catching them, but of what kinds I do not know.  The greatest depth of water that we found in this river was six-and-twenty fathom, which gradually decreased to one fathom and a half:  In the mouth of the fresh-water stream it is from four to three fathom, but there are large flats and sand-banks lying before it.  A ship of moderate draught may, notwithstanding, go a long way up this river with a flowing tide, for it rises perpendicularly, near ten feet, and at the full and change of the moon, it is high water about nine o’clock.

Six leagues within Cape Colville, under the eastern shore, are several small islands, which, together with the main, seem to form good harbours; and opposite to these islands, under the western shore, lie other islands, by which it is also probable that good harbours may be formed:  But if there are no harbours about this river, there is good anchoring in every part of it where the depth of water is sufficient, for it is defended from the sea by a chain of islands of different extent, which lie cross the mouth of it, and which I have, for that reason, called Barrier Islands:  They stretch N.W. and S.E. ten leagues.  The south end of the chain lies N.E. between two and three leagues from Cape Colville; and the north end lies N.E. four leagues and a half from Point Rodney.  Point Rodney lies W.N.W. nine leagues from Cape Colville, in latitude 36 deg.15’ S. longitude 184 deg. 53’ W.

The natives residing about this river do not appear to be numerous, considering the great extent of the country.  But they are a strong, well-made, and active people, and all of them paint their bodies with red ochre and oil from head to foot, which we had not seen before.  Their canoes were large and well-built, and adorned with carving, in as good a taste as any we had seen upon the coast.

We continued to stand along the shore till night, with the main land on one side, and islands on the other, and then anchored in a bay, with fourteen fathom, and a sandy bottom.  We had no sooner come to an anchor, than we tried our lines, and in a short time caught near one hundred fish, which the people called sea-bream; they weighed from six to eight pounds a piece, and consequently would supply the whole ship’s company with food for two days.  From the success of our lines here, we called the place Bream Bay:  The two points that form it lie north and south, five leagues from each other; it is every where of a good breadth, and between three and four leagues deep:  At the bottom of it there appears to be a river of fresh water.  The north head of the bay, called Bream Head, is high land, and remarkable for several pointed rocks, which stand in a range upon the top of it:  It may also be known by some small islands which lie before it, called the Hen and Chickens, one of which is high, and terminates in two peaks.  It lies in latitude 35 deg.46’ S., and at the distance of seventeen leagues and a half from Cape Colville, in the direction of N. 41 W.