1770.

March.

The land about this bay, as far as I could fee of it, is of a hilly furface, chiefly covered with trees, fhrubs, and fern, which render travelling difficult Friday 36. and fatiguing. In this excurfion I was accompanied by Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, who found, feveral new plants. We met with fothe huts, which feemed to have been long deferted, but faw no inhabitants. Mr. Banks examined feveral of the ftones that lay upon the beach, which were full of veins, and had a mineral appearance; but he did not difcover any thing in them which he knew to be ore: if he had had an opportunity to examine any of the bare rocks, perhaps he might have been more fortunate. He was alfa of opinion that what I had taken for marble in another place, was a mineral fubftance; and that, confidering the correfpondence of latitude between this place and South America, it was not improbable but that, by a proper examination, fomething very valuable might be found.

At my return in the evening, I found all the wood and water on board, and the ship ready for the fea; I refolved therefore to quit the country, and return home by fuch a route as might be of moft advantage to the fervice; and upon this fubject took the opinion of my officers. I had myself a strong defire to return by Cape Horn, because that would have enabled me finally to determine, whether there is or is not VOL. III. a fouthern

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1770. March.

a fouthern continent; but against this it was a fufficient objection that we must have kept in a Friday 30. high fouthern latitude in the very depth of winter, with a veffel which was not thought fufficient for the undertaking: and the fame reason was urged against our proceeding directly for the Cape of Good Hope, with still more force, because no discovery of moment could be hoped for in that route; it was therefore refolved that we should return by the East Indies, and that with this view we fhould, upon leaving the coast, fteer weftward, till we fhould fall in with the east coaft of New Holland, and then follow the direction of that coaft to the northward, till we fhould arrive at its northern extremity; but if that should be found impracticable, it was further refolved that we should endeavour to fall in with the land, or islands, faid to have been dif covered by Quiros.

Saturd. 31.

With this view, at break of day on Saturday the 31st of March 1770, we got under fail, and put to fea, with the advantage of a fresh gale at S. E. and clear weather, taking our departure from the eastern point, which we had seen at noon on the 23d, and to which, on this occafion, gave the name of CAPE FAREWELL.

I

The bay out of which we had just sailed I called ADMIRALTY BAY, giving the name of CAPE STEPHENS to the north west point, and CAPE JACKSON to the fouth eaft, after the two gentle

men

then who at this time were Secretaries to the Board.

Admiralty Bay may easily be known by the ifland that has been juft mentioned, which lies two miles N. E. of Cape Stephens, in latitude 40° 37′ S. longitude 185° 6′ W., and is of a confiderable height. Between this island and Cape Farewell, which are between fourteen and fifteen leagues diftant from each other, in the direction of W. by N. and E., by S. the fhore forms a large deep bay, the bottom of which we could fcarcely fee while we were failing in a ftraight line from one Cape to the other; it is, however, probably of lefs depth than it appearéd to be, for as we found the water fhallower here, than at the fame diftance from any other part of the coaft, there is reason to fuppofe, that the land at the bottom which lies next the fea is low, and therefore not easily to be distinguished from it. I have for this reafon called it BLIND BAY, and am of opinion that it is the fame which was called Murderer's Bay by Tasman.

Such particulars of this country and its inhabitants, with their manners and cuftoms, as could be learnt while we were circumnavigating the coaft, fhall now be related.

1770. March.

Saturd. 31.

1770. March.

CHA P. VIII.

A general Account of New Zealand: its firft Difcovery, Situation, Extent, Climate, and Productions.

TEW ZEALAND was first discovered

by Abel Jansen Tafman, a Dutch navigator, whofe name has been feveral times mentioned in this narrative, on the 13th of December, in the year 1642. He traversed the eastern coaft from latitude 34° to 43, and entered the ftreight which divides the two iflands, and in the chart is called Cook's STREIGHT; but being attacked by the natives foon after he came to an anchor, in the place to which he gave the name of Murderer's Bay, he never went on fhore. He gave the country the name of STA ATEN LAND, or the land of the States, in honour of the States-General, and it is now generally diftinguished in our maps and charts by the name of NEW ZEALAND. As the whole of this country, except that part of the coaft which was feen by Tafman from on board his fhip, has from his time, to the voyage of the Endeavour, remained altogether unknown, it has by many been supposed to be part of a fouthern continent.

It

It is however now known to confift of two large inlands, divided from each other by a ftreight or paffage, which is about four or five leagues broad.

These iflands are fituated between the latitudes of 34° and 48° S. and between the longitudes of 181° and 194° W., which is now determined with uncommon exactnefs, from innumerable obfervations of the fun and moon, and one of the tranfits of Mercury, by Mr. Green, a person of known abilities, who, as has been mentioned before, was fent out by the Royal Society, to obferve the tranfit of Venus in the South Seas.

The northermoft of thefe iflands is called by the natives Eaheinomauwe, and the southermoft Tovy, or Tavai Poenammòo; yet, as I have obferved before, we are not fure whether the -name Tovy Poenammoo comprehends the whole fouthern ifland, or only part of it. The figure and extent of these iflands, with the fituation of the bays and harbours they contain, and the fmaller iflands that lie about them, will appear from the chart that I have drawn, every párt of which, however, I cannot vouch to be equally accurate. The coaft of Eaheinomauwe, from Cape Pallifer to Eaft Cape, is laid down with great exactness, both in its figure, and the course and distance from point to point; for the opportunities that offered, and the methods that I ufed,

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1770.

March.