Lieutenant Bowen had stood into a bay on this coast, which has been mentioned as promising a good harbour, and of which he gave the following particulars.—­“The latitude where he made his observation was 35 deg. 12’ south, the entrance from a mile to a mile and a half wide; the southernmost point of which is an island, almost connected with the main land; the north point is pretty high, and rises perpendicularly out of the sea.  It is the southern extremity of a peninsula, that at first was taken for a long low island:  the entrance runs in west-north-west for about a mile, and then turns suddenly round to the northward, forming a very capacious bason, three or four miles wide, and five or six miles in length.  The soundings, as far as they could be examined, were very regular, with a bottom of slimy sand; the depth, for a considerable extent round the middle of the bay, is from thirteen to fourteen fathoms.  The west side, and the head of the bay, is a white sandy beach; the eastern shore is bold and rocky.  There is a small ledge or shoal in the middle of the entrance, bearing about south from the second point on the north shore, on which there was conjectured to be twenty feet water*.”

[* It does not appear that there is any shoal in the entrance, as it has since been examined by the Master of the Matilda.]

The Salamander arrived on the 21st; she brought out twelve privates belonging to the New South Wales corps, and one hundred and fifty-four male convicts, with stores and provisions.  Most of the convicts on board this ship were in a weak emaciated state; and they complained that they had not proper attention paid to them, after parting company with the agent.  The master of the Salamander was ordered to proceed to Norfolk-Island, with the convicts, stores, and provisions he had brought out; but unfortunately it had not been foreseen that it might be expedient to send some of these ships to land their cargoes at that place, and it was therefore necessary to clear this vessel of the greatest part of the stores, in order that they might be stowed in such a manner as to permit the landing of the cargo, where, there being no good anchorage, it must be done with the ship under sail, and subject to blowing weather, where there was a necessity of keeping her always in proper trim for working.

On the 23d of August a number of natives visited the settlement, and six men, with seven or eight and twenty women and children came to Governor Phillip’s house; amongst whom some bread was dividing, when he was informed that Ballederry was on the opposite side of the cove, with a number of the natives, and that he was armed, as were most of his companions.