A Voyage to Terra Australis Volume II Part 1

A Voyage to Terra Australis.

by Matthew Flinders.

VOL II.

CHAPTER I.

Departure from Port Jackson, with the Lady Nelson.

Examination of various parts of the East Coast, from thence to Sandy Cape.

Break-sea Spit.

Anchorage in Hervey's Bay, where the Lady Nelson joins after a separation.

Some account of the inhabitants.

Variations of the compa.s.s.

Run to Bustard Bay.

Port Curtis discovered, and examined.

Some account of the surrounding country.

Arrival in Keppel Bay, and examination of its branches, one of which leads into Port Curtis.

Some account of the natives, and of the country round Keppel Bay.

Astronomical and nautical observations.

[EAST COAST. TOWARDS HERVEY'S BAY.]

THURSDAY 22 JULY 1802

Lieutenant John Murray, commander of the brig Lady Nelson, having received orders to put himself under my command, I gave him a small code of signals, and directed him, in case of separation, to repair to Hervey's Bay; which he was to enter by a pa.s.sage said to have been found by the south-sea whalers, between Sandy Cape and Break-sea Spit. In the morning of July 22, we sailed out of Port Jackson together; and the breeze being fair and fresh, ran rapidly to the northward, keeping at a little distance from the coast. (Atlas, Plate VIII.)

At eleven o'clock, the south head of Broken Bay bore W. by N. three leagues; and Mr. Westall then made a sketch of the entrance, with that of the Hawkesbury River, which falls into it (Atlas, Plate XVIII, View 2).

The colonists have called this place Broken Bay, but it is not what was so named by captain Cook; for he says it lies in lat.i.tude 33 42'

(Hawkesworth III. 103), whereas the southernmost point of entrance is not further than 33 34' south. There is, in captain Cook's lat.i.tude, a very small opening, and the hills behind it answer to his description of "some broken land that seemed to form a bay," when seen at four leagues, the distance he was off; but in reality, there is nothing more than a shallow lagoon in that place. In consequence of this difference in position, Cape Three-points has been sought three or four leagues to the north of Broken Bay; whereas it is the north head of the entrance into the bay itself which was so named, and it corresponds both in situation and appearance.

At noon, the south-eastern bluff of Cape Three-points bore S. 64 W., seven or eight miles, and was found to lie in 33 32' south and 151 23' east. In steering northward along the coast, at from six to two miles distance, we pa.s.sed two rocky islets lying under the high sh.o.r.e; and at sunset, Coal Island, in the entrance of Port Hunter, bore N. 9 W., five or six miles. This port was discovered in 1797 by the late captain John Shortland, and lies in 32 56' south, longitude 151 43'

east.

We pa.s.sed Port Stephens a little before midnight; and the breeze being fresh at W. by S., the Lady Nelson was left astern, and we lay to for an hour next morning [FRIDAY 23 JULY 1802], to wait her coming up. The land was then scarcely visible, but a north course brought us in with the Three Brothers (Atlas Plate IX.); and at four in the afternoon, they bore from S. 56 to 65 W., the nearest land being a low, but steep point, distant four or five miles in the first direction. The Three Brothers lie from one to five miles behind the sh.o.r.e, at the eastern extremity of a range of high land, coming out of the interior country. The northernmost hill is the broadest, most elevated, and nearest to the water side; and being visible fifty miles from a s.h.i.+p's deck, is an excellent landmark for vessels pa.s.sing along the coast: its lat.i.tude is 31 43' south, and longitude 152 45' east.

To the northward of the Three Brothers there is four leagues of low. and mostly sandy sh.o.r.e; and after pa.s.sing it, we came up with a projection, whose top is composed of small, irregular-shaped hummocks, the northernmost of them being a rocky lump of a sugar-loaf form; further on, the land falls back into a shallow bight, with rocks in it standing above water. When abreast of the projection, which was called _Tacking Point_, the night was closing in, and we stood off sh.o.r.e, intending to make the same part next morning; for some of this coast had been pa.s.sed in the dark by captain Cook, and might therefore contain openings.

SAt.u.r.dAY 24 JULY 1802

At daybreak of the 24th, Tacking Point was distant three miles, and the breeze fresh at S. W. by W. with fine weather. Our little consort being out of sight, we stood an hour to the southward; and not seeing her in that direction, bore away along the coast until noon, when our situation was as under:

Lat.i.tude observed 30 58'

Longitude by time-keepers 153 6 Northern Brother, dist. 48 miles, bore S. 23 W.

Smoky Cape, distant 3 or 4 miles, N. 41 to 30 W.

Northern extreme of the land, N. 5 W.

The coast from Tacking Point to Smoky Cape is generally low and sandy; but its uniformity is broken at intervals by rocky points, which first appear like islands. Behind them the land is low, but quickly rises to hills of a moderate height; and these being well covered with wood, the country had a pleasant appearance. Smoky Cape was found to answer the description given of it by captain Cook; its centre lies in 30 55'

south, and 153 4' east. The three hummocks upon it stand on so many projecting parts; and at half a mile from the southernmost lie two rocks, and a third two miles further south, which were not before noticed. On the north side of Smoky Cape, the coast falls back four or five miles to the westward, forming a bight in the low land, where there may probably be a shallow inlet; it afterwards resumed a northern direction, and consisted as before of sandy beaches and stony points.

Our consort was not yet in sight; but we kept on until five in the evening, when the nearest land was two miles off, and the northern hummock on Smoky Cape bore S. 4 W. nine leagues. I had before seen the coast further northward, as far as 29 20'; and having therefore no inducement to lose a night's run for its examination, we steered onward, pa.s.sing without side of the Solitary Isles. At three in the morning [SUNDAY 25 JULY 1802], hove to until day-light; and at eight o'clock made the south head of a bay discovered in the Norfolk (Introd. Vol I, "In lat.i.tude 29 43', we discovered a small opening like a river, with an islet lying in the entrance; and at sunset, entered a larger, to which I gave the name of SHOAL BAY, an appellation which it but too well merited."), and named _Shoal Bay_. One of the marks for finding this small place is a peaked hummock on the low land, thirteen miles distant; and it was now set over the south head of the bay at S. 20 W. In steering northward close along the coast, we pa.s.sed two small reefs, and the water shoaled to 10 fathoms; they lie two miles off the land, and there did not seem to be any safe pa.s.sage within them. Our lat.i.tude at noon was 29 4', and longitude by time keepers 153 31'; the sh.o.r.e was three miles off but until we came up with Cape Byron at five in the evening, there was no projection worthy of being particularly noticed.

From Shoal Bay to Cape Byron is fifty miles, where the coast, with the exception of two or three rocky heads, is mostly low and sandy; and the soundings, at from two to four miles off, vary between 10 and 32 fathoms, on a sandy bottom. A few miles back the land rises to hills of moderate elevation, which were poorly covered with wood in the southern part, but towards the cape had a more fertile appearance.

Cape Byron is a small steep head, projecting about two miles from the low land, and in coming along the coast makes like an island; its lat.i.tude is 28 38', and longitude 153 37', or 7' east of the situation a.s.signed to it by captain Cook. There are three rocks on its north side; and in the direction of N. 57 W., eight or nine leagues from it, is the peaked top of a ma.s.s of mountains, named by its discoverer _Mount Warning_; whose elevation is about 3300 feet, and exceeds that of Mount Dromedary, or any other land I have seen upon this East Coast. To Mr. Westall's sketch of this remarkable peak (Atlas, Plate XVIII. View 3.) it may be added, that the surrounding hills were well covered with wood, whose foliage announced a soil more fertile than usual so near the sea side.

The sun was near setting at the time Cape Byron bore west, three or four miles; and the coast from thence to Point Look-out having been seen by captain Cook, we steered off in order to avoid falling in with the reefs of Point Danger in the night. At eleven, hauled more in for the land; and at eight next day [MONDAY 26 JULY 1802], Mount Warning was set at S. 25 W., twenty leagues. On coming in with Point Look-out, I took observations for the lat.i.tude and longitude, which fixed it in 27 27' south, and 153 31' east. The lat.i.tude is the same as it had been made in the Norfolk, (Introd. Vol. I), but is 19' south, and 3' west of the situation given in captain Cook's chart. The bearings of the land at noon were,

Point Look-out, distant 3 leagues, S. 9 W.

Moreton entrance to Gla.s.s-house Bay, S. 55 W.

Cape Moreton, distant six leagues, N. 18 W.

A strange vessel seen to the southward, had induced me to carry little sail all the morning; it was now perceived not to be the Lady Nelson, but probably one of the two whalers known to be fis.h.i.+ng off the coast; we therefore made sail for Cape Moreton, and came up with it at four o'clock. I was much surprised to see a small, but dangerous reef lying between four and five miles off this cape to the north-east, which had not been noticed in the Norfolk; in entering Gla.s.s-house Bay I had then hauled close round Cape Moreton at dusk in the evening, and in coming out had pa.s.sed too far westward to observe it. The longitude of Cape Moreton was now fixed by the time keepers at 153 26' east, differing only 1'

from the lunar observations before taken in the Norfolk; when its lat.i.tude had been settled at 27 0' south.

(Atlas, Plate X.)

TUESDAY 27 JULY 1802

After pa.s.sing the dangerous reef, we steered northward until three in the morning; and then hove to until daylight, for the purpose of examining the land about Double-island Point and Wide Bay, which did not appear to have been well distinguished by captain Cook. At seven o'clock the point bore N. 2 W., six leagues, and the sh.o.r.e abreast, a beach with sandy hills behind it, was distant six miles. Between the S. 63. W. and a low bluff head bearing S. 32 W., was a bight in the coast where the sand hills seemed to terminate; for the back land further south was high and rocky with small peaks on the top, similar to the ridge behind the Gla.s.s Houses, of which it is probably a continuation.

At half past nine we hauled close round Double-island Point, within a rock lying between one and two miles to the N. N. E., having 7 fathoms for the least water. The point answered captain Cook's description: it is a steep head, at the extremity of a neck of land which runs out two miles from the main, and lies in 25 56' south, and 153 13' east. On the north side of the point the coast falls back to the westward, and presents a steep sh.o.r.e of white sand; but in curving round Wide Bay the sandy land becomes very low, and a small opening was seen in it, leading to a piece of water like a lagoon; but the shoals which lie off the entrance render it difficult of access, if indeed there be a pa.s.sage for any thing larger than boats. Had the Lady Nelson been with me, I should have attempted to get her into the lagoon, having previously entertained a conjecture that the head of Hervey's Bay might communicate with Wide Bay; but the apprehension that lieutenant Murray would arrive at the first rendezvous, and proceed to the next before we could join him, deterred me from attempting it with the Investigator or with boats.

Upon the north side of the opening there was a number of Indians, fifty as reported, looking at the s.h.i.+p, and near Double-island Point ten others had been seen, implying a more numerous population than is usual to the southward. I inferred from hence, that the piece of water at the head of Wide Bay was extensive and shallow; for in such places the natives draw much subsistence from the fish which there abound, and are more easily caught than in deep water. So far as could be seen from the mast head at three or four miles off, the water extended about five miles westward, to the feet of some hills covered with small wood. Its extent north and south could not be distinguished, and it seemed probable that one, and perhaps two streams fall into it; for there were many large medusas floating at the entrance, such as are usually found near the mouths of rivers in this country.

We pa.s.sed the shoals of Wide Bay in from 12 to 5 fathoms water; and steered northward at the distance of six, and from that to two miles off the sh.o.r.e, until dark. Captain Cook describes this part of the coast as moderately high and very barren; there being great patches of moveable sand many acres in extent, through which appeared in some places the green tops of trees half buried, and in others the naked trunks of such as the sand had destroyed. We sailed some miles nearer to it than the Endeavour had done, and saw extensive, bare patches in many parts; but nothing to indicate the sands being moveable; and in general, there were shrubs, bushes, and some trees scattered over the hills in front of the sea. Nothing however can well be imagined more barren than this peninsula; but the smokes which arose from many parts, corroborated the remark made upon the population about Wide Bay; and bespoke that fresh water was not scarce in this sandy country.

Our course at night was directed by the fires on the sh.o.r.e, and the wind being moderate from the south-westward, it was continued until ten o'clock; after which we stood off and on till daylight [WEDNESDAY 28 JULY 1802], and then had Indian Head bearing S. 54 W. one mile and a half.

This head was so named by captain Cook, from the great number of Indians a.s.sembled there in 1770. Mr. Westall's sketch of it (Atlas, Plate XVIII, View 4.), taken as we steered close along the sh.o.r.e for Sandy Cape, will show that the same sterility prevailed here as in the southern part of the peninsula; and it continued to the northern extremity.

At eleven o'clock we reached Sandy Cape, and the master was sent ahead to sound in a small pa.s.sage through Break-sea Spit. The s.h.i.+p followed under easy sail, until we got into 3 fathoms; and the master not making the signal for any deeper water, I tacked and called the boat on board. The channel appeared to go quite through the Spit, into Hervey's Bay; but as there were, in many parts, not more than 2 fathoms, it can be pa.s.sed only by small vessels. At noon,

Sandy Cape, distant a miles, bore S. 64 to 80 W.

Indian Head, distant 7 leagues, S. 12 E.

Our observations fixed Sandy Cape in 24 42' south, and 153' 16' east, being 3' north, and 7' east of the position a.s.signed to it by captain Cook.

[EAST COAST. HERVEY'S BAY.]

At one o'clock we steered northward, close to the edge of Break-sea Spit, searching for a pa.s.sage through it into Hervey's Bay. There were many small winding channels amongst the breakers, and a larger being perceived at three, the boat was sent to make an examination; in the mean time, the wind having s.h.i.+fted to north-west and become very light, we dropped the stream anchor two miles from the Spit, in 11 fathoms, fine grey sand. The channel where the boat was sounding, and out of which a tide came of more than one mile an hour, bore W. by N. N., and Sandy Cape S. 24 to 41 W., about three leagues.

Soon after sunset the master returned, and reported the channel to be nearly a mile and a half wide, and that it went quite through to the bay; but it did not generally contain more than fourteen feet water, and was therefore impa.s.sable for the Investigator. The bottom of this, and of the former small channel, as also the shoaler banks of the Spit, were of coral, mixed with coral sand.

THURSDAY 29 JULY 1802