[* For this Chart, and a View of Ball's Pyramid, with a full Description, see Phillip's Voyage, 4to. Edition.]
Early in the morning of the 28th, the wind veered to south-west, and, imagining ourselves to be about fifteen leagues to the westward of Norfolk-Island, we hove to at seven in the evening. The next morning, at day-light, we made sail, steering east: we had great numbers of birds round us, and the clouds hanging very thick to the eastward, indicated our being near the land; but it was not till eleven o'clock in the forenoon that we made the largest of the two small islands which lie off the south-west end of Norfolk-Island, bearing east 16° north, five leagues distant.
At noon, the body of Norfolk-Island bore north 61° east, distant seven or eight leagues. At four in the afternoon, we rounded the northern point of the island, which I named Point Howe, in honour of the first lord of the admiralty, at the time we left England: we soon after hove to, off a cascade, which is situated near the middle of the north side of the island: the boat was hoisted out, and lieutenant Ball and myself went to examine if it were possible to land on a stony beach, which is situated a little to the eastward of the cascade; but we found so great a surf rolling on the shore, that the loss of the boat, and perhaps of the sailors lives, would have been the consequence of our attempting to land; so that at sun-set we returned on board, and the boat was hoisted in.
Early the next morning, lieutenant Ball and myself went in a boat to examine whether we could find a landing-place from the southermost, or Point Ross, to the north-west, or Point Howe, which was (the wind being then west-north-west,) the lee side of the island. From the cascade to a small bay, which lies on the north-east side of the island, we found the shore lined with steep inaccessible cliffs, against which the sea broke with great violence, and rendered the boat's approach impracticable. The small bay, which I named Ball-bay, (after lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball) lies in a west-north-west, and east-south-east direction, and is about four cables length deep, and two cables length wide: the bottom of the bay is a stony beach, on which the surf broke with too much force to risque the boat; though at times, the surf probably may be less.
From this bay, we rowed round the south-east point, and opened the two islands, the largest of which, I named Phillip-Isle, after Governor Phillip; and the smallest, Nepean-Isle, after Evan Nepean. The point of Norfolk-Island, opposite Nepean-Isle, I called Point Hunter, after captain John Hunter, of his Majesty's ship the Sirius.
Between Point Hunter and Point Ross, there is a large, though not a deep, bay, with several fine sandy beaches; but without the beaches, there runs a reef parallel with the shore, which seemed to prevent any landing on it; and, as we were opening the weather side of the island, and a great swell running, which prevented us from pulling the boat a-head, we returned along shore, and endeavoured to land on a stony beach to the westward of the cascade, but could not: we then rowed to the north-east point of the island, off which lies a cluster of high rocks; I called them Cook's rocks, in memory of the late Captain James Cook, who discovered this island, and landed near these rocks in 1774: but we found landing impossible, on account of the surf, which broke every where, though this may not be the case in fine weather. In the evening we returned on board, without being able to set our feet on shore.
During the night, we had light winds from the south-west; and a current, or tide, had set us a considerable distance to the north-east of the island; which, at eight o'clock the next morning, bore south-east, eight miles distant: from this time, until three in the afternoon, we were employed in working up under the north-east point of the island, where we anchored in nineteen fathoms, distant from the nearest shore one mile. A boat was hoisted out, and after two attempts, I landed with Lieutenant Ball, on the side of a large rock, which lies close to the shore, at the west end of a small stony beach; it must have been on this rock that Captain Cook landed, as there is no other place at this side of the island, where it is possible to attempt a landing at any time, and that is only practicable here, from half ebb to half flood, in very fine weather, and the wind off the island. As it was near the evening when we landed, we very soon returned on board again, with a quantity of sorrel that we had gathered. We found this a very improper place to land either people or stores, it being impracticable to get them further than the beach, and there was no fresh water near it.
At day-light in the morning of the 3d, I left the Supply, and went in her boat along with Mr. Cunningham, to examine the south-west side of the island, which we rowed round, until we opened Phillip and Nepean Isles off the south point; but it blew too hard, and there was too great a sea running for us to pull the boat any farther, so that at two in the afternoon we returned on board.
There is only one place on this side of the island, where landing is at all practicable, and that is in a small bay just within the west point: the bottom of it is a fine sandy beach, but the surf broke on it with such violence, as to put landing out of the question.
As it blew very fresh all night, I landed the next morning abreast of the Supply, with the midshipman and surgeon: we walked across the island to the bay which I had seen the day before. After ascending a very steep hill, we got to the top of the island, which we found to be a plain, but every foot of ground was covered with trees, or the large roots of trees which rose above the surface of the earth; these were not the only impediments to our march, as it was impossible for us to walk four yards, without encountering an almost impenetrable net-work, composed of a large kind of supple-jack, or vine; which was so very strong, as to suppress the growth of several trees, by bending them in every direction; and they so completely stopped our progress, that we were obliged to cut our way through them. No grass, or herb of any kind, grew between the roots of these trees, although the soil every where was extremely rich and good; but this may be attributed to the total exclusion of the sun, and the want of air, which doubtless prevent this sort of vegetation.