Discoveries in Australia Volume I Part 22

Custom of Natives.

Manna.

Visit Geelong.

Station Peak.

Aboriginal Names.

South Channel.

Examine Western Port.

Adventure with a Snake.

Black Swans.

Cape Patterson.

Deep Soundings.

Revisit King and Hunter Islands.

Fire.

Circular Head.

Gales of Wind.

Reid's Rocks.

Sea Elephant Rock.

Wild Dogs.

Navarin and Harbinger Reefs.

Arrive at Port Phillip.

Sail for Sydney.

Pigeon House.

Drought.

Mr. Usborne leaves.

Before quitting Sydney I must express my grat.i.tude for the hospitality we experienced during our stay, which prepared us with greater cheerfulness to encounter the difficulties we might expect to meet with in the boisterous waters that rolled between the then imperfectly known sh.o.r.es, and islands of Ba.s.s Strait. It was not until the 11th of November that we bade adieu to our friends, and sailed to commence our contemplated operations. On the 14th we pa.s.sed the rocky islands (Kent's Group) at the eastern entrance of the Strait, their barren and bleak appearance bespoke the constant gales that swept over them, checking every tendency to vegetation. As we approached them the soundings decreased to 28 fathoms, the observation of which fact apprises vessels coming from the eastward in thick weather, of their proximity. After leaving these islands we progressed but slowly, and the pa.s.sage through the Strait promised to be tedious: yet, as the wind was fair and the weather fine, we had no reason to complain, considering moreover the remarkably mild reception we met with in the Funnel, the name commonly and most appropriately given by the colonists to Ba.s.s Strait, from the constant strong winds that sweep through it.

WILSON'S PROMONTORY.

On the 17th we pa.s.sed Wilson's Promontory, the southern extremity of Australia, connected with the main by a low sandy isthmus, only left dry it is probable of late years. It is a very mountainous tract, rearing its many peaks in solemn grandeur from the waves and burying their summits*

at most seasons of the year, in a canopy of grey mist. On some occasions, however, the bold outline of the mountains is relieved against a clear sky, and their loftiest points catch the first rays of the morning sun, as it rises from the eastern ocean. Many small islands are dispersed over the sea in front of this promontory, and partake of its character, being apparently the tops of mountains thrusting themselves up from the deep, and suggesting the belief that new countries are about to be disclosed.

Pa.s.sing Port Western, generally called Western Port, a high mound on the south-eastern extremity of Grant Island was the most conspicuous object.

The next remarkable feature in the coast is Cape Shanck, a projection at the western end of a long line of cliffs. Lying close off it is a rock, named, from its exact resemblance, Pulpit Rock.

(*Footnote. Nearly 3000 feet high.)

PORT PHILLIP.

In a small bay on the east side of this headland we caught a glimpse of some rich valleys; but from thence for a distance of 16 miles, the coast retains a barren sandy character to Port Phillip, which we reached on the afternoon of the 18th. We scarcely found any ripplings in the entrance, an occurrence of extreme rarity; for it will readily be imagined that a body of water required to fill a bay thirty miles deep and twenty broad, pa.s.sing through an entrance one mile and a half in width, must rush with great violence; and when we take into account the extreme unevenness of the bottom (soundings varying from 40 to 25 and even 9 fathoms) no surprise can be felt that such a stream, particularly when opposed to a strong wind, should raise a dangerous sea. The force of it may be conjectured from a fact of which I was myself witness. Standing on one of the entrance points, I saw a schooner trying to get in with all sails set before a fresh breeze, and yet she was carried out by the current.

Another observation is also recorded for the guidance of the stranger pa.s.sing into the port. When in the middle of the entrance, a low clump of dark bushes breaking the line of white sand beach beyond Shortlands Bluff, was just seen clear of the latter.

The first appearance of Port Phillip is very striking, and the effect of the view is enhanced by the contrast with the turbulent waves without and in the entrance. As soon as these have been pa.s.sed, a broad expanse of placid water displays itself on every side; and one might almost fancy oneself in a small sea. But the presence of a distant highland forming a bluff in the North-East soon dispels this idea. Besides this bluff (called by the natives Dandonong) Arthur's Seat, and Station Peak are the princ.i.p.al features that catch the eye of the stranger. The latter, called Youang by the natives, is one of a small group of lofty peaks rising abruptly out of a low plain on the western sh.o.r.e of the bay; whilst Arthur's Seat towers over the eastern sh.o.r.e, and forms the northern extremity of a range subsiding gradually to the coast at Cape Shanck.

Anchoring close to the southern sh.o.r.e, about three miles within the entrance, we set to work in good earnest with our surveying operations--in the first place selecting a conspicuous spot for observation, from which all the meridians of our work in the western part of the Strait were to be measured. For the sake of my nautical readers I may mention that the western extreme of the cliffy patches on the south sh.o.r.e of the bay, marks the place chosen. The nature of our employment confining us to the neighbourhood of the entrance, we had no opportunity of visiting the town of Melbourne, situated near the northern side of the bay. This capital of Australia Felix had for a long time been known to some squatters from Tasmania; but to Sir Thomas Mitch.e.l.l the inhabitants must ever feel grateful for revealing to the world at large the fertility of the districts in its neighbourhood. It is not a little singular that the attempt to form a settlement at this place in 1826 should have failed. A fort was built and abandoned, and of the party of convicts who accompanied the expedition, two escaped and joined the natives, by whom one was murdered, whilst the other, contriving by some means to ingratiate himself with them, remained in their company until 1835, when he was discovered by the settlers from Tasmania. During the eleven years he had pa.s.sed in the bush, without coming in contact with any other European, he had entirely forgotten his own language, and had degenerated into a perfect savage. His intellect, if he ever possessed much, had almost entirely deserted him; and nothing of any value could be gleaned from him respecting the history and manners of the tribe with whom he had so long dwelt. He received his pardon and went to Hobart, but such was the indolence he had contracted that nothing could be made of him.

The southern sh.o.r.e of Port Phillip is a singular long narrow tongue of land, running out from the foot of the range of which Arthur's Seat is the most conspicuous point. I infer from the limestone prevailing in it, and containing sh.e.l.ls of recent species, that it was once much beneath its present level; in fact, that it stops up what was formerly a broad mouth of the bay, leaving only the present narrow entrance at the western extremity. Over its surface are scattered hills from one to two hundred feet in height, in the valleys between which was found some light sandy soil supporting at this time rich gra.s.s, and at various places a thin growth of Banksia, Eucalypti, and Casuarina, all stunted and showing symptoms of having been roughly used by the south wind. Near the spot we had chosen for the centre of our observations was a well of inferior water, and we did not find any better in the neighbourhood. The point in question therefore will never be very eligible as a settlement. The kangaroos are numerous and large, and the finest snappers I have ever heard of are caught off this point, weighing sometimes as much as thirty pounds. Our fishing experiments, however, were not very productive, being princ.i.p.ally sharks; thirteen young ones were found in a single female of this species.

SAIL FOR KING ISLAND.

Bad weather prolonged our stay until the 26th of November. We had been chiefly occupied in determining the position of the mouths of the various channels intersecting the banks, that extend across the entire bay, three miles within the entrance. The most available pa.s.sages appeared to be those lying on the south and west sh.o.r.es, particularly the former for vessels of great draught; but we did not conclude the examination of them at this time, sailing on the morning of the 26th to survey the coast to the westward. The first thirteen miles, trending West by South was of a low sandy character, what seemed to be a fertile country stretching behind it. Two features on this line are worthy of notice--Point Flinders, resembling an island from seaward, on account of the low land in its rear; and the mouth of the river Barwon, navigable for boats entering in very fine weather. On its northern bank, eight miles from the sea is the site of the town of Geelong. Pa.s.sing this the nature of the country begins to change, and high gra.s.sy downs with rare patches of woodland present themselves, which in their turn give place, as we approach Cape Otway, to a steep rocky coast, with densely wooded land rising abruptly over it.

CAPE OTWAY.

The above-mentioned Cape is the northern point of the western extremity of Ba.s.s Strait, and is swept by all the winds that blow into that end of the Funnel. The pernicious effect of these is evident in the stunted appearance of the trees in its neighbourhood. It is a bold projection in lat.i.tude 38 degrees 51 minutes, and appears to be the South-West extremity of a ridge of granite gradually rising from it in a North-East direction. About half a mile off it, lies a small detached reef.

Having thus coasted the northern side of the Strait, we proceeded to cross over to Tasmania to examine the southern side. About halfway is King Island, extending in a north and south direction, thirty-five miles, and in an east and west thirteen. It lies right across the entrance of the Strait, about forty miles from either sh.o.r.e, and from its isolated position is well adapted for a penal settlement.

The more northern channel of the two formed by this island is the safer, and the water deepens from 47 to 65 fathoms as you approach it from the continent. Its outline is not remarkable, the most conspicuous point being a round hill 600 feet high over the northern point called Cape Wickham. We anch.o.r.ed in a bay on the North-West side, under New Year Island, which affords shelter for a few vessels from all winds. There is a narrow pa.s.sage between the two, but none between them and the southern point of the bay, which is open to the north-west. On the summit of one of these islands boulders of granite are strewed, and they exhibit a very remarkable white appearance from seaward when the sun has pa.s.sed his meridian.

A SEALER'S FAMILY.

A sealer had established himself on the north island with two wives, natives of Tasmania. They were clothed in very comfortable greatcoats made of kangaroo skins, and seemed quite contented with their condition.

Their offspring appeared sharp and intelligent. In another part of my work I shall touch more fully on the history of these sealers, who style themselves Residents of the islands. They further distinguish their cla.s.ses by the names of Eastern and Western Straits-men, according to the position of the islands they inhabit.

The sealers on New Year Island had a large whaleboat, which I was somewhat puzzled to know how they managed, there being but one man among them. He informed me, however, that his wives, the two native women, a.s.sisted him to work the boat, which had been well prepared for the rough weather they have to encounter in Ba.s.s Strait by a canvas half-deck, which, lacing in the centre, could be rolled up on the gunwale in fine weather.

THE MUTTON BIRD.

The princ.i.p.al occupation of these people during this month of the year is taking the Sooty Petrel, called by the colonists the Mutton Bird, from a fancied resemblance to the taste of that meat. It is at the present month that they resort to the island for the purpose of incubation. They const.i.tute the chief sustenance of the sealers, who cure them for use and sale: their feathers also form a considerable article of trade. Many parts of the island were perfectly honeycombed with their burrows, which greatly impede the progress of the pedestrian, and are in some cases dangerous from snakes lying in them. The sealers told me that they had lost a cat which died within an hour after the bite of one of these reptiles. We here found cabbages and water, and the people informed us that it was always their custom to plant a few vegetables on the islands they frequented.

From the top of this island we had a good view of the Harbinger reefs, so-called from a convict ship of that name which was lost upon them and all hands perished. I was glad to find they were only two detached rocks lying three miles and a half from the sh.o.r.e, instead of, as reported, one continued reef lying six or seven miles from the land. They bore north six miles from our position.

CAPTAIN SMITH.

The sealers informed us that a house which we descried in the bay, was occupied by a gentleman who had met with a reverse of fortune. We accordingly paid him a visit next morning, and found that he was a Captain Smith with whom the world had gone wrong, and who had accordingly fled as far as possible from the society of civilised man and taken up his residence on the sh.o.r.es of King Island with his family. He had given the name of Port Franklin to the bay, which we changed to Franklin Road, from its not being worthy of the t.i.tle of a Port. He was led to choose his position from its being in the neighbourhood of the only secure anchorage from all winds, and near the best soil he had found after traversing the whole of the island. According to his account it was totally unfit for rearing sheep on a large scale; the bushes and gra.s.s being so full of burrs that the wool was completely spoiled. The soil was everywhere very inferior, and a few patches only of clean land was to be found, the princ.i.p.al part being overrun with dense scrub and impervious thickets. There were few elevations on the island, and those not of any great magnitude, the loftiest point being scarcely seven hundred feet.

The formation of the neighbourhood of Captain Smith's house was granite: water abounds.

WEST SIDE OF KING ISLAND.

The house in which this modern Robinson Crusoe dwelt was what is called a Slab Hut, formed of rough boards and thatched with gra.s.s. He had a garden in which grew some cabbages and a few other vegetables; but he complained sorely of blight from the west winds. There are three varieties of kangaroos on the island, and plenty of wildfowl on some of the lagoons; so that supplies are abundant: but the few sheep he possessed were rendered of little value from the burrs I have before mentioned. I could not help pitying the condition of this gentleman and his interesting family--a wife and daughter and three or four fine boys. They had retained a few of the tastes and habits of civilized life, and I observed a good library with a flute and music in the Slab Hut. It was with great pleasure that I afterwards learned that Captain Smith's prospects had brightened. He is now, I believe, a comfortable settler on the eastern side of Tasmania.

On the 29th we pa.s.sed down the western sh.o.r.e of King Island, finding the coast to be low, treacherous and rocky. We discovered some outlying rocks a mile and half from sh.o.r.e, and about eleven miles south from New Year Island. The most remarkable circ.u.mstance we noticed in this part of our cruise, was the leafless appearance of the trees on the higher parts of the island. It seemed as though a hurricane had stripped them of their verdure. They reminded me strongly of a wintry day in the north.

About eight miles from the extremity of the island we discovered a bay affording good anchorage in east winds. It was afterwards called Fitzmaurice Bay. From its neighbourhood a long dark line of black cliffs stretches southward until within about three miles of the point, when the ground sinks suddenly, whence vessels are apt to be misled and to fancy that the island ends there, whilst in reality it stretches out into a low dangerous rocky point, named after the writer, for about three miles more.

SEAL BAY.

Rounding this we anch.o.r.ed on the eastern side of it in Seal Bay--a wild anchorage, the swell constantly rolling in with too much surf to allow of our commencing a series of tidal observations. This bay, in the mouth of which lies a small cl.u.s.ter of rocks, is separated from the one on the opposite side, by a strip of low sandy land, which, as I have said, may easily be overlooked by vessels coming from the westward. A ship indeed has been lost from fancying that the sea was clear south of the black cliffs that skirt the sh.o.r.e down from Fitzmaurice Bay. The Wallaby are numerous on this part of the island. Mr. Bynoe shot one (Halmaturus bellidereii) out of whose pouch he took a young one which he kept on board and tamed. It subsequently became a great pet with us all.

I noticed here a trappean d.y.k.e, but the general formation of this end of King Island exactly corresponded with that about Captain Smith's house, which shows that it is a continuous ridge of granite. The south-eastern sh.o.r.e is rather steep, and the ground which rises abruptly over it is almost denuded of wood.

Leaving Seal Bay--from the south point of which we saw the princ.i.p.al dangers at this extremity of Ba.s.s Strait, Reid's rocks bearing East by South 1/4 South 12 miles--we coasted round the eastern sh.o.r.e and anch.o.r.ed off a sandy bay about the centre of the island. The only remarkable object was a rock, lying one mile from the sh.o.r.e and five from Seal Bay, on which we bestowed a name suggested by its form, Brig Rock. Off the north point of the bay in which we anch.o.r.ed lies a white rock or islet called Sea Elephant Rock, with a reef a mile off its north point.

Opposite this is a small inlet fed by the drainage of some lagoons or swamps behind the bay. Northward the character of the coast, as far as we could see, changes considerably, being lower, with a continued line of sandy sh.o.r.e.

A breeze from the eastward prevented our completing the survey of the northern side of the island; but one important result we had arrived at, namely, that safe anchorage may be obtained in west winds within a moderate distance of this part of the sh.o.r.e in less than fifteen fathoms.

CROSS THE STRAIT.

We now crossed over to the group of islands fronting the north-western point of Tasmania, and confining the southern side of the mouth of the Strait. The tide setting to the South-West at the rate of three knots an hour* brought us within five miles of Reid's rocks. Pa.s.sing at that distance from their eastern side we had 28 and 30 fathoms sand and rock: and the greatest depth we found in crossing was 37 fathoms towards the south side of the Strait.