Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia — Vol. 1: Performed between the years 1818 and 1822King, Philip Parker
History
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia — Vol. 1: Performed between the years 1818 and 1822
King, Philip Parker
Australia -- Description and travel; Natural history -- Australia
In the evening the anchor was dropped to the eastward of the two
southernmost islands of a group which was named after my friend Edward
Barnard, Esquire. We were followed all the afternoon by a large
hump-backed whale, a fish which appears to be numerous on all parts of
this coast within the reefs. The wind blew so fresh during the night that
having only the stream anchor down it had imperceptibly dragged through
the mud for nearly a mile to the north-west.
June 22.
At daylight we got under sail but the weather had clouded in and bore a
very unsettled appearance. After steering outside the easternmost island
of Barnard's Group we passed Double Point; two miles north of which a
small opening was seen trending in to the south-west. Between Double
Point and Frankland Islands Captain Cook did not see the coast, having
passed it during the night; we therefore traced it with some care, but
found nothing worth particular notice, being a continuity of sandy bays
formed by projecting heads, in some of which natives were observed
walking.
At 11 hours 30 minutes a.m. we passed Point Cooper. The summit of the
back hills (which were named by Mr. Cunningham's desire after John
Bellenden Ker, Esquire) now began to be enveloped in clouds, and the wind
to increase; and no meridional altitude was obtained, from the
unfortunate state of the weather. At one o'clock we passed between
Frankland's largest Island and a group of four smaller ones which are
connected together by a surrounding rocky reef. At four o'clock we
anchored in a bay on the north-west side of Fitzroy Island, at four miles
from the shore, in eleven and a half fathoms' mud, where we found
complete shelter from the wind which now blew a fresh gale from
south-east.
June 23.
The weather continued so unfavourable all the following day that we
remained at the anchorage, and made our stay profitable by filling our
water-casks from a hollow at the back of the beach, which is composed
entirely of coral that has been washed up by the surf. The coral was of
various kinds, but a beautiful specimen of Porites clavaria was obtained
by one of our people who dived for it in two fathoms' water, within a few
yards of the shore. In many parts the coral had been consolidated into
large masses of solid rock.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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