Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia Volume I Part 21

August 8.

At eight o'clock the next morning we were near Goulburn Island, steering through Macquarie Strait; and at eleven o'clock we anch.o.r.ed in South-west Bay, near our former watering-place.

As soon as the vessel was secured I went on sh.o.r.e to examine whether water could be obtained. In this object we were successful; and a basin was dug to receive the water that drained through the cliffs; but, from the advanced state of the dry season, it did not flow in half the quant.i.ty that it did last year. The vegetation appeared to have suffered much from drought and the gra.s.s, which at our last visit was long and luxuriant, was now either parched up by the sun or destroyed by the natives' fires, which at this time were burning on the low land in front of Wellington Range.

In the evening I went to Bottle Rock, but found our bottle had been removed; the rocks were covered with the eggs of terns, of which the boat's crew collected eight dozen. On our return to the cutter a turtle was noticed swimming towards the sandy beach at the north end of the bay, which induced me to send a boat's crew on sh.o.r.e to watch its landing, but in this they were unsuccessful. At their return at night they reported having seen the recent marks of natives and of a dog on the beach.

August 9.

The following morning Mr. Bedwell went with a watering party to the sh.o.r.e; the tide had however reached the hole, and spoilt what had been collected during the night: after cleaning the hole again he visited our last year's wooding-place where he found some remains of our cuttings; but the greater part had been burnt. On his return to the watering-place the well was full, and the party commenced their occupation: they had however scarcely been twenty minutes employed before a shower of large stones was thrown down upon them by a party of natives who suddenly appeared on the verge of the cliff; but as suddenly retreated upon a volley of muskets being fired over their heads from our boat, which we had previously taken the precaution of mooring off the sh.o.r.e as we had done last year. After this our people continued their work without being further molested although many other attacks were premeditated by the natives during the day, they having once or twice approached near the verge of the cliffs; but their courage forsook them before they were sufficiently near to throw either spears or stones with effect. A flag was always hoisted on board whenever they were observed advancing, which prepared our people on the beach to give them a reception. This signal was certainly noticed by the natives, for they always stopped short the moment it was displayed.

The run of water was so trifling that we could not procure more than from sixty to one hundred gallons per day, for while the high tides lasted the well in the morning was always found full of salt water. This inconvenience did not occur last year because it was not found necessary to dig a hole, the stream being of itself sufficiently abundant for our purpose.

August 10 to 16.

The delay however was not lost, inasmuch as it gave an opportunity of finding new rates for the watches, as well as of obtaining a set of lunar observations for the longitude.

On the 13th Mr. Bedwell went to Sims' Island for turtle but no recent tracks were observed, excepting the remains of one that had a week before furnished a repast to the natives. Near to this place were found disinterred some of the bones of a human body that had been buried in a grave close by, not longer than two or three months since. The footsteps of the followers of the body to the grave were still visible in the sand, but other steps appeared to have been more recently impressed; which must have been those of the natives, who had dug the body up either from a motive of curiosity or revenge.

I cannot account for the absence of many of the bones of the skeleton unless the natives are cannibals, of which we have hitherto neither had proofs nor entertained the least suspicion; dogs or birds may certainly have carried them off, or the natives themselves may have removed them as trophies or as evidences of their discovery to their companions on the main. From the quant.i.ty of bamboo which was found scattered about the spot there was every reason to conclude it was the grave of a Malay; and according to the time of the Malay fleet's pa.s.sing these islands last year, they would at this time have quitted it about three months, which will nearly agree with the appearance of the bones and the grave. On returning on board our party brought a great quant.i.ty of the bulbous roots of a crinum which grows abundantly among the rocks on Sims' Island.

August 17.

On the 17th our wood and water were embarked; the former having been obtained from the verge of the cliff immediately over the watering-place and thrown over, was readily conveyed to the boats. When our party first mounted the cliffs a throwing stick, a broken spear, and some stones were found that had evidently been left by the natives in their hasty retreat when the muskets were fired: the spear was made of the mangrove tree, hardened and made straight by exposing it to fire; and the throwing stick, of hard wood, probably either of eucalyptus or casuarina; the latter weapon was only two feet in length, and not near so large or long as that used by the natives of Endeavour River. After the first day the natives did not make their appearance; the smoke of their fires was however observed over the south point of the island, about two miles off; but notwithstanding the undisturbed manner in which our occupations advanced, it was found necessary to keep an armed party always ready, for there was no doubt that we were narrowly watched and the first unguarded moment would have been taken advantage of by them for our annoyance, if not to our loss. This precaution prevented my improving my last year's survey of the main coast; and as there did not exist any good reason to attach much importance to the sinuosities of the coast hereabout we did not remain at this anchorage after our wooding and watering were completed, from an anxiety to reach those parts which we had not yet seen, and where we might expect a better chance of finding something of greater interest.

Mr. Cunningham was confined to the vessel during our stay by a serious attack of jaundice brought on by the fatiguing examination of Liverpool River.

The weather during our stay was throughout fine. A breeze usually sprung up at daylight from South-East; and by noon veered to and blew fresh from East, sometimes reaching North-East, from which quarter it was generally strongest; as sunset approached the wind usually died away, and before dark it was quite calm and continued so until the morning. The temperature was much lower than we expected to find it, the thermometer ranging only between 75 and 84 degrees; so that during the day, while the sea breeze lasted, the heat was not at all oppressive.

August 18.

We left South-West Bay on the 18th at daybreak; but from light airs made so little progress that it was not until the following afternoon that we pa.s.sed between McCluer's and New Year's Islands; between the latter and Oxley's Island we pa.s.sed over two coral banks, separated from each other by a deep channel. On the easternmost bank were nine fathoms, but on the other we found overfalls between five and seven fathoms. A native's fire that was burning on Oxley's Island served to fix the position of this last bank.

August 19.

The next morning we were off Cape Croker and at noon were pa.s.sing Port Essington; the projecting heads of which, at the distance of four or five leagues, have the appearance of being two small islands, for the land at the back and on either side is too low to be seen. Between Port Essington and Cape Van Diemen we steered so as to see several parts of the coast of Melville Island in order to compare their relative meridional distances with those of last year's survey.

August 22.

The latter projection, which is the western limit of the north coast, came in sight on the evening of the 22nd when its longitude was found to be 130 degrees 19 minutes 33 seconds, which is 1 minute 2 seconds to the westward of last year's observation; the mean therefore may be considered as its true longitude, which is 130 degrees 20 minutes 30 seconds.

At sunset we were eleven miles from the Cape, bearing South 67 1/2 degrees West.

August 23.

And the next morning it was seen in the South-South-East. After rounding it a course was steered down the western side of Bathurst Island.

August 26.

But it took us until the 26th before we pa.s.sed Cape Fourcroy.

August 27.

On the following evening we made the land on the south side of Clarence Strait in the vicinity of Vernon's Islands: this was the last land seen by us on leaving the coast in May, 1818.

Between Goulburn Island and this part we had a succession of light baffling winds, with sultry, damp, and hazy weather, which proved very unfavourable for our sick, the number of whom was increasing. Mr. Bedwell was confined to his bed with a serious attack of dysentery, occasioned by exposure to the sun whilst superintending the sh.o.r.e parties at Goulburn Island; and the greater part of the crew were affected with ophthalmia, probably occasioned by the excessive glare and reflection of the sun's rays from the calm gla.s.sy surface of the sea.

August 28.

At daylight on the 28th we found ourselves near the land to the south-west of Vernon's Islands, which also were in sight. To the south was a deep opening trending to the south-east of a river-like appearance; but, as it did not seem to be of sufficient importance to detain us, we pa.s.sed on to the westward.

The land hereabouts is low and thickly wooded to the brink of the deep red-coloured cliffs that form the projecting heads of the coast; the wood near the sea had not the appearance of being of large growth; but the abundance and the verdure of the trees gave this part a pleasing and picturesque character. At the bottom of the opening was a remarkable flat-topped hill under which the waters of the inlet appeared to flow in a south-east direction. The entrance may possibly form a convenient port, for there was no appearance of shoal water near it. The land which forms its westernmost head appeared at first like an island, but was afterwards presumed to be a projecting head, separating the opening from a deep bight which was called Paterson Bay; at the bottom of the bay is another opening or inlet that may have some communication with the first. The western side of Paterson Bay is formed by very low land off which many patches of dry rocks were seen to extend; beyond this the coast appeared to be low and sandy.

August 29.

Light and adverse winds and calms, with a constant easterly current, detained us in the vicinity of Paterson Bay until the following sunset; when, in order to preserve the little progress made, we anch.o.r.ed near the reefs on the western side of the bay. During the preceding day, sixteen or twenty natives were noticed upon the sandy beach that fronts the red cliffs on the eastern side of the bay, engaged in fis.h.i.+ng, or perhaps in watching our movements; and this evening the smokes of their fires were observed among the trees near the same spot.

August 30.

The next day we made but little progress along the coast to the south-west which is so low as not to be visible from the cutter's deck, at a greater distance than six miles; this rendered the examination of it very inconvenient and even dangerous, as the rocks and reefs which lined the coast extended in some parts beyond that distance.

The land appeared to be barren and arid, and were it not for a few bushes or mangrove trees, scattered about the beach, it might be called a complete desert.

1819. September 1.

Westerly winds and calms continued without intermission until the 1st of September; during which the thermometer ranged between 79 and 93 degrees.

On this day a breeze from the North-East enabled us to make progress to the southward; and after examining an indenture of the coast we anch.o.r.ed at night off a point of land, which, from the circ.u.mstance of a very large fire burning upon it, was called Point Blaze. The land still continued low; but more wooded and less sandy than that we had seen within the last two days.

September 2.

The next morning we resumed our course along the coast. To the south-west a sandy hillock was observed, which proved to be on Captain Baudin's Peron Island. This was the first opportunity that had occurred by which I could compare my longitude with that of Captain Baudin; and as the Peak of Peron Island is one of his fixed points, and is placed by him in 127 degrees 34 minutes 36 seconds, I find that my chart is in this part 6 minutes 24 seconds to the eastward.

In order to set at rest the question of the insularity of this land we pa.s.sed within it, but not without difficulty, from the numerous shoals that are scattered over the channel. A smoke was seen upon the smaller island among the trees for a few minutes, but no people made their appearance as we pa.s.sed by. The natives of this part of the coast were seen probably by Tasman; for in Mr. Dalrymple's Papua the following paragraph is found: "In lat.i.tude 13 degrees 8 minutes and longitude 146 degrees 18 minutes 6 seconds East (probably 129 1/2 degrees East of Greenwich, and answering to this part) the people are bad and wicked, shooting at the Dutch with arrows without provocation, when they were coming on sh.o.r.e. It is here very populous."

On arriving abreast of the peaked hill above-mentioned, a considerable shoal, connected with the mainland, appeared to separate us from it; in crossing it we had three fathoms, and as soon as we pa.s.sed over it the water deepened instantly to thirteen fathoms. We then bore up and steered through the channel between the islands and the main, which was both narrow and deep towards Channel Point; close to which we had sixteen fathoms, and then hauled up round Peron's South Island.

The land from Channel Point trends to the South-South-East, and forms a tolerably deep bight of low, sandy land, terminated by Cliff Head, a high rocky projection well furnished with trees. In this bay there is probably an opening, but it is small and lined with mangroves. After pa.s.sing Channel Point the depth rapidly decreased, and as we crossed a shoal which runs off from the south-east end of Peron's South Island and extends deeply into the bay, we carried from two and three-quarters to three and a half fathoms. On clearing it we steered South-South-West, and after dark anch.o.r.ed in five fathoms, mud, Cliff Head bearing South 71 degrees East (Magnetic.)

The bay between the two projections received the name of Anson Bay, after the n.o.ble family of that name. During the night we had a remarkable copious fall of dew.

September 3.

The next day at eleven o'clock we were off Cape Ford: from this cape the coast trends in a South 48 degrees West direction for five miles to a low projecting point, near the extremity of which a clump of trees, remarkable for their rounded form and singular appearance, was conspicuous: hence it extends South 5 1/2 degrees West to a distant point; the intervening coast being of moderate height and thickly wooded to the brink of a range of dark red cliffs, two miles in length, rising immediately from the beach; upon which eight natives and a child were observed watching our movements. Our course was held parallel with the sh.o.r.e at about three miles distance. At sunset we tacked off for the night; and the south extreme at dark bore South by West 1/2 West.

The sea hereabout abounds with fish of various sorts, upon which several sharks were feeding most rapaciously. From midnight to daybreak the weather was fine with scarcely a breath of wind; afterwards a light land breeze set in; which at noon was succeeded by the usual sea breeze from the west.

September 4.