1770. Auguft. evening, reported, that there was a bank ftretching north and fouth, upon which there were but three fathom, and Thursday 23. that beyond it there were feven. About this time it fell calm, and continued fo till nine the next morning, when we weighed, with a light breeze at S. S. E. and fteered N. W. by W. for the small island which was juft in fight, having first sent the boats ahead to found: the depth of water was eight, feven, fix, five, and four fathom, and three fathom upon the bank, it being now the last quarter ebb. At this time, the northermost island in fight bore N. 9 E. Cape Cornwall E. diftant three leagues, and Wallis's Ifles S. 3 E. diftant three leagues. This bank, at leaft fo much as we have founded, extends nearly N. and S. but to what diftance I do not know: its breadth is not more than half a mile at the utmost. When we had got over the bank, we deepened our water to fix fathom three quarters, and had the fame depth all the way to the small ifland ahead, which we reached by noon, when it bore S. diftant about half a mile. Our depth of water was now five fathom, and the northermoft land in fight, which is part of the fame chain of iflands that we had feen to the northward from the time of our firft entering the ftreight, bore N. 71 E. Our latitude, by observation, was 10° 33'S. and our longitude 219° 22' W.: in this fituation, no part of the main was in fight. As we were now near the island, and had but little wind, Mr. Banks and I landed upon it, and found it, except a few patches of wood, to be a barren rock, the haunt of birds, which had frequented it in fuch numbers, as to make the furface almoft uniformly white with their dung: of these birds, the greater part feemed to be boobies, and I therefore called the place BOOBY ISLAND. After a short stay, we returned to the fhip, and in the mean time the wind had got to the S. W.; it was but a gentle breeze, yet it was accompanied by a fwell from the fame quarter, which, with other circumftances, confirmed my opinion that we were got to the weftward of Carpentaria, or the northern extremity of New Holland, and had now an open fea to the weftward, which gave me great fatisfaction, not only because the dangers and fatigues of the voyage were drawing to an end, but because it would no longer be a doubt whether New Holland and New Guinea were two feparate islands, or different parts of the fame. 1770. Auguft. Thursday 23. The north east entrance of this paffage, or ftreight, lies in the latitude of 10° 39′ S. and in the longitude of 218° 36′ W. It is formed by the main, or the northern extremity of New Holland, on the S. E. and by a congeries of islands, which I called the PRINCE OF WALES's ISLANDS, to the N. W. and it is probable that these islands extend quite to New Guinea. They differ very much both in height and circuit, and many of them seemed to be well clothed with herbage and wood: upon moft, if not all of them, we faw fmoke, and therefore there can be no doubt of their being inhabited: it is also probable, that among them there are at least as good paffages as that we came through, perhaps better, though better would not need to be defired, if the accefs to it, from the eastward, were lefs dangerous: that a lefs dangerous accefs may be difcovered, I think there is little reafon to doubt, and to find it little more seems to be necessary, than to determine how far the principal, or outer reef, which bounds the shoals to the eastward, extends towards the north, which I would not have left to future navigators if I had been lefs haraffed by danger and fatigue, and had had a ship in better condition for the purpose. To this channel, or paffage, I have given the name of the fhip, and called it ENDEAVOUR STREIGHTS. Its length from N. E. to S. W. is ten leagues, and it is about five leagues 4 K 2 broad, 1770. Auguft. broad, except at the north eaft entrance, where it is fomewhat less than two miles, being contracted by the islands Thursday 23. which lie there. That which I called Poffeffion Island is of a moderate height and circuit, and this we left between us and the main, paffing between it and two small round iflands, which lie about two miles to the N. W. of it. The two small islands, which I called Wallis's Iflands, lie in the middle of the fouth weft entrance, and these we left to the fouthward. Our depth of water in the ftreight, was from four to nine fathom, with every where good anchorage, except upon the bank, which lies two leagues to the northward of Wallis's Iflands, where, at low water, there are but three fathom: for a more particular knowlege of this ftreight, and of the fituations of the feveral islands and fhoals on the eastern coaft of New Wales, I refer to the chart, where they are delineated with all the accuracy that circumstances would admit; yet, with respect to the fhoals, I cannot pretend that one half of them are laid down, nor can it be fuppofed poffible that one half of them fhould be discovered in the course of a single navigation: many islands also must have escaped my pencil, especially between latitude 20° and 22o, where we saw islands out at sea as far as an island could be diftinguished; it must not therefore be fuppofed, by future navigators, that where no fhoal or island is laid down in my chart, no fhoal or island will be found in these feas it is enough that the fituation of those that appear in the chart is faithfully afcertained, and, in general, I have the greatest reason to hope that it will be found as free from error as any that has not been corrected by subsequent and fucceffive observations. The latitudes and longitudes of all, or moft of the principal head lands and bays, may be confided in, for we seldom failed of getting an observation once at leaft every day, by which to correct the latitude of our reckoning, reckoning, and obfervations for fettling the longitude were equally numerous, no opportunity that was offered by the fun and moon being fuffered to escape. It would be injurious to the memory of Mr. Green, not to take this opportunity of attesting that he was indefatigable both in making obfervations and calculating upon them; and that, by his inftructions and affiftance, many of the petty officers were enabled both to obferve and calculate with great exactness. This method of finding the longitude at fea, may be put into univerfal practice, and may always be depended upon within half a degree, which is fufficient for all nautical purpofes. If, therefore, observing and calculating were confidered as neceffary qualifications for every fea officer, the labours of the fpeculative theorist to folve this problem might be remitted, without much injury to mankind': neither will it be fo difficult to acquire this qualification, or put it in practice, as may at first appear; for, with the affiftance of the nautical almanack, and aftronomical ephemeris, the calculations for finding the longitude will take up little more time than the calculation of an azimuth for finding the variation of the compass. 1770. Auguft. 'Thursday 23. СНАР. 1770. Auguft. CHA P. VIII. Departure from New South Wales; a particular Defcription of the Country, its Products, and People: A Specimen of the Language, and fome Obfervations upon the Currents and Tides. F this country, its products, and its people, many particulars have already been related in the course of the narrative, being fo interwoven with the events, as not to admit of a separation. I fhall now give a more full and circumstantial description of each, in which, if fome things should happen to be repeated, the greater part will be found new. New Holland, or, as I have now called the eastern coast, New South Wales, is of a larger extent than any other coun try in the known world that does not bear the name of a continent: the length of coaft along which we failed, reduced to a ftrait line, is no lefs than twenty-feven degrees of latitude, amounting to near 2000 miles, fo that its square furface must be much more than equal to all Europe. To the fouthward of 33 or 34, the land in general is low and level; farther northward it is hilly, but in no part can be called mountainous, and the hills and mountains, taken together, make but a small part of the surface, in comparison with the vallies and plains. It is upon the whole rather barren than fertile, yet the rifing ground is chequered by woods and lawns, and the plains and vallies are in many places. covered with herbage: the foil however is frequently fandy, and |