Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia Volume I Part 12

On our pa.s.sage to the north coast we saw the Imperieuse and Clerke's Shoals, and also discovered a third, the Mermaid's.

On the north coast we found some deep bays and excellent ports, and at the bottom of the great bay of Van Diemen we discovered several rivers, one of which we ascended for forty miles. The thickly-wooded sh.o.r.es of the north coast bore a striking contrast to the sandy desert-looking tract of coast we had previously seen, and inspired us with the hope of finding, at a future time, a still greater improvement in the country between the two extremes.

Mr. Cunningham made a very valuable and extensive collection of dried plants and seeds; but, from the small size of our vessel, and the constant occupation of myself and the two midshipmen who accompanied me, we had neither s.p.a.ce nor time to form any other collection of Natural History than a few insects, and some specimens of the geology of those parts where we had landed.

CHAPTER 4.

Visit to Van Diemen's Land, and examination of the entrance of Macquarie Harbour.

Anchor in Pine Cove and cut wood.

Description of the Trees growing there.

Return to the entrance, and water at Outer Bay.

Interview with the Natives, and Vocabulary of their language.

Arrive at Hobart Town, and return to Port Jackson.

1818. December.

The construction of the charts of the preceding voyage, together with the equipment of the vessel, fully occupied me until the month of December; when, having some time to spare before we could leave Port Jackson on our second voyage to the north coast, in consequence of its being the time when the westerly monsoon prevails, I acquainted His Excellency the Governor of my intention of surveying the entrance of Macquarie Harbour, which had lately been discovered on the western coast of Van Diemen's Land. To make my visit there as useful as possible to the colony, a pa.s.sage was offered to Mr. Justice Field, the Judge of the Supreme Court, who was at that time about to proceed to Hobart Town to hold his court; and as it was probable that his business would terminate about the time of our return, it was arranged that the Mermaid should also convey him back.

December 24.

We left Sydney Cove on the 24th December.

December 25.

But did not clear the heads of the port until eight o'clock on the following morning, when we sailed with a fresh wind from the North-East.

Red Point was pa.s.sed soon after noon, at the back of which some of the lately settled farms in the Five Island District were plainly distinguished. The hills here recede from the coast, and form an amphitheatre of rich grazing land, on which is the Lake Alowrie and Tom Thumb's Lagoon of Captain Flinders.

Off Red Point, so named by Captain Cook (but which by the natives is called Illawarra), are five small rocky islands. This group gives a name to the district, which has proved a valuable acquisition to the colony.

About ten miles to the southward of Red Point the hills again approach the coast; which then becomes steep and thickly wooded, until near to Shoal Haven; when they again fall back, and form another large tract of low country, which as yet is little known.

December 27.

On the 27th after sunset we pa.s.sed Cape Howe and crossed the entrance of Ba.s.s Strait with a heavy gale from the South-West.

1819. January 1.

At daylight on the 1st of January Schouten Island, on the east coast of Van Diemen's Land, was seen; before dark Cape Pillar made its appearance.

January 2.

And at two o'clock the next afternoon the Mermaid was anch.o.r.ed off Hobart Town.

On our arrival I learnt that a part of my object had been already accomplished by a Mr. Florance, who had just returned from a partial survey of Macquarie Harbour; but upon examining his chart I found it to be merely a delineation of its coastline; without noticing the depth of water or any of the numerous shoals which crowd the entrance of this extraordinary harbour.

January 10.

As the most essential part therefore remained still to be performed, we left Hobart Town on the 10th of January, and pa.s.sed through D'Entrecasteaux Channel; which is by the colonists at the Derwent improperly called The Storm Bay Pa.s.sage. By eight p.m. we were abreast of the South Cape, when the wind veered round to the North-West, and compelled us to stand to the southward.

January 12.

At daylight on the 12th we were abreast of the range of hills, one of which Captain Flinders had named Mount Dewitt; and our course was held parallel to the sh.o.r.e with a fresh breeze from South-South-East and fine weather. Soon after noon we pa.s.sed Point Hibbs; and at four o'clock hauled round the point of land which forms the western head of the outer road of Macquarie Harbour, which I named Cape Sorell, in compliment to the Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land. Between this Cape and Point Hibbs the coast is very rocky, and ought not to be approached. Off the Cape, at the distance of a quarter of a mile, is a detached rock on which the sea continually breaks.

It was dark before we reached an anchorage off the bar of the harbour; having had to work against a strong South-South-East wind blowing directly out. The anchorage was rather exposed to the North-West; but as the weather had a settled appearance I was reconciled to remain for the night, which turned out fine.

January 13.

At daylight the bar was sounded, and a buoy placed on its deepest part to indicate the channel; on which, at that time of tide (about half-flood) there was nine feet water: this was sufficient to allow us to pa.s.s it; but in order to prevent delay, I caused the cutter to be lightened as much as possible; and having reduced her draught to seven feet and a half by emptying the water-casks, she was warped over the bar to an anchorage between it and the entrance. As the cutter pa.s.sed the shoalest part she struck twice, but so lightly as to occasion neither damage nor delay.

January 13 to 16.

An anchorage was taken up in Outer Bay in order to sound the bar whilst the weather was so favourable for the purpose, which employed us until the 16th, when a westerly wind enabled us to enter the harbour; but, from baffling winds and the ebbing tide, and the width of the entrance being only seventy yards, we found a considerable difficulty in effecting it.

The anchor was dropped as soon as the cutter was inside, and she was afterwards warped to a more convenient situation out of the strength of the tide.

Here we remained during the evening, in order to obtain bearings from two contiguous stations on the hills. Near one of them we found lying on the rocks a bundle of garments, which, upon examination, were found to be of colonial manufacture; they bore no marks of ever having been worn, and as I afterwards found had been given by Mr. Florance to the natives; who, disliking the confinement of clothes, had abandoned them as useless.

The next day we were employed in moving the vessel up the harbour to Mount Wellington and in the examination of Channel Bay. In doing this a brig pa.s.sed us on her way out; she proved to be the Sophia of Hobart Town, commanded by Mr. Kelly, the original discoverer of the place. He had just procured a load of pine logs from Pine Cove at the North-East corner of the harbour, and was now homeward bound. In the afternoon we anch.o.r.ed off Round Head and Mr. Kelly came on board to a.s.sist me in buoying and examining the channel, which bears his name in my plan, and in which the deepest water in one part is but eight feet. In order that the cutter might pa.s.s through this, for it was the only one that communicated with the harbour, we were obliged to buoy it, since the breadth was not more than thirty-five yards, and only six inches deeper than the cutter's draught of water.

January 19 to 21.

While our people were at dinner, a party of natives came to the verge of Round Head, and remained for some time calling to us. As soon as we had dined, we landed, with the intention of communicating with them; they had however left the place, and we returned on board without seeing them: the following day, when I was away with the boat sounding the channels towards Betsey's Island, they came down again, but seeing no boat near the vessel they walked round to the Sophia, which was still at anchor near Mount Wellington: we afterwards found that they had been induced to go on board the brig, and were much pleased with their visit, and gratified with the presents which Mr. Kelly gave them.

On the 21st with a breeze from the North-West we got under weigh and pa.s.sed through Kelly's Channel; but at eleven o'clock the wind fell, and we were obliged to anchor upon the edge of the bank off River Point; we had not, however, to wait long, for the breeze freshened up again, and we arrived at Pine Cove in time to land and examine the place before sunset.

January 21 to 24.

On our way to the sh.o.r.e in our boat we disturbed two flights of black swans who flew away at our approach. Having landed at the bottom of the cove where the Sophia had obtained her cargo, we found the Huon pine-trees, interspersed with many others of different species, growing in great profusion, within three yards of the edge of the water, upon a soil of decomposed vegetable matter, which in many parts was so soft that we often suddenly sank ankle-deep, and occasionally up to the knees in it: this swampy nature of the soil is to be attributed to the crowded state of the trees; for they grow so close to each other as to prevent the rays of the sun from penetrating to the soil.

The ground is also strewed with fallen trees, the stems of which are covered with a thick coat of moss, in which seedlings of all the varieties of trees and plants that grow here were springing up in the prostrate stem of perhaps their parent tree; and it was not rare to see large Huon pines of three feet in diameter rooted in this manner on the trunk of a sound tree of even larger dimensions that had, perhaps, been lying on the ground for centuries; while others were observed, in appearance sound, and in shape perfect, and also covered with moss, which, upon being trod upon, fell in and crumbled away.

The fructification of this tree, so called from the river, which was named after Captain Huon Kermadie, who commanded L'Esperance under the order of Admiral D'Entrecasteaux, never having been seen, its detection was matter of much curiosity to Mr. Cunningham, who diligently examined every tree that had been felled. It was, however, with some difficulty that he succeeded in finding the flower, which was so minute as almost to require a magnifying lens to observe it; it is a coniferous tree and was supposed by Mr. Cunningham to be allied to dacrydium. Several saplings of this wood were cut for studding-sail booms and oars, as also of the Podocarpos aspleniifolia, Labillardiere; this latter tree is known to the colonists by the name of Adventure Bay Pine, and grows on Bruny Island in Storm Bay; but it is there very inferior in size to those of Pine Cove.

The Carpodontos lucida, or Australian snowdrop, of which Labillardiere has given a figure in his account of Admiral D'Entrecasteaux's voyage, was in full flower, and had a most beautiful appearance.

The following is a list of the several species of trees that grow in this Cove, for which I am indebted to Mr. Cunningham:

COLUMN 1: Natural Orders, Jussieu.

COLUMN 2: Linn. s.e.x. Syst.

COLUMN 3: Name used by Colonists.

COLUMN 4: Ordinary Dimensions. Height in feet.

COLUMN 5: Ordinary Dimensions. Diameter at the Base.

Coniferae : Dacrydium sp.? : Huon Pine : 40 to 60 : 2 feet to 5 feet.

Coniferae : Podocarpos aspleniifolia, Labillardiere : Adventure Bay Yew, or Pine : 40 to 50 : 12 to 16 inches.