Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia — Vol. 2: Performed between the years 1818 and 1822King, Philip Parker
History
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia — Vol. 2: Performed between the years 1818 and 1822
King, Philip Parker
Australia -- Description and travel; Natural history -- Australia
"As this is the first specimen of Australian taste in the fine arts that
we have detected in these voyages, it became me to make a particular
observation thereon: Captain Flinders had discovered figures on Chasm
Island, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, formed with a burnt stick; but this
performance, exceeding a hundred and fifty figures, which must have
occupied much time, appears at least to be one step nearer refinement
than those simply executed with a piece of charred wood. Immediately
above this schistose stratum is a superincumbent mass of sandstone, which
appeared to form the upper stratum of the island." (Cunningham
manuscript.)*
(*Footnote. Similar representations were found by Mr. White, carved on
stone in the neighbourhood of Port Jackson. White's Journal quarto page
141.)
June 25.
Having procured all the spars and planks from the wreck that could be
useful to us, we made preparations to sail, and at daylight, the 25th,
got underweigh with my two companions, and resumed our course to the
northward, over that of last year, excepting that we steered inside of
Pelican Island, and to leeward of Island 4. We passed several large
sting-rays asleep on the surface of the sea, which our people
ineffectually endeavoured to harpoon. On the former island large flights
of pelicans were seen, and upon the sandbank, to the southward of it,
there was a flock of two or three hundred young birds.
The breeze not being sufficient to carry us to Night Island before dark,
the anchor was dropped in eleven fathoms muddy bottom, two miles to the
eastward of Island 8. The Dick and San Antonio anchored close to us.
During the night we had a fresh breeze from South-East by East, and, not
having any island or reef to shelter us from the swell, we were obliged
to drop a second anchor to retain our position. The San Antonio drove for
some distance, but the Dick rode through the night without driving,
although she had but forty fathoms of cable out.
June 26.
On weighing the next morning, we made sail to the North by West, but,
from the compass-box not being quite straight in the binnacle, we made a
North by West 1/2 West course, which was not discovered until we had
nearly paid dear for our neglect; for we passed close to a rock which I
intended to have gone at least a mile to windward of. It was seen just in
time to put the helm a-lee, or we should have run upon it.
The weather was now so thick that we could not see a mile around us; we
were therefore obliged to follow our former courses, to avoid the risk of
running over a strange track in such unfavourable weather. At sunset we
anchored under the lee of Piper's Islets.
June 27.
The next day we anchored under Sunday Island in Margaret Bay, at about
half a mile from the sandy beach, on its north-west side.
Here we were detained by bad weather until the 30th.
June 30.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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