A Voyage to Terra Australis. Matthew Flinders

to be nearly that of a clover leaf; there were, also, several others of less importance, mostly lying near the barren land. The steep south end of this land was set over the north end of Trefoil at N. 65° E.; and being almost assured of its separation from Van Diemen's Land, I added it, under the name of Barren Island, to the rest of this cluster; and in honour of His Excellency, the governor of New South Wales, I gave to the whole the title of HUNTER'S ISLES.

      (Atlas Pl. VII.)

      The north-west cape of Van Diemen's Land, or island, as it might now be termed, is a steep, black head, which, from its appearance, I call CAPE GRIM. It lies nearly due south, four miles, from the centre of Trefoil, in latitude 40° 44'; the longitude will be 144° 43° east, according to the position of Albatross Island made in the Investigator. There are two rocks close to Cape Grim, of the same description with itself. On the north side of the cape, the shore is a low, sandy beach, and trends north-eastward, three or four miles; but whether there be a sufficient depth for ships to pass between it and Barren Island, has not, I believe, been yet ascertained. To the south of the cape, the black cliffs extend seven or eight miles, when the shore falls back, eastward, to a sandy bay, of which little could be perceived.

      Our situation at dusk, was three miles from the cliffs, with Cape Grim bearing N. 18° E. The furthest land, beyond the sandy bay, bore S. 4° E. four or five leagues, and proved to be near the westernmost point of Van Diemen's Land. The wind being strong at E. N. E. and the night dark and tempestuous, we kept as much under the land as possible; but found ourselves in the morning, Dec. l0, to be driven far to the south-westward. At eight o'clock, the wind having moderated, we made sail, S. E. ½ E; and at noon, were in the following situation.

      Latitude observed, 41° 13¾' S.

      Sandy west Pt. of V. D. Land, dist. 10 m. N. 10 W.

      Furthest extreme, a low point, S. 22 E.

      An inland mount, S. 53 E.

      The nearest part of the coast was between two and three miles distant, and consisted of sandy beaches, separated by points which had many straggling rocks lying off them. At the back of the shore, the land was low for two or three miles, and then rose gently to a ridge of barren, low hills. The inland mount, set at S. 53° E., appeared to be the north end of a second chain, much higher, and better wooded, than the front ridge: it lies eight miles back from the shore, and is named Mount Norfolk, after my little vessel.

      After obtaining the noon's observation and bearings, we steered southward along the shore; and at six o'clock, had passed five leagues of the same kind of coast as before described; but the wind then flew round to W. N. W., and made it necessary to haul further off. At 6° 30',

      Mount Norfolk bore N. 56° E.

      Low, rocky projection, distant four miles, N. 35 E.

      Distant mount, at the southern end of the back ridge,

      and the furthest land in sight, S. 42 E.

      Dec. 11. Before five o'clock, we came in with the land a few miles from where it had been quitted in the evening.

      Mount Norfolk then bore N. 27° E.

      Low, rocky projection, dist. three leagues, N. 12 W.

      Two conic rocks, at the southern extreme, S. 42 E.

      The wind was moderate at north-west, and we bore away along the shore, which was distant four miles, and much similar to that of the preceding day; but it had no scattered rocks lying in front. Behind some low cliffs, passed at seven o'clock, was perceived a small opening like a river, whose course seemed to run northward, between the front and back ridges of hills: a smoke, which arose from the inner side of the opening, was the first seen upon this west coast. I steered a short time for the entrance; but seeing rocks in it, and the wind coming more on shore, hauled off south, to increase our distance.

      Two miles from the opening are the conic, and several low rocks, which were passed at the distance of one mile and a half. At ten, we kept two points more away, having gained an offing of seven miles; and at noon had,

      Latitude observed, 42° 2¼' S.

      Furthest extreme of the coast, S. S. E.

      Mount at the southern end of the back ridge, N. 42 E.

      A peaked hill, four miles E. S. E. from it, N. 60 E.

      The two last appear to have been the smaller mountains seen by TASMAN to the north-east, on his discovering this land Nov. 24, 1642; and I have therefore named the first Mount Heemskerk, and the latter Mount Meehan, after his two ships. The back ridge of woody hills does not terminate here; but it retreats further inland, and as far as could be perceived through the haze, rises in height to the southward. The extreme of the coast, which bore S. S. E., forms the southern point of a sandy, and rather deep bight, where I thought it probable there might be some small opening; but as the wind blew strong directly into it, there was too much danger in bearing away for its examination.

      At three o'clock, we passed the southern point of the bight, at the distance of four miles; and the coast then again trended S. S. E., waving in rocky bights and projections. The land here rises by a gentle ascent for two or three miles from the shore; its appearance was smooth and uniform; but it was destitute of wood, and almost of other vegetation: the back mountains were obscured by the haze.

      The heavy south-west swell, which had met us at the entrance of the Indian Ocean, still continued to roll in, and set dead upon this coast; and the wind blew fresh at W. N. W. Under these circumstances, we looked out for some little beach where in case of necessity, the sloop might be run on shore with a prospect of safety to our lives; for should the wind come three or four points further forward, there was no probability of clearing the land on either tack. No such beach could, however, be discovered; and we therefore carried all possible sail to get past this dreary coast. A remarkable pyramid came in sight in the evening; at eight o'clock it was distant five miles to the east, and seen to be a rock on the north side of a point, which projects two or three miles from the coast line. This point, named Point Hibbs after the colonial master of the Norfolk, is higher than the neck by which it is joined to the back land; and from thence, it appears to have been taken for an island by Tasman; for I consider Point Ebbs and the pyramid to be the two islands laid down by him, in 42° 35': their latitude, by our run from noon, is 42° 39'.

      We hauled off, upon a wind, at eight o'clock; and at four next morning, Dec. 12, came in again with the same land. At five, when our course was resumed along shore, Point Hibbs was distant two or three miles, and the pyramid, which bore N. 31° E. over its extremity, then appeared like the crown of a hat. The coast to the southward is more irregular in its trending, is of somewhat greater elevation, and not so destitute of wood as on the north side of the point. At the distance of three leagues we passed a cliffy head, with high rocks lying a mile from it; and two leagues further, there were some patches of breakers two miles off the shore: the general trending was between S. by E. and S. S. E.

      At ten o'clock, a projection which merited the name of Rocky Point bore S. 74° E., five miles; and here the direction of the coast was changed to east, for near seven miles, when it formed a bight by again trending south-eastward. The shore round the bight is high, and at the back were several bare peaks which, from their whiteness, might have been thought to be covered with snow; but their greatest elevation of perhaps 1200 feet, combined with the height of the thermometer at 62°, did not admit the supposition. These peaks are probably what Tasman named De Witt's Isles, from his distance having been too far off to distinguish the connecting land, and I therefore called the highest of them, lying in 43° 9½' south, Mount De Witt.

      This morning, two sets of distances of the sun west of the moon were observed, and our situation at noon was as follows:

      Latitude, 43° 7' S.

      Longitude from the lunar observations, 145 16 E.

      Rocky Point, distant six or seven miles, N. 3 W.

      Mount De Witt, S. 77 E.

      Highest of two smaller hills, at the S. extreme, S. 59 E.

      It afterwards