Discoveries in Australia, Volume 1.: With an Account of the Coasts and Rivers Explored and Surveyed During; The Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, in the Years 1837-38-39-40-41-42-43.; By Command of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. Also a Narrative; Of Captain Owen Stanley's Visits to the Islands in the Arafura Sea.Stokes, John Lort
History
Discoveries in Australia, Volume 1.: With an Account of the Coasts and Rivers Explored and Surveyed During; The Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, in the Years 1837-38-39-40-41-42-43.; By Command of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. Also a Narrative; Of Captain Owen Stanley's Visits to the Islands in the Arafura Sea.
Stokes, John Lort
Australia -- Description and travel; Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Natural history -- Australia
By daylight on the 8th, the boats had left the ship, and were standing to
the southward among the islands. Our party consisted of Mr. Helpman, Mr.
Fitzmaurice and myself. Passing through the eastern part of Port George
the Fourth, we entered Roger Strait, which led into a large sheet of
water, forming a beautiful harbour; we landed to obtain a better view of
it, on a small island at the southern entrance of this strait. This islet
looked truly inviting, being clothed with long rich grass, which to our
cost we found concealed boulders of granite; this was the first time we
met with this primitive rock, and from the colour of the surrounding
heights it was evident we were in an old red sandstone region. Strange to
say the attraction on this island rendered our compasses quite useless;
we noticed on its North-West side a portion of the wreck of a small
vessel. There was a small mangrove inlet in the South-East corner of this
harbour, over which the land was low, forming a gap in the neighbouring
heights. We now pushed on for an island lying in the entrance of the
harbour, bearing West by North 6 miles; our soundings in passing over
this part (of what we afterwards called Brecknock Harbour, as Captain
King had named the entrance of it Camden Sound, from a distant view he
had of it) gave a depth of 7 fathoms, over an even muddy bottom; but
towards and in the entrance it increased to 13 fathoms.
ENTRANCE ISLE.
The island we now landed on, we called from its situation, Entrance
Island. From a high part overlooking its steep southern side we had a
very commanding view. The centre of a string of small islets bore north
one mile; there extended 2 miles in a west direction, from the north
point of the harbour; both these and Entrance Isle escaped Captain King's
notice, owing to the distant view he had of this part of the coast. A
point bearing South-West distant 3 miles, was the extreme of the mainland
that we could see in the direction we were going. We found the sandstone
of this Island not of the same ancient red colour as that on the shore
fronting it. One boat was employed in the meantime sounding the entrance
of the harbour, which we found to be 2 miles across, and from 9 to 15
fathoms deep; the mouth of it faces the West-North-West, Entrance Isle
lying half a mile outside its points, with a clear channel nearly a mile
wide, on either side of it.
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