The coast from Valentia Island to our anchorage is principally formed by sandy beaches, the continuity of which is broken by projecting rocky heads, one of which is Point Coombe.  Valentia Island is low and thickly wooded, and partakes of the monotonous appearance of the mainland, which is equally covered with low, small, and apparently-stunted trees.

April 12.

At day-dawn the Malays were observed making a move, and as each proa got under sail, it steered towards us.  The anchor was, therefore, immediately weighed, and we prepared to receive them as formidably as our means allowed.  Their number was now increased to twenty-one vessels, by their having hoisted out six large canoes; but as they approached there was no appearance of any hostile intention, since some of them steered across the bay, and only a few continued to direct their course towards us.  One of the canoes came near with the intention of visiting us, but not liking too intimate an acquaintance with them, we pointed to our carronade, and beckoned to them to go away, which they immediately did.  One of the proas soon afterwards passed by with Dutch colours displayed, to which its crew repeatedly pointed, at the same time hailing us in an unintelligible jargon, of which Macassar and Trepang were the only words that were distinguished.  They also pointed to the North-West, but whether this was intended to convey to us the direction of the place whence they came, or the course they were about to steer, was not very evident.  In a short time the fleet had passed by, and as we were under weigh we returned to the examination of Malay Bay, in which nothing worthy of note was found.  It affords good anchorage during the easterly monsoon on a muddy bottom in from four to five fathoms, but its shores are low and its beaches rocky, and so uninteresting, that we returned to our previous anchorage in Mountnorris Bay.

April 13.

The next day we landed on Copeland Island and from its summit obtained extensive bearings for the survey of the bay.  The island is surrounded by a coral bank; its north side is formed by a perpendicular argillaceous cliff of a bright yellow colour, and is a conspicuous object to vessels entering the bay.  Behind the cliff to the south the land gradually declines and runs off to a low point; the whole surface of the island is covered with trees, among which a beautiful hatchet-shape-leafed acacia in full bloom was very conspicuous.  The other trees were principally of the eucalyptus family; but they were all of small size.  On the west side of the island was a dry gully, and a convenient landing-place, near to which a bottle was deposited, containing a parchment record of our visit, and of the names bestowed upon the bays and islands hereabout.

Three natives were observed walking along the sandy beach, at the bottom of the bay; but they passed on without taking the least notice of our presence.