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
A vessel intending to go to Oyster Harbour should anchor off the sandy
beach immediately to the eastward of the entrance, that is, between the
breakers off the point and the bar, in three fathoms sand, bringing the
summit of Green Island, in the harbour, on with the extremity of the
bushes of the west point of entrance, and the highest part of Breaksea
Island in a line with the outer point of the bay: a boat should then be
sent to sound the bar. The mark for the deepest part is when the western
summit of some flat-topped land, at the back of Oyster Harbour, is a
little open of the rocks off the east side of the entrance.
After the bar is passed, the channel is deepest when the centre of the
flat land is kept midway between the points of entrance, avoiding a spit
of rocks that projects from the rocky point at the west end of the
watering beach. The strongest winds are from the westward, and therefore
bower anchors should be placed to the south-west and north-west: warps
and the stream cable will be sufficient to secure her from easterly
winds, as the hills rise immediately over the vessel on that shore. If
the run of water outside the bar should fail, holes may be dug at the
edge of the grass, about three feet deep, which will yield a sufficient
quantity in two or three days for any vessel that can pass over it.
The flood-tide in the entrance generally ran sixteen hours, and ebbed
eight hours. High water at full and change took place at 10 hours 10
minutes at night; but on the bar the rise and fall was very irregular,
and a vessel going in should pay great attention to the depth, if her
draught is more than ten feet, for it sometimes rises suddenly two feet.
The spring-tides take place about the third or fourth day after new or
full moon. The variation here is about 7 degrees East. The situation of
Seal Island, from Captain Flinders' observations, is in latitude 35
degrees 4 minutes 55 seconds, and longitude 117 degrees 58 minutes 7
seconds.
A small island was reported in the Sydney Gazette to have been seen in
latitude 36 degrees 27 minutes, and longitude 127 degrees 2 minutes East;
but as the account says, that Kangaroo Island was seen the same day,
which is not less than one hundred and fifty leagues from the above
position, it appears too vague to be correct. (See Horsburgh Supp. page
32.)
BLACK PYRAMID, off the north-west end of Van Diemen's Land, in Bass
Strait, is situated about 4 minutes too much to the southward on Captain
Flinders' chart.
BELL'S ROCK. The following account of a rock, seen by Mr. Bell, the
Commander of the ship Minerva, on her outward-bound passage to New South
Wales, appeared in a Sydney (New South Wales) Gazette, of the 16th of
December, 1824.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account