A Voyage to Terra Australis. Matthew Flinders

Three of these produce some vegetation, and that of the largest had been partially burnt not long before. The two easternmost, called the Friars by captain Furneaux, are bare pyramidal rocks, and, except where they had been made white by the gannets, are of a black, weather-beaten colour: a patch of breakers lies one mile to the north-east from them.

      Fluted Cape opened round Tasman's Head at N. 18° E. We passed these steep projections at a mile distance; and not being able to fetch into Adventure Bay, did the same by Cape Frederick Henry.* At noon, this cape bore S. 13° W. eight miles, and Fluted Cape was behind it in the same bearing. I proposed to enter the Derwent River; but on making a stretch toward Betsey's Island,** it appeared that the Henshaw's Bay of Hayes, instead of being a shallow bight, was a deep opening; and as the north-west wind blew out of the Derwent, we stretched on, seven miles above the island, and came to an anchor in 10 fathoms, sandy ground. This opening is the North Bay of D'Entrecasteaux; but I was totally ignorant, at that time, of its having ever been entered.

      [* This name, given by Captain Furneaux, is altered in D'Entrecasteaux's voyage to that of >Cape Trobriand. The captain was undoubtedly mistaken in his idea concerning Frederik Hendrick's Bay; but this does not appear to be a sufficient reason for changing the established name of the cape, unless Tasman had applied it to some other land, which is not the case.]

      [** This is the Isle Willaumez, of D'Entrecasteaux; but it was known to me from the sketch of captain Hayes, and is still to the colonists, under the name of Betsey's Island.]

      Dec. 15, the wind being at north-west, we passed a sloping island (Isle St. Aignan of D'Extrecasteaux), and steered north-eastward, to explore the inlet. After running three-and-half miles, with soundings from 13 no bottom, to 5 fathoms, we anchored under a small island, which lies S. 75° W., one mile and a half, from Point Renard, the uppermost station of the French boats. This small spot received the descriptive name of Isle of Caves, and lies in the passage from North Bay to a large extent of water which appeared to the eastward, and which the French boats did not explore.

      From the Isle of Caves we ran six miles, E. S. E. up the new bay, for Smooth Island. The width of the entrance, from Point Renard to Green Head, is two miles, the soundings are from 6 to 16 fathoms, and there are no dangers. Smooth Island, behind which we anchored in 4 fathoms, and where I again landed to take bearings, is three quarters of a mile long, and covered with grass and a few small trees. It had been visited by the natives, as had the Isle of Caves; but from the eggs of gulls found upon both, I judge they do not go often.

      Dec. 16, we anchored two miles to the south-east of Smooth Island, in 6 fathoms, near a point of the main where a round hill afforded me a good view of this extensive bay. The country there is stony and barren, though covered with wood and much frequented by kangaroos. In the evening, the appearance of a southern gale induced me to shift our berth to the north side of the point; between which, and an islet lying half a mile from it, the depth was 5 to 7 fathoms.

      On the 17th, we landed upon the islet, and killed some out of the many gulls by which it is frequented. A small arm of the bay extending north-eastward, where we hoped to obtain fresh water, was the object of our examination in the afternoon. There was a little stream falling in at the head, but rocks prevented it from being accessible to boats, or to a raft; and a walk of perhaps a mile to the eastward, afforded nothing but the sight of a stony country, and of a few miserable huts. Our greyhound started a kangaroo, but it was lost in the wood; and there were no birds to shoot.

      Dec. 18, the wind still blowing fresh from the westward, we worked up to Smooth Island; and then stretched over to the south side of the bay. The soundings were generally 9 fathoms, on mud and sand, to within a mile of the shore; and at half a mile, where the anchor was dropped, the depth was 4 fathoms.

      We landed at a steep, but not high point near the sloop, where I took some bearings, and observed the meridian altitude of the moon in an artificial horizon, which gave the latitude 43° 1½'; Mr. Bass, in the mean time, walked a little distance inland, but saw nothing of particular interest. Some further bearings were taken next morning, from a head lying to the west; after which the anchor was weighed, and we steered northward along the west side of the bay, with soundings from 8 to 4 fathoms. In the evening, we had worked back into North Bay, and come to an anchor under the north-east end of Sloping Island.

      The great eastern bay now quitted had never been entered till this time; and as it is proved not to be Frederik Hendrik's, I have named it NORFOLK BAY. It is about eight miles long, north and south, and three to five miles broad from east to west. The largest fleet may find shelter here, with anchorage on a good bottom of 4 to 9 fathoms deep. We saw but one small stream of fresh water, and that was of difficult access; but it is scarcely probable that, amongst the many coves all around the bay, water convenient for ships should not be found. The country near the shore is rocky; but as the kangaroo seemed to be abundant, there are probably many grassy plains further inland. Wood abounds every where, except at Green Head, which is mostly covered with grass. Of the four islands in the bay, Smooth and Gull Islands were found superior in fertility to the main land: the first contains about forty acres of tolerable pasturage.

      In North Bay, the upper part seemed to be circumscribed by a sandy beach, and to offer nothing of particular interest; we therefore steered downward, on Dec. 20, for the Derwent River; but rainy squalls coming on from the south, ran for a small beach on the western shore, and anchored off it in 2½ fathoms. A narrow inlet there, from which the tide issued with some strength, excited the hope of finding a short cut into the Derwent; but it proved, on examination, to terminate in a shoal lagoon. The country on its borders affords good pasturage, with some spots fit for cultivation; there is, also, fresh water on the north side, but only for domestic purposes. The lagoon is frequented by ducks, black shags, pelicans, and gannets.

      Dec. 21, we proceeded round for the Derwent. On clearing North Bay, I went off in the boat to Betsey's Island, leaving Mr. Bass to conduct the sloop. This island is high, and accessible only towards its north end; its length is one mile, and mean breadth about half that quantity; the soil is fertile, and nourishes a luxuriant vegetation of grass and wood; and though the natives visit it occasionally, none of their traces were recent. On rejoining the sloop, I found she had passed between the island and two flat rocks near the main, with from 5 to 9 fathoms water; in which depths the gigantic sea-weed grows up to the surface. At eight clock we anchored in 9 fathoms, off Cape Direction, at the entrance of the river.

      Dec. 22, a base was measured and bearings taken for a survey of the entrance, which proved to be near three miles wide. On the 23rd, the wind being fair, we ran upwards between shores which were sometimes steep, but generally of a gradual ascent, and well clothed with grass and wood. At nine miles from the entrance lies Sullivan Cove, on the west side, where a settlement has since been established by colonel Collins;* and here the width of the river is suddenly contracted, from one mile and a half to less than three-quarters of a mile, but the depth is not diminished. Four miles higher up we found Risdon Cove, and anchored there in 4 fathoms, with the intention of filling our empty water casks at the Risdon River of Mr. Hayes; but finding it to be a little creek which even our boat could not enter, I determined to seek a more convenient watering place higher up the Derwent.

      [* The first settlement was made in Risdon Cove, in 1803, by captain John Bowen of the navy, who was sent from Port Jackson for that purpose, by his Excellency governor King; but on the arrival of colonel Collins in 1804, it was removed to Sullivan Cove.]

      Dec. 24, the wind being adverse to proceeding upward, an extensive set of angles was taken from the top of Mount Direction; and next day, I carried the survey up the river, whilst Mr. Bass ascended the great Mount Table, on the western side. At the northern foot of this mount lie King George's Plains, a name given by Mr. Hayes to about three hundred acres of pasture land; and in the front of the plains is his Prince of Wales' Bay, a small shallow cove. Such names as these led us, at first, into some errors with respect to the importance of the places sought; but after the above examples, we were no longer deceived by them.

      In the afternoon of the 25th, we got the sloop, with much difficulty, five or six miles further up the river, to an inlet which I called Herdsman's Cove, from the pastoral appearance of the surrounding country. Two streams fall