A Voyage to Terra Australis — Volume 2: Undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802 and 1803, in His Majesty's ship the Investigator, and subsequently in the armed vessel Porpoise and Cumberland schoonerFlinders, Matthew
History
A Voyage to Terra Australis — Volume 2: Undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802 and 1803, in His Majesty's ship the Investigator, and subsequently in the armed vessel Porpoise and Cumberland schooner
Flinders, Matthew
Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Voyages and travels
An officer was sent on shore to search for fresh water and examine the
beach with a view to hauling the seine, but had no success; the
naturalist accompanied him, to botanise, and not coming down to the boat
at dusk, the officer left a man with a fire on the beach, to wait his
arrival. At ten o'clock a gun was fired, and the boat sent back; but
nothing had been heard of the naturalist, or the seaman who carried his
specimen boxes, and some apprehensions began to be entertained. Soon
after daylight [FRIDAY 28 JANUARY 1803] we had the satisfaction to see
Mr. Brown on the shore. It appeared that from one of those mistakes which
so frequently occur in thick woods and dull weather, when without a
compass, the east had been mistaken for west; and Mr. Brown reached the
water side at dusk, but on the wrong side of the point. He thought it
more prudent to remain there all night, than to re-enter the wood in the
dark; and the report of the gun having given him the true direction, he
had no difficulty in the morning. No natives were seen; but the howling
of dogs was heard not far off.
Whilst the botanists continued to follow their pursuits upon Point Blane,
I went over in the whale-boat to Mount Grindall, with the landscape
painter; from whence, after cutting down some small trees at the top, my
view extended over all the neighbouring islands, points, and bays.
Blue-mud Bay was seen to reach further north than Mount Grindall, making
it to be upon a long point, which I also named _Point Grindall_, from
respect to the present vice-admiral of that name; further west, in the
bay, was a stream running five or six miles into the land, terminating in
a swamp, and with shoal banks and a low island at the entrance; all the
northern part of the bay, indeed, seemed to be shallow, and to have no
ship passage into it on the north side of Isle Woodah. The large bight
between Points Grindall and Blane extended two leagues above the ship,
but it did not appear to receive any stream of water; a still larger
bight, between Point Blane and Cape Shield was also visible, though not
so distinct as to speak of it particularly: the extremity of the cape
bore S. 76° 15' E. An observation to the north and south, taken on the
outermost rocks, places Mount Grindall in 13° 15½' south; and the
longitude from survey is 136° 6 1/3' east. Mr. Westall's sketch in the
Atlas, taken from the ship at anchor under Point Blane, will show the
appearance of this mount and of the neighbouring land. (Atlas, Plate
XVIII. View 13.)
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