Several observations for the variation of the compass had been taken whilst beating in the neighbourhood of Point Pearce.  On its north side, eight miles from the shore, an amplitude with the ship’s head S. W. by S. gave 4 deg. 38’ east; at E. by N., when fourteen miles off, another gave 1 deg. 13’ east; but azimuths three or four miles nearer in, 0 deg. 10’ west; and at S. E., when six miles off, 0 deg. 35’ west.  On the south side of Point Pearce, the head being S. S. W., and the land distant thirteen miles, an amplitude gave 3 deg. 15’ east.  These different observations, which were all taken with the surveying compass, being corrected upon the principles and by the proportion explained in the Appendix No.  II. to the second volume, will be respectively, 2 deg. 51’, 4 deg. 21’ furthest from the land, 2 deg. 58’, 1 deg. 41’ nearest the land, and 2 deg. 1’ east.  The mean is 2 deg. 46’ east; which may be taken for the true variation at three or four leagues off Point Pearce in 1802; but close in with the shore, I suspect it was less by 1 deg., or perhaps 2 deg..

Having remained at anchor until the sun was high enough to admit of observations for the time keepers, we got under way at half past seven o’clock; and the coast round Corny Point being found to trend S. 27 deg.  W., nearly in the wind’s eye, I stretched westward across the gulph towards Thistle’s Island, in order to compare the time keepers with the longitudes of places before settled.  Our latitude at noon, observed on both sides, was 34 deg. 50’ 10”; Spilsby Island, the south-eastern most of Sir Joseph Banks’ Group, was seen bearing N. 56 deg.  W., and the eastern bluff of Wedge Island, the central and largest of Gambier’s Isles, bore S. 161/2 deg.  W. Gambier’s Isles, four in number besides two peaked rocks, had been first seen from the high land behind Memory Cove.  They lie nearly in the centre of the entrance to the gulph; and the latitude of Wedge Island is 35 deg.11’ south, and longitude 136 deg. 29’ east.  Soon after four in the afternoon, I had the following bearings: 

Wedge Island, highest part, S. 211/2 deg.  E.
Thistle’s Island, highest part, S. 29 W.
C. Catastrophe, former station on the S. E. point, S. 531/2 W.
Stamford Hill, former station at the top, N. 86 W.
Sibsey Island, centre, N. 33 W.
Stickney Island, N. 11 W.
Spilsby Island, N. 171/2 E.

The longitude deduced from these bearings was 30 deg. 22” east, from the head of Port Lincoln, and that resulting from observations for the time keepers taken in the same place, was 30 deg. 53”; showing a difference of no more than 0’ 31” to the east, since quitting the port.  This quantity in a sea observation is so small and uncertain, that I considered the time keepers to have gone correctly from March 4, when the last observations in Port Lincoln had been made, up to this time; and that the lunar observations taken in the interval might be reduced back to the head of the port by their means, and used to fix its longitude without any further correction.