood upon the low flat ground, considerably within the mountains, and, as far as could be judged, had every appearance of being volcanic. That they were so, indeed, was in some measure corroborated by the quant.i.ty of pumice stone which was lying at high-water mark upon the eastern sh.o.r.e of the river, on which Mr. Flinders had landed to mark the nature and appearance of the country, not being able from the strength of the ebb tide to proceed far in his boat.

Among the largest and most common trees, there was one differing from any that grew at Port Jackson. The leaves of this tree were of a darkish hue, and bore some resemblance to the pine. The wood, when cut, smelt strongly of turpentine, which exuded in places where the bark had been wounded.

The external part of the wood was white, but the body was of a reddish brown, the bark somewhat resembling that of a tree at Port Jackson called the iron bark.

The blue gum, she-oak, and cherry tree of Port Jackson were common here, and also one with the leaves of the gum tree, but with the soft bark of the tea tree. The soil where it grew was very sandy; but, fearing that the natives might surprise them while among the trees, Mr. Flinders did not go far from the beach; it was, however, covered with very tall and not innutritious gra.s.s.

Five or six huts, from twelve to fifteen feet in length, were seen standing near each other. They resembled a covered arch-way, rounded at the far end. The roofs, and the manner of securing them, were nearly the same as those which they had seen in Shoal Bay; but these had not any curved entrance to keep out the weather, nor was the hut any smaller in that part than elsewhere, but the sides and roof were equally calculated to shelter the inhabitants from a storm. In one of them was found a small and very light shield, and in another an old net, which had a bag to it, and was knotted and made in the same way as it would have been if made by an European seine maker. It appeared to be intended for a scoop net.

There were marks of a large kangaroo having pa.s.sed, and many traces of dogs were visible on the beach.

In returning to the sloop they pa.s.sed a dry shoal lying at the entrance of the river, the deep channel into which was between this shoal and Point Skirmish, where they found from three to six fathoms water.

Before he left the sloop Mr. Flinders had given directions to examine a part on the starboard side, where he suspected the leak to be; and on his return was informed, that it was found to have been occasioned by the starting of a plank from the timber about three or four streaks from the keel. The caulker had filled it up with oak.u.m from the inside, since which she had made but little water lying at an anchor.

From the situation in which the sloop lay, the bay had not any appearance of closing round, but seemed to promise a large river at its head, and a communication with Moreton Bay, if not something more interesting. At three in the afternoon they got under weigh to proceed up this river, with a light air from the northward, standing to the southward until dark, at which time they anch.o.r.ed, about three miles from the western sh.o.r.e, in five fathoms, on a soft muddy bottom, whereas the ground before had always been sandy.