July 1788 to August 1788
Concise account of Lieutenant Shortland--His various services--Appointed
agent to the transports sent to New South Wales--Ordered by Governor
Phillip to England, by Batavia--Journal of his voyage--New discoveries.
We have been induced to subjoin in this place a concise account of
Lieutenant Shortland, as well because his experience as an officer has
been great, as from the consideration that his journal has been deemed,
by those who best know its value, of very serious importance.
Lieutenant John Shortland very early in life had a strong predilection
for the Navy, and in 1755, at the age of sixteen, he entered into his
Majesty's service, on board the Anson, a sixty gun ship, which went out
in the fleet under the command of Admiral Boscawen. On the Banks of
Newfoundland this fleet fell in with, and took the Alcide and Ly's, two
French ships, of seventy-four guns. On his return from this expedition,
he went on board the Culloden, a seventy-four gun ship, and was in the
fleet under Admiral Byng, off Minorca. Shortly afterwards, he went into
the Hampton Court, commanded by Capt. Harvey, in which ship he was
present at the taking of the Foudroyant and Arpè. On his arrival in
England, he went on board the Vanguard, Commodore Swanton, to the West
Indies, in the fleet under Admiral Rodney, and was present at the
reduction of Martinique, the Grenades, and the other islands which were
then captured. In 1763, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant by
Admiral Swanton; since which period he has always been employed in active
and important services. During the late war, and for some time
afterwards, he was chiefly employed in going to and from America, except
in the year 1782, when he was appointed to command the transports with
the 97th regiment on board, destined for the relief of Gibraltar, under
convoy of his Majesty's ships Cerberus and Apollo: he was not only
successful in getting all the transports in safe, but he also landed the
men without any loss.
On Lieutenant Shortland's return home from this service, in endeavouring
to get through the Gut of Gibraltar in the night, he was chased by a
squadron of Spanish frigates, who took three of the transports in
company, but he was so fortunate as to escape in the Betsey transport,
and arrived safe in England, without either loss or damage. In the year
1786, he was appointed Agent to the transports sent by Government to New
South Wales, at which place he arrived in January, 1788. After remaining
six months at the new settlement at Port Jackson, he was ordered to
England by way of Batavia, by his Excellency Governor Phillip, who
honoured him with the official dispatches for Government, and he arrived
in England on the 29th of May, 1789.
This summary recapitulation of Mr. Shortland's services sufficiently
points out his merit and ability as an experienced seaman, without any
further elogium; which, it were were wanted, might be abundantly supplied
from the subsequent account of his passage from Port Jackson to Batavia.
* * * * *
The Alexander, the Friendship, the Prince of Wales, and the Borrowdale,
were got ready in the beginning of July, 1788, to sail for England, under
the care and conduct of Lieutenant Shortland; at which time Governor
Phillip took the opinions of the masters of those transports concerning
their route. The season was thought to be too far advanced for them to
attempt the southern course, by Van Diemen's Land; and the passage by
Cape Horn was objected to by the Governor. It was therefore agreed
unanimously that they should go to the northward, either through
Endeavour Straits, or round New Guinea. Unfortunately the ships were ill
prepared to encounter the difficulties, which were to be expected in
every mode of return; their complement of men was small, only six to an
hundred tons, officers included; they were without a surgeon, and
unprovided with those articles which have been found essential to the
preservation of health in long voyages, such as bore-cole, sour-crout,
portable soup, and the other antiseptics recommended by the Royal
Society. It cannot therefore be wondered, though it must be deeply
regretted, that the sailors should have suffered so dreadfully from the
scurvy, in the length of time necessary for exploring a passage through
an unknown sea perplexed with islands, where they were destitute of
assistance from charts, or observations of former navigators; and were
not fortunate enough to obtain a supply of salutary refreshments.
14 July 1788
Lieutenant Shortland, in the Alexander transport, sailed out of the
harbour of Port Jackson, on Monday, July 14, 1788, directing his course
to the east-north-east, with intention to touch at Lord Howe Island, and
there to appoint each ship a place of rendezvous in case of separation.
This necessary step, which ought to have been previously taken, had been
prevented by the hurry of preparation; the Alexander not having been able
to join the other transports till the evening before their departure.
Even then, the boats, booms, and spare anchors, were stowed loose between
decks, in a manner which must have produced the most dangerous
consequences, had the ship been exposed in that condition to the heavy
sea which it was likely she would meet with off the shore. To the very
last moment, therefore, the men and officers were most busily employed in
providing against this danger; and as soon as the weather appeared
tolerably favourable for working out of the harbour, Lieutenant Shortland
made the signal to the masters of the other transports to get under way,
without waiting for his ship. When the transports had cleared the harbour
they were obliged to carry a press of sail in order to get off the coast,
the vessels being very light, and a powerful swell then setting in upon
the shore. The wind was at the same time strong from the south-east, and
continued so for two days, with the same heavy swell, which made it very
difficult to keep the ships off shore.
16 July 1788
At eight, A. M. on the 16th of July, the rocks off the entrance of
Port Stephens bore north-west by west distant three leagues. Lieutenant
Shortland very much regretted that this place had not been surveyed;
had it been known to afford safe anchorage, it would have been much
more prudent to put in there and wait for a change of wind, than to
attempt keeping the sea in circumstances so very unfavourable, with
ships so little calculated to run along a great extent of lee shore.
This day the Prince of Wales being two or three miles to the leeward,
the signal was made for her to tack into the fleet. At nine in
the evening the wind coming to the east-south-east, Lieutenant
Shortland fired a gun, and made the signal to veer ship and sail on the
other tack. At this time the Prince of Wales was about five miles on the
lee bow of the Alexander, and the Borrowdale and Friendship close in
company; but by twelve at midnight the Friendship only was in sight. At
two, the wind shifting again to the south-south-east, the signal was once
more made to veer ship, and change the tack, as lying off east would
clear the coast; a strong current setting to the southward.
19 July 1788
Lieutenant Shortland, having now lost sight of the Prince of Wales and
Borrowdale, was fully determined to go to Lord Howe Island to wait a day
or two for them, expecting that they might probably touch there with
similar intentions. On the 19th, therefore, he steered a direct course
for that island, with a strong gale at south-west, but as this wind,
which was exactly favourable to the intended course of the voyage, and
made the anchoring place off Lord Howe Island a lee shore, continued
unvaried, and blew very hard on the 20th, it appeared best to relinquish
the design of calling there. At two in the afternoon, therefore,
Lieutenant Shortland again altered his course and sailed north-east by
north. The Prince of Wales and Borrowdale transports, were seen no more
throughout the voyage, and it has since been known that they took another
course; but the Friendship continued close in company with the Alexander.
About noon this day, the men at the mast head discovered a very extensive
shoal on the larboard beam, bearing from north by west to north by south,
distant between two and three leagues. It trended north by east and south
by west, and was judged to be in length about three leagues and a half.
The breadth could not be ascertained, for, while the ship ran along it,
the sand bank was seen to extend as far as the eye could discern. It lies
in latitude 29°. 20'. south, and in longitude 158°. 48'. east, and was
named by Lieutenant Shortland, Middleton Shoals.
21 July 1788
At ten in the morning, on Monday July 21, the master of the Friendship
went on board the Alexander, and Carteret's harbour in New Ireland, was
appointed by Lieutenant Shortland as the place of rendezvous. The same
day, at half past five in the afternoon, land was discovered, bearing
from south-west by west, to west half south, at the distance of about
eight leagues. It trended to the north-north-west, and was about six or
seven leagues in length, the land very high, with a remarkable peak,
which bore south-south-west. This island was now named Sir Charles
Middleton's Island: It lies in latitude 28°. 10. south, and in longitude
159°. 50. east. Lieutenant Shortland thinks it probable that the reef
seen on the preceding day may be connected with this island, as it
trended in a right direction for it; but it must, in that case, be of
very great extent. The island was still in sight on the morning of the
22d.
24 July 1788
On Thursday July 24th, they had an accurate observation of the sun and
moon to determine the longitude, and found the effect of a current to
have been so great as to set the ship two degrees of longitude to the
eastward of the dead reckoning. The longitude of Sir Charles Middleton's
Island must therefore be corrected by that observation, and placed
considerably further to the east. The latitude may be depended upon, as
the bearing was observed when the sun was on the meridian.
27 July 1788
Many land birds being seen on the 27th and 28th, when the ship was by
reckoning and observation near the north-west end of New Caledonia,
Lieutenant Shortland very reasonably concluded that he must have passed
very close to that land, though it did not happen to be discerned:
probably it is low at that extremity.
31 July 1788
At noon, on Thursday the 31st, land was discovered, bearing from north
half west to east-north-east, and distant about five or six leagues. As
the ship was now in latitude 10°. 52'. south, Lieutenant Shortland at
first conjectured it might be Egmont Island, which was seen by Capt.
Carteret, notwithstanding a considerable difference in longitude, which
might be accounted for from the effect of currents, as they had been for
some time very strong. The longitude laid down by Captain Carteret was
164°. 49'. east; that of the Alexander at this time about 161°. 11'. It
proved however that the difference was real, and that this was another
island. Lieutenant Shortland now kept a north-west course, in which
direction the land trended. He ran along the coast about six or seven
leagues, and found it formed into an island by two points, the south-east
of which he called Cape Sydney, the north-west, Cape Phillip. Having
passed this point, he continued steering in a north-west direction till
about seven o'clock the same afternoon, when the men who were reefing the
top-sails for the night, discovered land bearing exactly in the ship's
course. On receiving this intelligence he immediately brought to, with
the ship's head off from the land, and gave a signal for the Friendship
to do the same. They lay to all night, and the next morning were
surprised with the sight of a most mountainous coast, bearing from
north-east by east to west-north-west, about five or six leagues distant.
This proved sufficiently that the land seen the preceding day could not
be Egmont Island, and Lieutenant Shortland was inclined to think that
this was united to it. At six in the morning he bore away west by north,
and west by north half north, as the land trended, running along the
shore at five or six leagues distance. The most eastern point of this
land he called Cape Henslow, the most western which was then in sight,
Cape Hunter. Between these two points the land is very singularly
mountainous, the summits of the mountains rising among the clouds to a
prodigious height. It may be known by one summit more elevated than the
rest, which, from being discovered on the first of August, was named
Mount Lammas, and is thought in height to equal, if not to exceed the
Peak of Teneriffe. This day the latitude was by observation 9°. 58'.
south, and the longitude 160°. 21'. east. More land still continued to
open to the west-north-west, and the same course was therefore kept at an
equal distance from the shore till three in the afternoon, when the water
appearing suddenly of a different colour, they brought to, and sounded,
but found no ground at 120 fathoms. At four, a part of the land which had
the appearance of a harbour, bore north-north-east distant seven leagues.
The land still continued mountainous, and at six o'clock bore from
north-east to north-west by west. The furthest land then in sight
appeared to be at the distance of about thirteen or fourteen leagues, and
was named Cape Marsh. At half past six the ships were brought to, and lay
to for the night, the weather being very squally, with violent thunder,
lightning, and rain.
2 August 1788
Soon after five in the morning of August the 2d, the ships made sail
again, and bore away west by north, but the weather being hazy, no land
was then in sight; many flying fish were seen at this time. At eleven,
there being a prospect of clearer weather, Lieutenant Shortland
endeavoured to make the land again. At noon the latitude was, by
observation, 9°. 40'. south, and the longitude 158°. 42'. east.
Lieutenant Shortland continued to steer north-west to discover whether he
had reached the utmost extent of the land, and at eight in the evening
spoke to the Friendship, and told the master that he intended to bring to
at nine.
3 August 1788
At three in the morning, on Sunday August 3, land was discovered
bearing from north-north-east to north-west, on which the ships stood off
again with a light air of wind. At six, the land in sight appeared like
several islands, and an endeavour was made to pass between them to the
north, but on approaching sufficiently near, it was discovered that all
these points were joined together by a low neck of land covered with
trees. As the land rose in nine roundish points, which seamen call
hummocks, this place was named Nine Hummock Bay. At noon on this day, the
ship then standing to the south-west, in latitude 8°. 55'. south, and
longitude 158°. 14'. east, the extreme points of land bore from east by
north to west, when Lieutenant Shortland named the western point Cape
Nepean, and the eastern Cape Pitt. The intermediate land may, he says,
easily be known by the nine hummocks, and the exact resemblance they bear
to islands when seen from the distance of five or six leagues. They had
now light airs and calm weather, but at two in the afternoon a breeze
sprung up from the eastward, and at four Cape Nepean bore north-west,
half west, distant five or six leagues. At six the Alexander shortened
sail, and stood off and on for the night under double reefed top-sails,
Lieutenant Shortland imagining that he had reached the utmost extent of
this land. At five, on Monday morning, the 4th of August, he made sail
again, and at six a bluff point of the island bore north-north-west,
distant five or six leagues: this he called Point Pleasant. At noon the
latitude was by observation 8°. 54'. south, the longitude 154°. 44'.
east. Point Pleasant then bore east by north; at four, the most western
point of land in sight, which was then supposed to be the extreme point
of the island, but proved not to be so, bore north-west by north, distant
four or five leagues. From this mistake it was named Cape Deception.
Under the persuasion that he had reached the extremity of the land, but
desirous to ascertain that point, Lieutenant Shortland kept the ships
standing under an easy sail all night. Some islands lying close to Cape
Deception, and seeming to form a good harbour, were called Hammond's
Isles. At day light on the 5th of August, land was again discovered,
bearing from east north-east to west by north half north, and forming a
very deep bay. This land appeared in six hummocks, like islands, but was
joined by a low neck of sand. Not knowing how far it might trend to the
north-west, Lieutenant Shortland stood out to the south. At eleven
o'clock, the longitude was observed to be 157° 30' east; and at noon the
latitude was also determined by observation to be 8° 44' south. At the
same time, Cape Deception bore north-east four or five leagues distant;
and two remarkable hills, from their similiarity called the Two Brothers,
forming the most western point then in view, bore north-west half north,
distant ten leagues. At three in the afternoon, they bore away for the
two Brothers, which at six bore north-west by north, distant seven
leagues. At eight, the ships lay to for the night.
6 August 1788
At five o'clock in the morning of Wednesday, August 6th, they made sail
again to the north-west; and at eight discerned a rock which had exactly
the appearance of a ship under sail, with her top-gallant sails flying.
So strongly were all the Alexander's people prepossessed with this
imagination, that the private signal was made, under the supposition that
it might be either the Boussole or Astrolabe, or one of the two
transports which had parted from them on the coast of New South Wales.
Nor was the mistake detected till they approached it within three or four
miles. This rock bore from the Two Brothers south south-west, distant one
league.
Between ten and eleven, some canoes were seen with Indians in them, who
came close up to the ship without any visible apprehension. Ropes were
thrown to them over the stern, of which they took hold, and suffered the
ship to tow them along; in this situation they willingly exchanged a kind
of rings which they wore on their arms, small rings of bone, and beads of
their own manufacture, for nails, beads, and other trifles, giving
however a manifest preference to whatever was made of iron. Gimlets were
most acceptable, but they were also pleased with nails, and pieces of
iron hoops. They dealt very fairly, not betraying the least desire to
steal or to defraud. But though they so readily suffered themselves to be
towed after the ship, they could not by any means be prevailed upon to go
along side, and whenever an attempt was made to haul up a canoe by one of
the ropes, the men in it immediately disengaged themselves from that
rope, and took hold of another. At the same time they appeared extremely
desirous that our people should anchor on the coast, and go ashore with
them; and, by way of enticement, held up the rind of an orange or lemon,
the feathers of tame fowls, and other things, signifying that they might
be procured on shore. They presented also to Lieutenant Shortland, a
fruit, which he conceived to be the bread-fruit; it was about the size of
a small cocoa-nut, brown on the outside and white within, and contained a
kind of soft pithy substance which stuck between the teeth, and was
rather troublesome to chew, besides three or four kernels not unlike
chesnuts, but very white. The leaves of the plantain served the Indians
to make boxes or small cases, of which every man had one to contain his
small rings and beads. At noon a point of land which runs from the Two
Brothers, and was now named Cape Satisfaction, bore north north-east; and
the rock which had been mistaken for a ship was called the Eddystone, and
bore north by west, distant four leagues. The Eddystone bears from Cape
Satisfaction south south-west, distant two leagues. As the land from Cape
Satisfaction began to trend northward, Lieutenant Shortland again
entertained hopes of finding a passage.
It was understood from the natives that they called the island from which
they came, Simboo; for whenever an attempt was made to put that question
to them, they pointed to the land near Cape Satisfaction, and uttered
that word. Of these men, Lieutenant Shortland remarks, that they were
remarkably stout and well built, from which appearance he very
judiciously drew a favourable conclusion with respect to the goodness and
plenty of their food. Their superiority over the New Hollanders in size
and strength, he says, was very striking. Their canoes, which contained
from six to fourteen men, seemed to be well put together, the bows and
stems very lofty, carved with various figures, and stained with a kind of
red paint; in a word, they were to all appearance formed exactly upon the
same model and construction as those of Otaheite. The ornaments worn by
the inhabitants of Simboo were large rings of a white bone, one or more
of which every man had upon his wrist, and a shell with a feather, which
was tied upon the head. Lieutenant Shortland was desirous to purchase one
of their lances, but could not obtain it. About two in the afternoon his
visitors, finding perhaps that they had followed the ship as far as they
could venture to trust themselves, left him, and made immediately for the
shore. From what was seen in the possession of these people, there can be
no doubt that their land produces cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, bananas, and
most other vegetables of the Society and Friendly Isles. Nor was it
without the greatest regret that Lieutenant Shortland declined the
invitations of the natives, and proceeded without touching for
refreshments, which doubtless might have been obtained in plenty; but the
length and uncertainty of his passage seemed to forbid the least delay;
nor was it at this time foreseen how much superior to every other
consideration the acquirement of a wholesome change of diet would be
found. The bay from which these men had come he named Indian Bay. At
three P. M. the longitude was, by lunar observation, 156° 55' east; and
at six the furthest land in sight bore north, Cape Satisfaction east by
south half east, and the body of the land north-east, distant five or six
leagues. The furthest point of land north was named Cape Middleton.
7 August 1788
After lying to in the night, the ships made sail again at four in the
morning of August 7th, and bore away to the north by west. At five, they
saw the land which they had left the preceding night, and six or more
small islands bearing from north-east to west. These were called the
Treasury Isles; they are moderately high and seemed to be well clothed
with trees and herbage. At noon, the latitude was by observation 7° 24'
south, the longitude 156° 30' east; and the north-west extremity of the
land then in sight, which was named Cape Allen, bore east by south,
distant six leagues: Cape Middleton, south-east, distant eight leagues.
Off Cape Allen lies a small island, to which the name of Wallis Island
was given. At six in the afternoon the extremes of the islands in sight
bore from north-east by east to west by north; and the entrance between
two islands, which formed a passage or strait, bore north by east,
distant five or six leagues.
The Alexander and the Friendship had now run from the latitude of 10° 44'
south, and longitude 161° 30' east, to the latitude of 7° 10' south, and
longitude 156° 50' east, the whole way nearly in sight of land. As,
therefore, proceeding westward, to the south of the next land, might have
entangled them with New Guinea, Lieutenant Shortland determined to try
the passage which was now before him; and being very well convinced,
before it was dark, that the way was clear, kept under a commanding sail
all night. At ten o'clock in the evening, the Alexander was nearly
a-breast of the two points that form the passage, and the soundings were
very irregular, from ten to thirty fathoms, on a soft, sandy bottom: the
anchors were therefore cleared, that they might immediately be dropped if
it should prove necessary.
8 August 1788
At two in the morning of August the 8th, a strong ripple of a current
was very plainly to be perceived; and by five the ship had nearly
cleared the straits. She had then the following bearings: Cape
Alexander, south-east; some islands and rocks that lie off the most
western island of those which form the straits, west by south; and
the remotest point in sight to the north-westward, north-west by
north, distant fourteen or fifteen leagues. This point is remarkably high
and forms the centre of a large body of land, between the first and last
point of the straits on the western side, which were called Cape
Friendship, and Cape Le Cras.
These straits Lieutenant Shortland judged to be between four and five
leagues in length, and about seven or eight miles broad, running in a
north-west direction; and, conceiving himself to be the first navigator
who had sailed through them, he ventured to give them the name of
Shortland's Straits. On comparing his account with the narrative of M.
Bougainville, which he had not then by him, there seems to be reason to
suspect that this is the same passage through which that navigator sailed
at the latter end of June, 1768; and that the island supposed to be
called Simboo, is the same which was then named Choiseul Island. To
corroborate this suspicion, M. Bougainville's description of the canoes
and persons of the natives agrees entirely, as far as it goes, with that
given by Mr. Shortland*. A small difference in longitude affords the
chief reason for doubting the identity of the passage, which, should it
be proved, will not detract at all from the merit of the latter
navigator, who proceeded entirely by his own attention and sagacity, in a
sea unknown to himself and those who were with him, which, if not wholly
unexplored, had not, however, been surveyed before with equal minuteness
of observation.
[* Some of the vessels indeed were larger. "Il y avoit vingt-deux hommes
dans la plus grande, dans les moyennes, huit ont dix, deux ou trois dans
les plus petites. Ces pirogues paroissoient bien faites; elles ont
I'avant et I'amere fort relévés, etc. Ils portent des bracelets, et des
plaques au front et sur le col. J'ignore de quelle matiere, elle m'a paru
etre blanche." Boug. Chap. v. p. 264.]
Lieutenant Shortland now congratulated himself on having cleared this
large tract of land, which he had the greatest reason to suppose united
the whole way from the place at which he first fell in with it; as in
sailing at a very moderate distance from the coast, he had made every
effort in his power to find a passage to the northward. A place called by
one of the French navigators, Port Surville, is probably a part of it, as
well as Choiseul Bay, but the points seen and described by the French
discoverers are very few; and for the knowledge of the form and bearings
of the rest of the coast, throughout the whole extent of near three
degrees of latitude, and full five of longitude, we are indebted entirely
to the researches of our own countryman, as we are for the beautiful
delineation of the whole coast, to the care and ingenuity of his son, Mr.
John George Shortland. The only places in which Lieutenant Shortland
suspected there might possibly be a passage which had escaped his
observation, was between Cape Phillip and Cape Henslow, and again between
the capes Marsh and Pitt. The ascertaining of these matters he leaves to
other navigators, at the same time recommending the route he took as the
safest and most expeditious passage within his knowledge from Port
Jackson to China; Middleton Shoal, on the coast of New South Wales, being
the only place of danger he had hitherto discovered. Should any objection
be made to passing through a strait, where a more open sea can be
obtained, he would recommend the much wider channel between Egmont Island
and Simboo, and not by any means the whole circuit to the east of the New
Hebrides. To the whole of this land, consisting of the two principal
islands on each side of the straits, and the Treasury Isles between them,
Lieutenant Shortland gave the name of New Georgia. There is, indeed, an
island of Georgia, to the east of Staten Land, so named by Captain Cook
in 1775: but between these, it seems to be a sufficient distinction to
call the one the Isle of Georgia, and the other New Georgia. The land on
the western side of Shortland's Straits, continued to be very high, and
extended as far as the eye could reach; from these circumstances, and
from the direction in which it trended, no doubt was entertained of its
joining that which was called by Captain Carteret, Lord Anson's Isle.
With respect to the charts here given of these discoveries, Lieutenant
Shortland, though he cannot, from the distance at which they were taken,
presume to vouch for the laying down of every single point, as if the
coast had undergone a regular survey, undertakes to promise, that they
are sufficiently accurate for the direction of any future navigators; as
he had, in the course of his progress along it, many opportunities of
taking lunar observations.
9 August 1788
At six in the afternoon of Saturday, August 9th, the extreme point in
sight of the high land to the westward of the passage, bore south-west by
south, distant twelve or fourteen leagues: and two islands which the ship
had just made, bore north-west by north, distant five or six leagues.
They are supposed to lie in latitude 4° 50' south, and longitude 156° 11'
east. At day light on Sunday August 10th, Lieutenant Shortland set his
steering sails, and bore away to the north-west, in order to make more
distinctly the islands seen the preceding evening.
10 August 1788
At six in the morning, four were in sight, and bore south-west,
distant six leagues. It was at first thought that they would prove to
be the nine islands seen by Captain Carteret; but as neither the
number nor the longitude was found to correspond, Lieutenant Shortland
afterwards concluded they were not the same; and determined, as the
weather appeared squally and unsettled, not to attempt pursuing the
tract of that officer through St. George's Channel, but to go round
New Ireland.