Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia Volume II Part 27

In M. De Freycinet's chart of Ba.s.s Strait, some rocky islets are placed forty miles east of Sea-Elephant Bay. I did not succeed in finding them, although the Mermaid sailed close to their position. (See volume 1.)

The PYRAMID, at the east end of Ba.s.s Strait, is placed five miles too much to the northward: its true situation is in lat.i.tude 39 degrees 52 minutes 40 seconds, and longitude 147 degrees 11 minutes 30 seconds.

A reef of rocks were seen by Lieutenant John Lamb, R.N., off Cape Albany Otway. (See Horsburgh volume 2 page 499.)

There appears to be a considerable difference in the positions a.s.signed to ALBATROSS ISLAND, by the French expedition and Captain Flinders; the former made the difference between the meridian of Albatross Island, and that of the rock in Sea-Elephant Bay, 24 minutes 45 seconds; whilst by the latter it is 32 minutes 30 seconds. But as Captain Flinders only saw the north end of KING'S ISLAND, the error seems to originate in his having laid down its eastern side from other authorities, for his difference of longitude between its north-west point and the centre of Albatross Island only differs 2 minutes 30 seconds from the French, who surveyed that island with great care.

Several sunken rocks have been discovered from time to time near the north end of GREAT ISLAND, so that ships, bound through Ba.s.s Strait to the eastward, should not pa.s.s within Craggy Island without using great caution. The best pa.s.sage is on the south side of Kent's Group, between it and the rocky islet (WRIGHT'S ROCK) to the south-east.

In a line between the above rocky islet and Craggy Island, and about two miles from the former, is a reef with two small rocks upon it. (See Horsburgh Supp. page 32.)

There are some considerable errors in Captain Flinders' chart of Van Diemen's Land, with respect to the lat.i.tudes of the South-west Cape, the Mewstone, the South cape, and the land between them. The first is laid down 8 minutes too much to the North 30 degrees West (true) and the other places in proportion. The corrected situations are given in the second volume of this work.

APPENDIX A. SECTION 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SHOALS AND REEFS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE COASTS OF AUSTRALIA.

REEFS, EAST COAST.

ELIZABETH'S REEF (see Horsburgh's Supp. page 52) in lat.i.tude 30 degrees 5 minutes, and longitude 159 degrees, was discovered by the ships Claudine and Marquis of Hastings, on the 16th of May, 1820. Within two cables'

length of the reef, they found fourteen fathoms; at a quarter of a mile off the depth was twenty-five fathoms, but beyond that the bottom was not reached. It is about three miles in circuit, with deep water in the centre: the edge is covered, but some straggling rocky lumps show at intervals above the surface of the water. The east side of the reef extends about North-North-East and South-South-West for one mile, but the greatest extent seemed to be West-North-West and East-South-East.

MIDDLETON'S SHOAL is in lat.i.tude 29 degrees 14 minutes, and longitude 158 degrees 53 minutes. (See Horsburgh volume 2 page 508.)

CATO'S BANK is in lat.i.tude 23 degrees 6 minutes, and longitude 155 degrees 23 minutes. (Flinders volume 2 page 298 and Horsburgh volume 2 page 509.)

WRECK REEF is in lat.i.tude 22 degrees 11 minutes 23 seconds, and longitude 155 degrees 18 minutes 50 seconds. (Flinders volume 2 page 330 and Horsburgh volume 2 page 509.)

CARNS, or MID-DAY REEF, was discovered by Mr. Carns, the master of the ship Neptune, on the 21st of June, 1818, having taken a departure the day before from Sandy Cape. It extends east and west for a considerable distance: the ship pa.s.sed round the western extremity at two miles off, and found its bearing from Sandy Cape to be North 21 degrees East, one hundred and seventy-six miles, and to be in lat.i.tude 21 degrees 58 minutes, and longitude 154 degrees 20 minutes. Its eastern limit was not seen: it consists of a string of sandbanks and rocks, from five to twenty feet high, with pa.s.sages between them. (Horsburgh Supp. page 35.)

SIR JAMES SAUMAREZ' SHOAL was seen by Mr. Lihou; it is in lat.i.tude 21 degrees 40 minutes, and longitude 153 degrees 46 minutes by chronometer, which was found correct on making Sandy Cape a day or two afterwards.

There is reason to suppose that many other reefs exist to the North-West of this position.

KENN'S REEF, discovered by Mr. Alexander Kenn, Master of the ship William Shand, on her pa.s.sage from Sydney to Batavia, extends in the direction of North West by North 1/2 North for ten miles, and is composed of sand and rocks, some of which, at the south end, were six or eight feet out of the water: it is six miles broad; the centre of the edge (? north) is in lat.i.tude 21 degrees 9 minutes, and longitude 155 degrees 49 minutes (by chronometer and lunars): it was found to bear South 67 degrees West, six miles from Bird Islet, of Wreck Reef.

b.o.o.bY and BELLONA SHOALS. In the neighbourhood of these reefs, Lieutenant John Lamb, R.N., Commander of the ship Baring, was embarra.s.sed for three days, in which interval he was sounding in between nineteen and forty-five fathoms, and frequently pa.s.sed shoal parts, upon which the sea was breaking. The limits a.s.signed by this officer to the extent of the rocky ground, are the parallels of 20 degrees 40 minutes, and 21 degrees 50 minutes, and the meridians of 158 degrees 15 minutes and 159 degrees 30 minutes. A sandy islet was also seen by him, surrounded by a chain of rocks in 21 degrees 24 1/2 minutes South, and 158 degrees 30 minutes East. The ship Minerva also struck soundings in eight fathoms, with the appearance of shoaler water to the South-West; this last danger is in a line between the two shoals in about longitude 159 degrees 20 minutes.

(See Horsburgh Supp. page 35.)

BAMPTON'S SHOAL is laid down in the shape of a horse-shoe, of not less than forty-five miles in extent; on the north-east end are two islets with trees. The AVON ISLES are probably near its south-west extremity: they were seen by Mr. Sumner, Master of the ship Avon, September 18, 1823; and are described by him as being three-quarters of a mile in circ.u.mference, twenty feet high, and the sea between them twenty fathoms deep. At four miles North East by North from them the vessel sounded in twelve fathoms, and at the same time saw a reef ten or fifteen miles to the South-East, with deep water between it and the islets. A boat landed on the south-westernmost islet, and found it inhabited only by birds, but clothed with shrubs and wild grapes. By observation, these islands were found to lie in lat.i.tude 19 degrees 40 minutes, and longitude 158 degrees 6 minutes.

A reef is laid down in M. Krusenstern's Atlas of the Pacific Ocean (1824) in lat.i.tude 17 degrees, and longitude 156 degrees, and is there called MELLISH REEF.

A REEF was seen by the ship FREDERICK, the north-east extremity of which is laid down in lat.i.tude 20 degrees 44 minutes, and longitude 150 degrees 32 minutes; it is of semi-circular shape, and extends as far south as 21 degrees 2 minutes, and appears to be nearly twenty miles wide.

VINE'S HORSE-SHOE SHOAL; its northernmost end is in lat.i.tude 20 degrees 5 minutes, and longitude 151 degrees 50 minutes: it presents its convex, or outer edge, to the Southward, and extends as far as fifteen miles to the South and East.

DIANA'S BANK is placed in lat.i.tude 15 degrees 38 minutes, and longitude 150 degrees 28 minutes. (Horsburgh volume 2 page 509.)

BETWEEN the parallels of 16 degrees 50 minutes and 17 degrees 45 minutes, and the meridians of 150 degrees 30 minutes and 152 degrees 30 minutes, there are several very extensive reefs, various parts of which have been seen, according to the following accounts.

Lieutenant Vine saw a DRY BANK in lat.i.tude 17 degrees 46 minutes, and longitude 151 degrees 40 minutes. See the account of the shoal described by M. Tregrosse.

Mr. Brodie, Commander of the brig Alert, in October, 1817, saw A REEF extending for a considerable distance in a North-East and South-West direction. The Alert ran along the reef for twenty-five miles: about the centre Mr. Brodie saw two sand islets in lat.i.tude 17 degrees 2 minutes, and longitude 151 degrees 49 minutes.

LIHOU'S SHOAL, probably a part of the above reefs seen by Lieutenant Vine and from the Alert, lies in lat.i.tude 17 degrees 25 minutes, and longitude 151 degrees 45 minutes: it is forty-six miles in length, and lies North-North-East and South-South-West.

A very extensive RANGE OF SHOALS and ISLETS was seen by M. Tregrosse, of the French brig Les Trois Freres, in company with the brig Jessie, in 1821, according to the subjoined account.

On the 19th June, the two brigs in company fell in with a range of reefs, terminated to the eastward by two sandy islets, the easternmost of which is in 151 degrees 47 minutes (149 degrees 27 minutes East of Paris); the vessels hauled to the wind immediately, but finding they could not pa.s.s to windward, bore up, and ran along the shoal from eight a.m. to four p.m., at the distance of a league and a half. Altogether they counted seven islets, three of which were covered with shrubs, and the whole connected by a reef, on the edge of which the sea broke heavily: they were called GOVERNOR FARQUHAR'S GROUP: the westernmost islet is in 17 degrees 39 minutes, and 151 degrees 27 minutes (149 degrees 7 minutes East of Paris) and appeared to terminate the group. As it was near sunset, the vessels hauled to the wind for the night, and at daylight bore up on a north course: soon afterwards they saw an islet West-North-West; they, however, continued to steer North until eight o'clock, and then, having run nine miles, saw another island North-North-East. On attempting to steer between the isles, they were found to be connected, and having sounded in eleven fathoms, the vessels bore up, and steered between the westernmost islet and two extensive reefs, through a pa.s.sage five or six miles wide, that appeared to be clear.

The westernmost islet is in 17 degrees 42 minutes South, and 150 degrees 43 minutes East (148 degrees 23 minutes East of Paris) and the westernmost reef, in 17 degrees 44 minutes South, and 150 degrees 32 minutes East (148 degrees 12 minutes East of Paris). A s.p.a.ce of ten or twelve leagues between Governor Farquhar's Group and that seen the preceding day was pa.s.sed in the night, and probably may contain other reefs. The last group was named TREGROSSE'S ISLETS.

NORTH COAST.

The ALERT struck on a shoal to the westward of Torres Strait in 1817; it seemed to be about two hundred fathoms in length, and about fifty yards broad: it is in lat.i.tude 9 degrees 52 minutes, and longitude 140 degrees 50 minutes.

In the vicinity of Cape Van Diemen there are many submarine coral banks, that are not yet shoal enough to be called reefs; that which Captain Flinders saw, and sounded upon in seven fathoms, lies in 9 degrees 56 minutes lat.i.tude, and 129 degrees 28 minutes longitude. The Alert also pa.s.sed over a shoal patch with nine fathoms in 10 degrees 1 minute South, and 129 degrees 8 minutes East.

NORTH-WEST COAST.

SAHUL BANK is but very imperfectly known, and its extent by no means so large as is laid down upon the chart. In that interval, however, there are probably many reefs, which have been occasionally seen. Captain Heywood saw a dry part in lat.i.tude 11 degrees 35 minutes and longitude 124 degrees 10 minutes, and there are shoal soundings in crossing it on the following parts, namely:

COLUMN 1: SOUNDINGS OVER CORAL REEF IN FATHOMS.

COLUMN 2: LAt.i.tUDE.

COLUMN 3: LONGITUDE.

12 : 11 degrees 21 minutes : 125 degrees 23 minutes.

16 : 11 degrees 10 minutes : 125 degrees 27 minutes.

12 : 11 degrees 7 minutes : 125 degrees 30 minutes.

15 : 10 degrees 57 minutes : 125 degrees 34 minutes.

All of which are detached and separated by deep water. (See Horsburgh volume 1 page 103.)

CARTIER ISLAND, seen in 1800 by the ship Cartier, is a dry sand bank surrounded by a shoal extending for four miles to the northward. It is in 12 degrees 29 minutes South, and 123 degrees 56 minutes East, by chronometer.

Captain Heywood in 1801 saw the following reefs. The centre of one in lat.i.tude 12 degrees 48 minutes, and longitude 124 degrees 25 minutes; and the other in 13 degrees 29 minutes, and 124 degrees 5 minutes.

HIBERNIA SHOAL, seen by Mr. Samuel Ashmore, Commander of the ship Hibernia, consists of two small sandbanks in the centre of a shoal, four miles in extent, lying in an east and west direction. It is in lat.i.tude 11 degrees 56 minutes, and longitude 123 degrees 28 minutes, by chronometers.

Mr. Ashmore also saw another shoal in 1811, the particulars of which are detailed in the following letter.

"The north-east end of the shoal, fell in with on the 11th June, 1811, by a good noon observation, is in 12 degrees 11 minutes South, longitude by chronometer 122 degrees 58 minutes 30 seconds (allowing the south head of Port Jackson to be in 151 degrees 25 minutes 25 seconds). To the westward of the barrier of black rocks, that presented themselves to our view, were several sandbanks, the highest of which, on the east end, appeared to have some vegetation: the rocks in general were six or eight feet above the water and the surf broke violently on the North-East and South-East points in view. The shoal trends in a West by North direction for six or seven miles," It is distinguished on the chart by the name of ASHMORE'S SHOAL.

SCOTT'S REEF (see Horsburgh volume 1 page 102) was discovered by Captain Heywood, R.N., in 1811: the north-west end is in lat.i.tude 13 degrees 52 1/2, and longitude 121 degrees 59 minutes; thence it extends South 16 degrees East for eighteen or nineteen miles to the north-east point, in lat.i.tude 14 degrees 1 minute, and longitude 122 degrees 16 minutes; the south extent was not ascertained. It is ninety-seven miles due East from the situation a.s.signed to Dampier's Rocks. The Cartier also struck upon a shoal hereabouts, and Captain Horsburgh seems to think that there is little doubt of Scott's Reef being the same that Dampier saw, as well as that on which the Cartier struck.