An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 613 pages of information about An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island.

An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 613 pages of information about An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island.

To the eastward of the south cape, between that and the next point of land, which is called Tasman’s-head, is a large bay, at the bottom of which there appears to be an island or two; from the south-west cape to the south cape there are several bays, and pretty deep bights, which may probably afford some good harbours; there are also several appearances of islands on this part of the coast, but most of them seem to lie pretty near the land, except the Mewstone, (a high ragged rock) which is about ten miles off, and Swilly and Eddystone, which lie about south by east from the south cape, about five leagues distant.  Swilly is a high rock, and the Eddistone has, at a distance, the appearance of a sail; these two rocks are at the opposite ends of a ledge of sunken rocks, on which the sea seemed to break very high:  this ledge lies east-north-east and west-south-west; the two rocks are in one with that bearing.

The latitudes and longitudes of the different points or capes, seem to have been very correctly determined by Captains Cook and Furneaux, when they were here; it would therefore be superfluous to mention them here from any other authority; they have settled them as under: 

South-west cape         lat 43 37 00 S. long 146 07 00 E. of Greenwich
South cape              lat 43 42 00    long 146 56 00
Tasman’s-head           lat 43 33 00    long 147 28 00
Swilly Island, or rock  lat 43 55 00    long 147 06 00
Adventure bay           lat 42 21 20    long 147 29 00

Such observations as we had an opportunity of making near this coast, agree very well with the above.

We had just got to the eastward of the south cape as it became dark, and were about four miles from it when it fell calm, and soon after a very light air sprung up from east-north-east, which, with a large westerly swell, scarcely gave the ships steerage way:  this situation gave me some anxiety, as I was uncertain whether the sternmost ships had seen Swilly, and they were at this time a little scattered; the breeze, however, favoured us, by freshening up at north-east, which enabled the whole of us to weather those rocks, without the apprehension of passing too near them in the dark:  in the morning at day-light they bore west-south-west three leagues.

Here we saw many animals playing along-side, which were at first taken for seals; but, after having seen a considerable number of them, I did not think they were the seal, at least they appeared to me a very different animal from the seals to be met with on the coast of America and Newfoundland; for they have a short round head, but these creatures heads were long, and tapered to the nose; they had very long whiskers, and frequently raised themselves half the length of the body out of the water, to look round them, and often leaped entirely out; which I do not ever recollect to have seen the seal do:  from these circumstances, I judged them to be something of the sea-otter.

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An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.