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
The rise of _tide_ in Caledon Bay was so small, that nothing certain
could be determined on board, either upon the quantity or the time; but
it appeared from the observations of lieutenant Fowler at the tents, that
there were two tides in the day, the rise of which varied from 3 feet 10,
to 4 feet 10 inches; and that the time of high water took place at _nine
hours and a half after_ the moon passed over and under the meridian.
On board the ship, the range of the thermometer was from 83° to 87°,
nearly as it had been from first entering the Gulph of Carpentaria; and
on shore it was probably 10° higher. Several of our people were ill of
diarrhoeas at this time, accompanied with some fever, which was
attributed by the surgeon to the heat and the moist state of the
atmosphere; for since December, when the north-west monsoon began, not
many days had passed without rain, and thunder squalls were frequent.
Exposing the head uncovered to the sun, more especially if engaged in
strong exercise, was proved to be very dangerous here; I lost one man in
Blue-mud Bay from a want of due precaution in this particular, and at
this place two others very narrowly escaped. Musketoes were numerous and
exceedingly troublesome on shore, as also the black flies; but no
venemous reptiles were seen in our limited excursions round Caledon Bay.
The mercury in the barometer stood between 29.90 and 29.95 inches, in the
rainy weather with strong winds from the eastward; but with fine weather
and variable winds, more especially from the south and westward, it
descended to 29.80 inches.
CHAPTER IX.
Departure from Caledon Bay.
Cape Arnhem.
Melville Bay.
Cape Wilberforce, and Bromby's Isles.
The English Company's Islands: meeting there with vessels from Macassar.
Arnhem Bay.
The Wessel's Islands.
Further examination of the North Coast postponed.
Arrival at Coepang Bay, in Timor.
Remarks and astronomical observations.
[NORTH COAST. GULPH OF CARPENTARIA.]
THURSDAY 10 FEBRUARY 1803
(Atlas, Plate XV.)
At daylight in the morning of Feb. 10, we sailed down Caledon Bay, and
steered eastward along the south side of the islands lying in the
entrance. In passing the outer island I landed with the botanical
gentlemen, and took bearings from a small elevation on its north-east
end, which materially assisted in fixing the positions of the northern
islets, and extending the survey onward along the coast.
Cape Grey, the hummock on it, bore S. 27° 13' W.
Mount Alexander, N. 11 45 W.
Furthest extreme northward, N. 13 43 E.
This outer island is nearly a mile long, E. by N. and W. by S., and
mostly destitute of wood; but one valley was thickly covered, and so
interlaced with vines as to be impenetrable. The latitude observed to the
north and south, at the sandy west point, was 12° 52' 59" south.
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