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
Between Camden Bay and Point Swan, a distance of ninety miles, the
mainland falls back, and forms a very considerable opening fronted by a
multitude of islands, islets, and reefs, into which, from our loss of
anchors; we were not able to penetrate. From Camden Bay the islands, for
the coast seemed too irregular to be the mainland, extend in a range in a
south direction for more than fifty-five miles, to where there appeared
to be a deep opening, or strait, from three to five miles wide. An
irregular line of coast then appeared to extend for seven leagues to the
North-West, and afterwards to the westward for five or six leagues. To
the westward of this, the land appeared to be less continuous, and to be
formed by a mass of islands separated by deep and narrow straits, through
some of which the tide was observed to rush with considerable strength,
foaming and curling in its stream, as if it were rushing through a bed of
rocks: this was particularly observed among the islands to the south of
Macleay's Islands. After extending for thirty miles farther to the
South-West, the land terminates evidently in islands, which then trend to
the South-East; and to the westward they are separated from Cygnet Bay,
and the land to the southward of it by a strait five or six leagues wide.
The narrowest part of this strait is at Point Cunningham, where it is
twelve miles wide; two-thirds over to the islands are two rocky islets,
which bear due south from Sunday Strait.
MONTGOMERY ISLANDS, a group of seven islets on the eastern side of this
extensive range of islands, which are named BUCCANEER'S ARCHIPELAGO, are
low and of small extent, particularly the six easternmost, none of which
are a mile long: the westernmost, which has an extensive reef stretching
to the North-West, is more than three miles in diameter, and appears to
be of different formation to the other, being low and flat, whilst the
rest are scarcely better than a heap of stones, slightly clothed with
vegetation. Between the easternmost islet and the land, there is a strait
of a league in width. The tide prevented our trying its depth: a league
and a half to the north-west, at high-water, we had irregular soundings
between ten and sixteen fathoms, but six fathoms must be deducted from it
to reduce it to the depth at low water.
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