Departure from Shoal-water Bay, and anchorage in Thirsty Sound.
Magnetical observations.
Boat excursion to the nearest Northumberland Islands.
Remarks on Thirsty Sound.
Observations at West Hill, Broad Sound.
Anchorage near Upper Head.
Expedition to the head of Broad Sound:
another round Long Island.
Remarks on Broad Sound, and the surrounding country.
Advantages for a colony.
Astronomical observations, and remarks on the high tides.
[EAST COAST. THIRSTY SOUND.]
SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 1802
At noon September 4, when the botanical gentlemen returned from their
excursion to Pine Mount, we made sail out of Shoal-water Bay with a
breeze from the eastward. In steering north-west amongst the small
islands, the soundings were between 9 and 14 fathoms; and nearly the same
afterwards, in keeping at three or four miles from the coast. I intended
to go into Thirsty Sound; but not reaching it before dark, the anchor was
dropped in 8 fathoms, sandy bottom, when the top of Pier Head bore west,
three miles. In the morning [SUNDAY 5 SEPTEMBER 1802] we ran into the
Sound, and anchored in 6 fathoms, with the points of entrance bearing N.
16° and S. 67° E., one mile. The carpenters had for some time been
employed in making a sliding keel for the Lady Nelson, from the pine logs
cut in Port Bowen; and being now finished, it was sent on board.
The botanists landed upon the east shore, preferring the main land for
their pursuits; and the launch was sent to haul the seine on that side,
at a beach a little way up the Sound. I went to the top of Pier Head and
took bearings of the Northumberland Islands, as also of the points and
hills of the coast to the east and west; the most essential of them to
the connexion of the survey, were as under:
Mount Westall, station on the top, S. 63° 20' E.
Aken's Island, station on the N. E. end, S. 43 10 E.
Pine Mount, S. 25 5 E.
Long Island, the north point, distant 8 miles, N. 65 5 W.
Peaked Hill, west side of Broad Sound, N. 61 25 W.
Northumberland I., a peak, marked h, N. 22 25 W.
Northumberland I., No. 3 peak (of Percy Isles), N. 20 10 E.
Captain Cook observed, when taking bearings upon the top of Pier Head,
"that the needle differed very considerably in its position, even to
thirty degrees, in some places more, in others less; and once he found it
differ from itself no less than two points in the distance of fourteen
feet." (Hawkesworth, III, 126); from whence he concluded there was iron
ore in the hills. I determined, in consequence, to make more particular
observations, both with the theodolite and dipping needle; and shall
briefly state the results obtained on this, and on the following day.
Azimuths were taken, and the bearing of Mount Westall, distant
thirty-four miles, was set at S. 63° 28' E. (true), whilst the theodolite
remained in the same place; and from a comparison between this bearing
and those of the same object at different parts of the head, the
variations were deduced. The dip was observed with both ends of the
needle, and the face of the instrument changed each time.
At the highest top of Pier Head, Var. 3° 25' E. Dip 53° 20' S.
West, three yards from it, 6 10
S. E. three yards, 10 5
S. S. E., ten yards, 8 6 52 19
North, four, 6 55
N. E., twenty, 6 50 50 35
N. N. E., one-sixth mile, at the water side, 7 6 50 28
S. E., one-third mile, at ditto, 8 2 50 50
There are here no differences equal to those found by captain Cook; but
it is to be observed, that he used a ship's azimuth compass, probably not
raised further from the ground than to be placed on a stone, whereas my
theodolite stood upon legs, more than four feet high. The dipping needle
was raised about two feet; and by its greater inclination at the top of
the hill, shows the principal attraction to have been not far from
thence. The least dip, 50° 28', taken at the shore on the north side of
the head, was doubtless the least affected; but it appears to have been
half a degree too much, for at Port Bowen, twenty-two miles further
south, it was no more than 50° 20'. An amplitude taken on board the ship
in the Sound by lieutenant Flinders, when the head was S. S. W., gave
variation 8° 39', or corrected to the meridian, 7° 40' east. As Pier Head
lay almost exactly in the meridian, from the ship, its magnetism would
not alter the direction of the needle; and I therefore consider 7° 40' to
be very nearly the true variation, when unaffected by local causes: in
Port Bowen, it varied from 7° 40' to 8° 30' east.
Notwithstanding this very sensible effect upon the needle, both
horizontally and vertically, I did not find, any more than captain Cook,
that a piece of the stone applied to the theodolite drew the needle at
all out of its direction; nevertheless I am induced to think, that the
attraction was rather dispersed throughout the mass of stone composing
Pier Head, than that any mine of iron ore exists in it. The stone is a
porphyry of a dark, blueish colour.
MONDAY 6 SEPTEMBER 1802
On the 6th, at noon, when the observations were finished and I had
proposed to quit Thirsty Sound, the wind and tide were both against us.
To employ the rest of the day usefully, I went over in the whale boat,
accompanied by the landscape painter, to the 6th, 7th, and 8th
Northumberland Islands, which, with many low islets and rocks near them,
form a cluster three or four leagues to the north-east of the Sound.
Orders were left with lieutenant Fowler to get the ship under way as
early as possible on the following morning, and come out to meet us.
Nearly mid-way between Pier Head and the cluster, lie some rocks
surrounded with breakers; and until they were passed the depth was from 6
to 8 fathoms, and 11 afterwards. We rowed to a beach at the north-west
end of the 7th island, proposing there to pass the night, and hoped to
turn some turtle; but proofs of natives having lately visited, or being
perhaps then on the island, damped our prospects, and still more did the
absence of turtle tracks; yet under each tree near the shore were the
remains of a turtle feast.
TUESDAY 7 SEPTEMBER 1802
In the morning I ascended the highest hill on the 7th island, and took
bearings; but the hazy weather which had come on with a strong wind at E.
S. E., confined them within a circle of three leagues. This island is
somewhat more than a mile in length, and was covered with grass, but
almost destitute of wood; the rock is a greenish, speckled stone, with
veins of quartz finely inserted, and is something between granite and
porphyry. The 6th island is the largest of this little cluster, being two
and a half miles long; and it was well covered with wood. We rowed over
to it with some difficulty on account of the wind, but could not sound in
the channel; it appeared to be deep, its least width three-quarters of a
mile, and in fine weather a ship might anchor there and procure pines fit
for top masts, at several places in the group. Water was found under the
hills on the 6th island; but not in sufficient quantities for the purpose
of a ship.
I looked anxiously, but in vain, for lieutenant Fowler to come out of
Thirsty Sound; for the wind blew so strong that it was uncertain whether
the boat could fetch over, or that it was even safe to attempt it; our
provisions, besides, were nearly exhausted, and nothing more substantial
than oysters could be procured. Pressed by necessity, we set off under
close-reefed sails; and the boat performing admirably, fetched the low
neck to leeward of Pier Head, whence another boat took us to the ship;
and at high water in the evening, the whale boat floated over the neck
and followed.
When Mr. Fowler had weighed in the morning, according to my directions,
the ship had driven so near the shore before the stream anchor was at the
bows, that he let go the small bower; but the cable parted, and obliged
him to drop the best bower, being then in 3 fathoms water with the wind
blowing strong into the sound. By means of a warp to the brig, the best
bower was shifted into 4 fathoms; and when I got on board, the stream and
small bower anchors had just been recovered. The weather tide made at
nine in the evening, and we ran into 7 fathoms in the channel; and at
daylight stood out of the sound, with the brig in company, having then a
moderate breeze at south-east.
Of Thirsty Sound as a harbour, very little can be said in praise; the
north-east and east winds throw in a good deal of sea, and there is not
room for more than three or four ships, without running up into the
narrow part; and what the depth may be there I did not examine, but saw
that there were shoals. The entrance of the sound may be known by two
round hills, one on each side, lying nearly north and south, one mile and
a half from each other: the northernmost is Pier Head. The surrounding
country is clothed with grass and wood; but on the Long-Island side the
grass is coarse, the trees are thinly scattered, and the soil is every
where too stony for the cultivation of grain.
There were many traces of natives, though none recent. Judging from what
was seen round the fire places, turtle would seem to be their principal
food; and indeed several turtle were seen in the water, but we had not
dexterity enough to take any of them. In fishing with the seine, at a
small beach two miles up the sound, we always had tolerably good success;
but no fresh water accessible to boats could be found in the
neighbourhood.
The _latitude_ of Pier Head, from an observation made at the top in an
artificial horizon, is 22° 6' 53" S.
_Longitude_ from thirteen sets of distances of the sun west of the moon,
observed by lieutenant Flinders, 149° 47' 50"; but by the survey and the
fixed position in Broad Sound, with which the time-keepers agreed, it
will be more correctly 150° 0' 10" E.
Captain Cook specifies the situation of Thirsty Sound to be in latitude
22° 10', longitude 149° 42' (Hawkesworth, III, 128); but in the chart
published by Mr. Dalrymple, it is 22° 7' and 149° 36', which agrees
nearer with the deductions of Mr. Wales (_Astron. Obs._ p. 135). In
either case it appears, that my longitude was getting more eastward from
captain Cook as we advanced further along the coast.
WEDNESDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 1802
The tides in Thirsty Sound were neaped at this time, and the rise,
judging by the lead line, was from ten to twelve feet; but captain Cook
says, "at spring tides the water does not rise less than sixteen or
eighteen feet," which I have no doubt is correct. It ceases at _ten hours
and three quarters after_ the moon passes over and under the meridian.
On quitting Thirsty Sound we steered north-westward, to pass round a
chain of rocks extending six miles out from Pier Head, and behind which
there was a bight in Long Island, with some appearance of an opening. It
was my intention to examine Broad Sound up to the furthest navigable
part, and we hauled up between the north point of Long Island and a
cluster of small isles lying three miles to the north-west; but finding
the water too shallow, and that it would be more advantageous to begin
the examination on the west side, I desired Mr. Murray to lead round the
_North-point Isles_ and across the sound. A small reef lies between four
and five miles N. E. by E. from the largest and easternmost of these
isles; it is covered at half tide, and therefore dangerous, but we had 7
to 8 fathoms at less than a mile distance, on the inside.
At noon, the depth was 8 fathoms, the largest North-point Isle, which is
nearly separated into two, was distant four miles, and our situation was
as under:
Latitude observed to the north, 21° 56' 17"
Pier Head top, bore S. 38 E.
Northumberland Island, peak marked 'h', N. 15 W.
North-point I., westernmost, highest part, S. 56 W.
North-point I., largest, S. 37 to 16 W.
In steering W. by N., rippling water was seen ahead at one o'clock. and
the depth diminishing to 4 fathoms, we hauled a little to the southward
and then resumed our course. This rippling seems to have been on a part
of the same shoal near which captain Cook anchored in 3 fathoms; for it
lies five miles from the North-point Isles, and as he says, "half way
between them and three small islands which lie directly without them."
[EAST COAST. BROAD SOUND.]
Our course for the west side of Broad Sound passed close to some low,
flat isles, lying to the south-east of the peaked West Hill set from Pier
Head. At dusk I sought to anchor behind the hill, for it had the
appearance of being separated from the main land; but the water being too
shallow, we hauled off upon a wind. At ten o'clock, however, the breeze
having become light and the sea gone down, an anchor was dropped in 5
fathoms, sandy bottom; whence the top of West Hill bore N. 68° W. three
miles. A flood tide was found running from the N. N. E., one mile and a
quarter per hour.
THURSDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 1802
In the morning I landed with the botanical gentlemen, and wished to
ascend the top of the hill; but the brush wood was too thick to be
penetrable. Upon a projecting head on the north-east side, I took a part,
and about half way up the hill on the south-east side, the remainder of a
set of bearings, which included many of the Northumberland Isles not
before seen, and other of the Flat Isles within Broad Sound. The furthest
visible part of the main land towards Cape Palmerston, was distant about
five leagues, and behind it was a hill to which, from its form, I gave
the name of _Mount Funnel_; the shore both to the north and south was
low, and the Flat Isles to the southward of the ship were mostly over-run
with mangroves. I did not go round West Hill, and could not see whether
it were connected with the main land, or not; but if joined, it must be
by a very low isthmus. The bearings at this station, most essential to
the connection of the survey, were these:
Main coast, the extremes, N. 1° and S. 10° 45'
E.
Pier Head, the top, S. 61 25
E.
Northumberland Isles, peak marked 'h', N. 61 45
E.
Northumberland Isles, high northmost marked 'i', dist. 11 L. N. 19 15
E.
The stone of the hill had in it specks of quartz or feldtspath, and was
not much unlike that of Pier Head; but it had a more basaltic appearance.
A piece of it applied to the theodolite, drew the needle two degrees out
of its direction, and yet the bearings did not show any great difference
from the true variation; for an amplitude taken on board the ship by Mr.
Flinders, when the head was N. N. E, gave 6° 18', or corrected to the
meridian, 7° 17' east, and the variation on the eastern side of the hill
was 8° 15', according to the back bearing of Pier Head.
From an observation of the sun's upper and lower limbs in an artificial
horizon, the latitude was 21° 50' 18", and the ship bore from thence S.
68° E. two miles and a half; the latitude of the ship should therefore
have been 21° 51' 14"; but a meridian altitude observed to the north by
lieutenant Flinders, gave 21° 49' 54"; and I believe that altitudes from
the sea horizon can never be depended on nearer than to one minute, on
account of the variability of the horizontal refraction. From this cause
it was that, when possible, we commonly observed the latitude on board
the ship both to the north and south, taking the sun's altitude one way
and his supplement the other, and the mean of the two results was
considered to be true; separately, they often differed 1', 2', and even
3', and sometimes they agreed. The observation to the north most commonly
gave the least south latitude, but not always, nor was there any regular
coincidence between the results and the heights of the barometer or
thermometer; though in general, the more hazy the weather, the greater
were the differences. At this time, the wind was light from the eastward
and weather hazy; the thermometer stood at 72°, and barometer at 30.15
inches.
At two o'clock we got under way to go up Broad Sound, it being then near
low water. After steering south-east one mile, the depth rapidly
diminished and we tacked; but the ship was set upon a bank of sand, where
she hung five minutes and then swung off. I afterwards steered nearer to
the shore, in deeper water; and at dusk the anchor was dropped in 5
fathoms, sandy bottom, between the Flat Isles and the main, West Hill
bearing N. 35° W. three leagues; the master sounded towards the coast,
which was five miles off, and found the deepest water to be on that side.
In the morning [FRIDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 1802] the wind had shifted to south,
and we beat up in a channel formed by the Flat Isles and the shoals
attached to them, on one side, and the shelving banks from the main
coast, on the other. We had the assistance of a strong flood tide till
eleven o'clock; at which time the anchor was let go, one mile from the
north end of the 4th Flat Island.
I landed immediately, with the botanists; and at the south-east end of
the island, which is a little elevated, took bearings and the meridian
altitude of both limbs of the sun from an artificial horizon. The
latitude deduced was 22° 8' 33"; and the ship bearing N. 19° 30' W., two
miles, it should have been for her, 22° 6' 40"; but lieutenant Flinders'
observation to the north gave 22° 5' 19", or 1' 21" less, nearly as on
the preceding day; and it was ascertained that the difference arose
neither from the eye nor the instrument. Amongst the bearings were,
West Hill, the top, N. 16° 40' W.
Northumberland Isles. the peak marked 'h', N. 25 15 E.
Long Island, extreme of the north point, N. 73 35 E.
Upper Head, on the west shore up Broad Sound, S. 39 55 E.
The 4th Flat Isle is about one mile long, and there is a smaller lying
off its south-east end; they are a little elevated, and bear grass and
small trees; but the shores are covered with mangroves, and surrounded
with extensive flats of mud and sand. The main coast, from which they lie
two or three miles, is also low, with mangroves and shelving mud banks;
but there is a deep channel between, of a mile in width. In the evening,
when the flood made, we steered into this channel with a light
sea-breeze; but not having time to clear it before dark, the anchor was
dropped in 4 fathoms at six o'clock.
My attention was attracted this evening by the vast extent of mud left
dry on each side of the channel, and I ordered particular attention to be
paid to the tides during the night. At eleven o'clock, when the flood had
ceased running, the depth was sounded and the lead line measured, and the
same at half past five in the morning [SATURDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 1802] when
it was low water; the difference was no less than thirty-two feet, and it
wanted a day of being full moon; so that the springs may reach two or
three feet higher. The flood set S. by E., but its greatest rate did not
exceed one mile and three quarters an hour.
At daylight the wind was south-east, directly against us. We backed and
filled, drifting up with the flood between the shoals on each side, and
having the Lady Nelson and a boat ahead; but on approaching the end of
the channel, our passage into the sound was blocked up by a bank running
across, upon which there was not water enough for the ship by a fathom,
and we therefore anchored. At nine the tide had risen a fathom. and we
passed over into the open sound; the depth immediately increasing to 4
and 7 fathoms, reduced to low water. So long as the flood continued
running we worked up the sound; and when it ceased, anchored three miles
from a shallow opening in the low western shore, the second which had
been observed. We again proceeded upwards with the evening's tide until
dusk; and at nine next morning [SUNDAY 12 SEPTEMBER 1802] passed a fifth
opening, and anchored abreast of the hilly projection on its east side,
which I have named _Upper Head_, in 4 fathoms, soft bottom, two-thirds of
a mile from the shore. This was the first place on the main where there
was any prospect of being able to land; for the western shore, thus far
up, was equally low, and as much over-run with mangroves and defended by
muddy flats, as the shores of Keppel Bay.
It being my intention to explore the head of Broad Sound with the brig
and whale boat, a situation where tents could be fixed and an easy
communication held with the ship during my absence, was the object now
sought; and I immediately went with a party of the gentlemen, to
ascertain how far Upper Head was calculated for our purpose. We landed at
half flood, without difficulty; and on ascending the hill, obtained a
view of the Sound which exceeded my expectations. Amongst the many
bearings taken, were the following fixed points in the survey.
Pine Mount, of Shoal-water Bay, S. 84° 38' E.
Pier Head, the western part, N. 36 7 E.
West hill, the top, N. 28 5 W.
Flat Isles, the 4th, station there, N. 39 53 W.
The breadth of the Sound, from Upper Head over to the inner end of Long
Island, appeared to be three leagues, but it contracted upwards, and
assumed the same river-like form as Shoalwater Bay; and it was to be
feared, from the mangrove shores and muddiness of the water, that it
would terminate in the same manner. No shoals could be then
distinguished; but towards low water in the evening I again ascended the
hill, and saw to my regret, that the upper parts were mostly occupied
with banks of mud and sand, many of which were dry, and extended downward
past the inner entrance of Thirsty Sound. Amongst the banks were various
channels; but that of about two miles wide where the ship lay, was by far
the most considerable. The small fifth opening, close on the west side of
Upper Head, ran some miles in the low land towards the foot of a ridge of
hills, lying three or four leagues at the back of the shore; but the
greater part of this inlet was also taken up by mud banks, and the
borders covered with mangroves. There was no fresh water at Upper Head,
nor did I see any prospect of obtaining wherewith to complete the holds
of the two vessels before leaving the coast; unless it were at a place a
little higher up on the same side, to which the appearance of another
opening between two hills, induced me to move the ship.
MONDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 1802
Next morning, when the flood made, we drifted upwards, with the Lady
Nelson and a boat sounding ahead. After advancing three miles the brig
suddenly took the ground, and we dropped a stream anchor; but in swinging
to it, the ship was caught upon a bank of quick sand in eleven feet; and
the tide running strong upon the broad side, it made her heel in a manner
to excite alarm. The sails were immediately clewed down, and the
top-gallant yards struck; and it appearing that the stream anchor allowed
the ship to drive further up the bank as the tide rose, the best bower
was let go, and then she righted and swung to the tide. The Lady Nelson
also got off safe; but a part of the after sliding keel was carried away.
I went in a boat to examine the place which had presented the appearance
of an opening; but it proved to be only a bending in the shore, and the
mud banks and mangroves did not admit of landing; we therefore went back
with the returning ebb to Upper Head, and moored the ship nearly in our
first situation; where there was something more than 3 fathoms all round,
at low water.
TUESDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 1802
On the following morning, the time keepers and other instruments were
sent on shore under the charge of lieutenant Flinders, with two of the
young gentlemen to assist him, and a guard of marines for the protection
of the tents. It had appeared from the survey, that the time keepers were
losing more than the Port-Jackson rates supposed; and before quitting
this coast for the Gulph of Carpentaria, it was necessary to take fresh
observations. Mr. Flinders undertook as usual to perform this service,
whilst I should be absent up the Sound; and lieutenant Fowler was
directed to examine and air all the stores, and make the ship ready for
sea against my return.
Having made these dispositions, I embarked in the Lady Nelson with the
naturalist, taking my whale boat and surveying instruments. We had a
strong flood tide; and after grounding on a bank, anchored eleven miles
above the ship, in 3 fathoms, that being the greatest depth to be found.
It was then high water; and the brig being expected to be left dry by the
ebb, we prepared for it by mooring, to prevent all chance of settling on
the anchor, and hove up the fore and after keels; the new main keel being
swelled by the wet, could not be raised, and when it took the ground, the
vessel turned about violently and dragged both the anchors, until the
keel broke off, and then she lay easy.
At low water, the seamen went out upon the dry flat and found the best
bower cable parted, and the anchor so far buried in the quicksand, that
it could not be raised. At ten o'clock the flood tide came rolling in,
and presently set the brig afloat; the anchor was then weighed with ease,
by means of a hawser previously bent to it, and the vessel rode by the
small bower, against a tide which ran at the strongest between four and
five knots.
WEDNESDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 1802
The Lady Nelson again took the ground at six in the morning. On sounding
over to the east shore, distant half a mile, I found a small channel
leading upwards, with four or five feet more water in it than where the
brig lay; the western shore was two miles distant over a silty flat,
which was dry at low water and level as a race ground.
At eleven, the flood came in, six or eight inches perpendicular, with a
roaring noise; and so soon as it had passed the brig, I set off with Mr.
Brown and Mr. Lacy in the whale boat, to follow it up the small channel
on the eastern shore; and having a fair wind we outran the tide and were
sometimes obliged to wait its rising before we could proceed. At the end
of six miles the small channel led across to the western side; and the
rare opportunity of a landing place induced me to pitch our tent there
for the night: two miles higher up, the whole breadth of the Sound was
reduced to half a mile.
The country here was a stiff, clayey flat, covered with grass, and seemed
to have been overflowed at spring tides; though the high water of this
day did not reach it by five feet. Three or four miles to the southward
there were some hills, whence I hoped to see the course of the stream up
to its termination; and having time before dark, we set off. The grass of
the plain was interspersed with a species of sensitive plant, whose
leaves curled up in, and about our footsteps in such a manner, that the
way we had come was for some time distinguishable. From the nearest of
the small hills, I set the bearings of Double and Pine Mounts, our tent,
and the brig at anchor, by which this station was fixed as in the chart;
but in order to reconcile the bearings, I found it necessary to allow 12°
of east variation.
Towards Double Mount and Shoal-water Bay, the country consisted of
gently-rising hills and extensive plains, well covered with wood and
apparently fertile. The stream at the head of Broad Sound could not be
traced from hence more than three or four miles above the tent; but it
may possibly run up much further to the south-eastward, though too small
to be distinguished in the wood, or to be navigable for boats. To the
south and westward there was a ridge of high land, which appeared to be a
prolongation of the same whence the upper branches of Port Bowen and
Shoal-water Bay take their rise, and by which the low land and small arms
on the west side of Broad Sound are bounded. A similar ridge ran behind
Port Curtis and Keppel Bay, and it is not improbable that the two are
connected, and of the same substance; for at Port Curtis the basis stone
of the country was a granite, and this small hill was the same. It has
been more than once observed, that granite is amongst the substances
which exert an influence upon the magnetic needle; and it is to the
attraction of the ridge of mountains to the south and westward, that I
attribute the great variation found in the bearings at this station.
We returned to the tent at sunset; and there passed a disagreeable night
amongst musketoes, sand flies, and ants. At four in the morning [THURSDAY
16 SEPTEMBER 1802] the ebb had made, and we embarked in the boat; but the
depth of water was so little that we could not proceed, and were obliged
to re-land and wait for the following tide; not without apprehension of
being left till the next springs came on. At two in the afternoon the
flood came up rapidly, and in half an hour it was high water; we set off
immediately, and after some trouble from the shoals, reached the brig at
five o'clock. Mr. Murray got under way at three the next morning [FRIDAY
17 SEPTEMBER 1802] to beat down to Upper Head, the wind being from the
northward; but the Lady Nelson getting aground, I went off with Mr. Brown
in my boat, and reached the ship at seven o'clock, and in the evening,
the brig arrived.
Lieutenant Fowler had gone through the most essential duties, and the
ship was nearly ready for sea; but on landing at the tents I found that
the time keepers had been let down, and the business of finding new rates
for them was to be recommenced. This accident would require a week to be
repaired; and being unwilling to remain so long inactive, I determined to
leave Mr. Flinders at Upper Head, and take the ship over to the inner end
of Thirsty Sound, where it appeared there was something to correct in
captain Cook's chart.
SATURDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 1802
The Lady Nelson had lost two sheets of copper, and the trunks of the
sliding keels required some reparation; I therefore desired lieutenant
Murray to lay his vessel on shore and get these matters arranged, to cut
wood for himself, and be ready to sail in a week for Torres' Strait; and
his stock of water was completed out of the Investigator.
SUNDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 1802
On the 19th in the morning we unmoored the ship, and a little before low
tide stretched over towards Thirsty Sound; but the numerous shoals to be
encountered, and which cannot be concisely described otherwise than in a
chart, caused much delay; and it was near noon of the day following
[MONDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 1802] before we anchored at the south end of Long
Island, in 3 fathoms, and about one mile from the low mangrove shore. At
the south end of the island was a small hill, bearing S. 55° E. one mile
and a half from the ship, where I landed with a party of the gentlemen;
it forms the west point of the inner entrance to Thirsty Sound, as some
low red cliffs, one mile and a half distant, do the east point; but a
shoal, dry at low water, lies in the middle, and the channels on each
side are not calculated for a ship. The small hill was found to be on a
detached islet one mile long, the greater part of which is mud covered
with mangroves; the hill is partly excavated by an arched way running
through it, and the stone is of a mixed red and white colour, and of an
ochry consistence. From the highest top, I set:
Upper Head, bearing S. 28° 22' W.
Double Mount. S. 53 20 E.
Pine Mount, S. 61 5 E.
These bearings place the inner end of Thirsty Sound in latitude 22° 16';
and curtail the distance of thirty miles from Pier Head in captain Cook's
chart, to twelve miles and a half.
TUESDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 1802
On the 21st, the botanical gentlemen went over in the launch to the east
side of Thirsty Sound, the main land having been always found more
productive in the objects of their pursuit, than any island however
large. I went to examine along the west side of Long Island; but had not
proceeded two miles before an opening presented itself amongst the
mangroves. It led to the eastward, and then separated into two branches;
and in following that which trended north-east I came into Thirsty Sound,
and landed five miles above the inner entrance, at an islet in
mid-channel, which had been set from Pier Head and is laid down by
captain Cook.
No less than five different pieces of land were found to be cut off from
the south end of Long Island, by winding channels amongst the mangroves;
and I now saw the prospect of a passage through the middle, leading out
at the bight between the north point and Pier Head. A woody and rather
elevated islet obscures the inner end of the opening, and seems to have
prevented captain Cook's observing this separation when going up Thirsty
Sound in his boat. I found in it a good bottom, with 3 to 5 fathoms
water, and room for a ship to swing, or sail through as far as the outer
opening to sea; but another island lies in the outlet, the bottom is
rocky, and the regular depth at low water is not so much as 3 fathoms on
either side.
Having taken a second set of angles, and passed out by the new opening, I
steered northward along the east side of Long Island; but although the
land be high and rather steep, there was seldom so much as 3 fathoms at a
mile distance. I landed at the north end of the island, to ascertain
better the forms and positions of the North-point Isles; and then,
steering southward along the west side, entered a cove where the form of
the surrounding land gave a hope of finding fresh water for the ship; but
the borders were covered with mangroves, and we could not get
sufficiently far up to know whether any part of the stream running
through them were fresh. Another set of angles was taken from a hill on
the south side of the cove; and the sun being then set, our tent was
pitched for the night.
WEDNESDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 1802
Next morning I steered onward along the west side of Long Island, landing
occasionally to examine the gullies made by the rains; but at this time
they were all dry. As far to the south as Westside Islet, the shore is
tolerably high and the water deep; and near to the inner end of the
islet, where I landed to take angles, there was no bottom with 10
fathoms; but the shore from thence to the ship was low and covered with
mangroves, and even the rocky points cannot be approached within half a
mile, except by boats.
Not a single Indian was seen during this excursion round Long Island; nor
from the length of the grass and appearance of their fire places, do I
think they had been there for some months.
THURSDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 1802
Next day I made a further examination of the winding channels at the
south end of Long Island; and also went to an inlet on the east side of
Broad Sound, the entrance of which is so much obstructed by shoals, that
it was difficult to find a sufficient depth, even for the boat. I landed
with the naturalist at a low, cliffy head on the north side of the
entrance; but not without wading a quarter of a mile in the mud. We saw
from thence, that this inlet, though presenting the appearance of a
respectable river when the tide was in, had no perceptible breadth at
five miles within the land, that it was almost wholly dry at low water,
and that the shores were covered with mangroves to a great extent; even
the cliffy head where we stood, was surrounded with mangroves, and
appeared to be insulated at spring tides.
FRIDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 1802
In the morning of the 24th, we got under way to return to Upper Head; and
having the same difficulties to encounter amongst the shoals as before,
did not reach our former anchorage until next day [SATURDAY 25 SEPTEMBER
1802]. On landing at the tents, I found, to my no less surprise than
regret, that the time keepers had again been let down; and no more than
one day's rates had been since obtained. Twenty-five sets of distances of
the sun and moon had been taken to correspond with an equal number on the
opposite side; and it appeared that lieutenant Flinders being intent upon
these, had forgotten to wind up the time keepers on the 22nd at noon.
This fresh difficulty was very embarrassing. To go away for Torres'
Strait and the Gulph of Carpentaria without good rates, was to cripple
the accuracy of all our longitudes; and on the other hand, the expected
approach of the contrary monsoon on the North Coast admitted of no longer
delay in Broad Sound. On comparing the last day's rates with those of the
four days previously obtained, the letting down did not appear to have
produced any material alteration; and I therefore determined to combine
the whole together, and to sail immediately.
SUNDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 1802
The following day was occupied in completing the holds with wood, taking
on board our shore establishment, and preparing for sea; and next morning
[MONDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 1802] we steered down Broad Sound, with the Lady
Nelson in company, keeping near the western side to avoid the middle
shoals. On a sea breeze coming in at north, we tacked towards the
North-point Isles; and at sunset, the flood tide having then made,
anchored in 8 fathoms, upon a bottom of sand and rock, the
north-westernmost isle bearing N. 6° E., two leagues. In the morning we
passed round the North-point Isles, with a breeze from the south-east;
and thus quitted Broad Sound, steering off for the outermost and largest
of the Northumberland Islands.
There remains little to be said upon the navigation of Broad Sound, more
than what has been related of our courses in it, and what will be found
in the chart. The western channel, between the Flat Isles and the main,
is not to be recommended; but after steering up the middle of the Sound
and passing these isles, the western shore should be kept nearest a-bord.
A ship may then reach Upper Head without difficulty, and lie there in
perfect safety from all winds, at two-thirds of a mile off; but cannot go
higher up the sound without risk of grounding on the banks. From half
flood to half ebb, landing is easy at Upper Head, and it is perhaps the
sole place on the main possessing that advantage; every where else the
shore is very low, fronted with mud banks, and covered, in some places
miles deep, with interwoven mangroves, amongst which the tide flows at
high water.
The stone of Upper Head, and apparently of all the hills in its
neighbourhood, is granitic; whilst that of Long Island and West Hill
approach nearer to porphyry. At the inner entrance of Thirsty Sound the
points are mostly composed of an earth, which is not heavy, is sometimes
red, but more frequently white, or mixed; and of a consistence not harder
than ochre.
Long Island, though covered with grass and wood, is stony and incapable
of ordinary cultivation. On the main land, the low parts between the
mangroves and the hills seemed to be of a tolerably good soil; and
according to the report of some of the gentlemen, who made an excursion
at the back of Upper Head, the vallies there produce good grass and
appeared fertile. There seems, indeed, to be a considerable extent of
land about Broad Sound and on the peninsula between it and Shoal-water
Bay, which, if not calculated to give a rich return to the cultivator of
wheat, would support much cattle, and produce maize, sugar, and tobacco;
and cotton and coffee would grow upon the more rocky sides of the hills,
and probably even upon Long Island. Should it ever be in contemplation to
make an establishment in New South Wales within the tropic, in aid of
Port Jackson and the colonies to the southward, this neighbourhood would
probably be chosen; and the great rise of tide presents advantages which
might be some time turned to account in ship building. On the west side
of the sound, near the Flat Isles, the rise at spring tides is not less
than thirty, and perhaps reaches to thirty-five feet. At Upper Head it is
from twenty at the neaps, to thirty or more at the springs; but the
bottom rises so much towards the top of the sound, that the tide there
never seems to exceed twelve feet. The time of high water is nearly
_eleven hours after_ the moon's passage over and under the meridian;
though the flood runs up near an hour on the west side of the sound,
after it is high water by the shore.
The places best calculated for the construction of docks, appear to be at
the uppermost or 4th Flat Isles, where the shoals form a natural harbour,
and at the entrance of the opening near Upper Head, in which is a small
islet of sand and rock, not covered with mangroves nor surrounded with
mud flats. The pines of Port Bowen, Shoal-water Bay, and the
Northumberland Isles, would furnish the necessary spars and lighter
planking; and there is no reason to think that the _eucalyptus_, which
grows all over the country, should not be as fit for timbers, etc., as it
is found to be further southward. No iron ore was seen in the
neighbourhood; but were a colony established and the back ridge of
mountains well examined, this and other metallic productions might be
found. The attraction which the mountains seemed to have upon the needle,
is in favour of this probability; but the iron work might be prepared at
Port Jackson where the ore exists, and in whose vicinity there are plenty
of coals.
Fresh water was scarce at this time, none being any where discovered near
the sea side, except a small rill at the back of Upper Head, little more
than adequate to the supply of the tents; it can however be scarcely
doubted, that fresh water for domestic purposes would be found in most
parts of the country; and there is a season of the year, most probably
the height of summer, when rain falls abundantly, as was demonstrated by
the torrent-worn marks down the sides of the hills.
Not a single native was seen, either on the shores of Thirsty, or Broad
Sounds, during the whole time of our stay.
There are kangaroos in the woods, but not in numbers. The shoals all over
the sound are frequented by flocks of ducks and curlews; and we saw in
the upper part, some pelicans, an individual of a large kind of crane,
and another of a white bird, in form resembling a curlew. Many turtle
were seen in the water about Long Island, and from the bones scattered
around the deserted fire places, this animal seemed to form the principal
subsistence of the natives; but we had not the address to obtain any.
Hump-backed whales frequent the entrance of the sound, and would present
an object of interest to a colony. In fishing, we had little success with
hook and line; and the nature of the shores did not admit of hauling the
seine.
The climate here, being one degree within the tropic, was warm at this
season, which may be considered as the spring and the driest time of the
year. On board the ship, the height of the thermometer did not exceed
76°, with the warm winds from the northward, but at the tents it averaged
at noon somewhat above 90°; and the musketoes and sand flies were very
troublesome at all places near the mangroves. We did not see any snakes
or other venemous reptiles or insects.
The _latitude_ of Upper Head, from six meridian observations in the
artificial horizon, is 22° 23' 24" S.
_Longitude_ from fifty sets of distances of the sun and moon, given in
Table II of the second Appendix to this Volume, 149° 46' 53" E.
The errors of the time keepers from mean Greenwich time, at noon there
Sept. 26, and their mean rates of going during seven days, of which four
were before and three after they had been let down the second time, were
as under:
Earnshaw's No. 543 slow 2h 3' 37.23" and losing 9.62" per day.
Earnshaw's No. 520 slow 3h 29' 15.57" and losing 21.41" per day.
These errors and rates were found by lieutenant Flinders, from equal
altitudes taken with a sextant on a stand, and using an artificial
horizon of quicksilver.
The longitudes given by the time keepers on Sept. 12 a.m. at Upper Head,
with the Port-Jackson rates, were these:
No. 543, 149° 54' 27" east.
No. 520, 149° 53' 47.5" east.
The mean is 7' 14" to the east of the lunars; but on using rates equally
accelerated from those at Port Jackson to the above at Upper Head, and
commencing the acceleration on Aug. 15, at Keppel Bay, where the time
keepers were found to be keeping their former rates, the mean longitude
will be 149° 48' 56.6", or 2' 3.6" from the lunar observations; which is
therefore the presumable sum of their irregularities after August 15, or
in 27.7 days.
In fixing the positions of places along the East Coast, I have made use
of the time keepers from Port Jackson to Port Curtis, without any
correction. From Port Curtis to Broad Sound, the coast and islands are
laid down from theodolite bearings taken on shore, combined with the
observed latitudes; and consequently the accuracy in longitude of the
first portion depends upon that of Port Jackson and the time keepers, and
of the last, upon Upper Head and the survey. These two unconnected
longitudes meet at Port Curtis, and the difference between them is there
no more than 5".
From observations with the theodolite upon the top of Upper Head, the
_variation_ was 8° 37' east; but on moving the instrument ten yards to
the south-west, it was 45' less. At two other stations on the west side
of the sound, it was 8° 15', and 8° 0'; and on board the ship 7° 17' and
7° 46', corrected. On the east side of the sound it differed at six
stations on shore, from 8° to 6°; and on board the ship was 6° 44'
corrected. As general results, therefore, but subject to many small
deviations, the variation may be taken,
On the west side of Broad Sound at 8° 0' E.
On the east side 7 0
At the head of the sound it was,
at one station 12°, at another 10°;
the mean, 11 0
The differences between the two sides of the sound, both on shore and on
board, are nearly similar to what took place in Shoal-water Bay.
The rise of _tide_ and time of high water have been mentioned; but it may
be proper to say what I conceive to be the cause of the extraordinary
rise in Broad Sound. From Cape Howe, at the southern extremity of the
East Coast, to Port Curtis at the edge of the tropic, the time of high
water falls between seven and nine hours after the moon's passage, and
the rise does not exceed nine feet; but from thence to the northward,
commencing with Keppel Bay, the time becomes later, and the rise
augments, till, at Broad Sound, they reach eleven hours, and between
thirty and thirty-five feet. The principal flood tide upon the coast is
supposed to come from the south-east, and the ebb from the north, or
north-west; but from the particular formation of Keppel and Shoal-water
Bays, and of Broad Sound, whose entrances face the north, or north-west,
this ebb tide sets into them, and accumulates the water for some time,
becoming to them a flood. This will, in some degree, account for the
later time and greater rise of the tide; and is conformable to what
captain Cook says upon the same subject (Hawkesworth, III. 244); but I
think there is still a super-adding cause. At the distance of about
thirty leagues to the N. N. W. from Break-sea Spit, commences a vast mass
of reefs, which lie from twenty to thirty leagues from the coast, and
extend past Broad Sound. These reefs, being mostly dry at low water, will
impede the free access of the tide; and the greater proportion of it will
come in between Break-sea Spit and the reefs, and be late in reaching the
remoter parts; and if we suppose the reefs to terminate to the north, or
north-west of the Sound, or that a large opening in them there exist,
another flood tide will come from the northward, and meet the former; and
the accumulation of water from this meeting, will cause an extraordinary
rise in Broad Sound and the neighbouring bays, in the same manner as the
meeting of the tides in the English and Irish Channels causes a great
rise upon the north coast of France and the west coast of England.
That an opening exists in the reefs will hereafter appear; and captain
Cook's observations prove, that for more than a degree to the north-west
of Broad Sound, the flood came from the northward. I found, when at
anchor off Keppel Bay, and again off Island Head, that the flood there
came from the east or south-east; but when lying three miles out from
Pier Head, there was no set whatever; and I am disposed to think that it
is at the entrance of Broad Sound, where the two floods meet each other.