Bickerton’s island, south point, bore N. 53 deg.  W. Connexion I., the west extreme., N. 11 W. Groote Eylandt, north-west extreme, N. 16 E. Groote Eylandt, central hill., N. 87 E. Groote Eylandt, a low projection, dist. 4 or 5 miles, S. 42 E.

In half an hour, the anchor was dropped in 11 fathoms, muddy bottom.

At the north-west end of Groote Eylandt is a bluff head, the termination that way of a range of woody hills from the interior, of which the highest is what was set under the name of Central Hill.  On the west side of the island these hills do not come close to the water side, but leave a space of increasing breadth to the southward, where the land is low, sandy, and sterile; and even the hills, though mostly covered with wood, had little of fertility in their appearance:  the shore is partly rock, and in part sandy beach.

THURSDAY 6 JANUARY 1803

We had the wind light and variable in the morning, and proceeded to the southward very slowly.  The shore trended S. S. E., for some time; and then turning westward to the south-west cape, it formed a bight in the low land three or four miles back, in which there seemed to be much shoal water.  There is a sandy hill upon the south-west cape, and a rock lies close to it; and at three or four miles off the soundings were exceedingly irregular, jumping from 7 to 5, and 4 to 11 fathoms, on a rocky bottom.  This irregularity, and the meeting of two tides, one from the north and another from the east, caused great ripplings in the water; and with the light winds, retarded our progress round the cape.  The extreme south-west point lies in latitude 14 deg. 15’ south, and from six sets of lunar distances with stars east and west, the longitude would be 136 deg. 17’ east; but according to the survey, 136 deg. 25’ is the better situation.  An amplitude at sunset gave the variation 1 deg. 9’, with the ship’s head S. E., or corrected to the meridian, 2 deg. 36’ east.  We anchored at dusk in 13 fathoms, muddy bottom, five or six miles to the south of the cape.

[NORTH COAST. GROOTE EYLANDT.]

SATURDAY 8 JANUARY 1803

On the 7th and 8th, the winds hung between S. E. and N. N. E.; and the direction of the south side of Groote Eylandt being nearly east, it took us those two days and part of a third, to make the examination, though the extent be little more than twelve leagues.  The land here is more sandy than on the west side, and the trees upon the hills are more thinly scattered and present a less agreeable foliage.  No islands are laid down near the south side in the Dutch chart; but I counted eight scattered along it, of which the easternmost and largest is more than two miles long; and besides these, there are several rocks.  The positions of these rocks and islets, with our courses and soundings amongst them, will be best seen in the chart.