At noon, when off Cape Spencer, the wind became variable and light, with very hazy, cloudy weather; and the mercury in my marine barometer had fallen two-tenths of an inch. At six in the evening a breeze sprung up at west-north-west; and as I expected a gale would come on, and that as usual it would veer to the south-west, we ceased to follow the coast beyond Cape Spencer, and steered for the land seen in the southern quarter. The Althorp Isles were passed at eight o'clock, at the distance of eight or nine miles; and the wind being fresh at west, we made short trips during the night between the two lands, not knowing what might be in the space to leeward. At daylight [SUNDAY 21 MARCH 1802] the ship was nearly in mid-channel, between the southern land and Cape Spencer, and nothing was seen to the eastward. It then blew a fresh gale at south-west, with much sea running; we stretched south-west under close-reefed top-sails, to get under the lee of the southern land; and at eight o'clock, when the largest Althorp Isle bore N. 32° W., it was distant six or seven miles to the south, and extended from S. 61° W. to 79° E. as far as the eye could reach. It was rather high and cliffy; but there was nothing by which to judge of its connection with the main.
At ten o'clock we were close under the land; and finding the water tolerably smooth, had shortened sail with the intention of anchoring near a small, sandy beach; but the situation proving to be too much exposed, we steered eastward along the shore under two close-reefed topsails and fore-sail, the wind blowing strong in squalls from the south-west. The furthest land seen ahead at noon was a projecting point, lower than the other cliffs; it bore E. 7° S., four leagues, and and lies in 35° 33' south and 137° 41' east. It was named Point Marsden, in compliment to the second secretary of the Admiralty; and beyond it the coast was found to trend southward into a large bay containing three coves, any one of which promised good shelter from the gale. This was called NEPEAN BAY. in compliment to the first secretary (now Sir Evan Nepean, Bart.), and we hauled up for it; but the strength of the wind was such that a headland forming the east side of the bay was fetched with difficulty. At six in the evening we came to anchor in 9 fathoms, sandy bottom, within a mile of the shore; the east extreme bearing S. 76° E., and the land near Point Marsden, on the west side of Nepean Bay, N. 61° W., six leagues. A piece of high land, seemingly unconnected, bore from N. 45° to 78° E.; but no land could be distinguished to the northward.
Neither smokes nor other marks of inhabitants had as yet been perceived upon the southern land, although we had passed along seventy miles of its coast. It was too late to go on shore this evening; but every glass in the ship was pointed there, to see what could be discovered. Several black lumps, like rocks, were pretended to have been seen in motion by some of the young gentlemen, which caused the force of their imaginations to be much admired; next morning [MONDAY 22 MARCH 1802], however, on going toward the shore, a number of dark-brown kangaroos were seen feeding upon a grass-plat by the side of the wood and our landing gave them no disturbance. I had with me a double-barrelled gun, fitted with a bayonet, and the gentlemen my companions had muskets. It would be difficult to guess how many kangaroos were seen; but I killed ten, and the rest of the party made up the number to thirty-one, taken on board in the course of the day; the least of them weighing sixty-nine, and the largest one hundred and twenty-five pounds. These kangaroos had much resemblance to the large species found in the forest lands of New South Wales, except that their colour was darker, and they were not wholly destitute of fat.
After this butchery, for the poor animals suffered themselves to be shot in the eyes with small shot, and in some cases to be knocked on the head with sticks, I scrambled with difficulty through the brushwood, and over fallen trees, to reach the higher land with the surveying instruments; but the thickness and height of the wood prevented anything else from being distinguished. There was little doubt, however, that this extensive piece of land was separated from the continent; for the extraordinary tameness of the kangaroos and the presence of seals upon the shore concurred with the absence of all traces of men to show that it was not inhabited.
[SOUTH COAST. KANGAROO ISLAND.]
The whole ship's company was employed this afternoon in skinning and cleaning the kangaroos; and a delightful regale they afforded, after four months' privation from almost any fresh provisions. Half a hundred weight of heads, forequarters and tails were stewed down into soup for dinner on this and the succeeding days; and as much steaks given, moreover, to both officers and men as they could consume by day and by night. In gratitude for so seasonable a supply I named this southern land KANGAROO ISLAND.
TUESDAY 23 MARCH 1802
Next day was employed in shifting the topmasts on account of some rents found in the heels. The scientific gentlemen landed again to examine the natural productions of the island, and in the evening eleven more kangaroos were brought on board; but most of these were smaller, and seemed to be of a different species to those of the preceding day. Some of the party saw several large running birds; which, according to their description, seemed to have been the emu or cassowary.
Not being able to obtain a distinct view from any elevated situation, I took a set of angles from a small projection near the ship, named Kangaroo Head; but nothing could be seen to the north, and the sole bearing of importance, more than had been taken on board, was that of a high hill at the extremity of the apparently unconnected land to the eastward: it bore N. 39° 10' E., and was named Mount Lofty. The nearest part of that land was a low point bearing N. 60° E. nine or ten miles; but the land immediately at the back was high, and its northern and southern extremes were cliffy. I named it CAPE JERVIS, and it was afterwards sketched by Mr. Westall. (Atlas Plate XVII. View 12.)
All the cliffs of Kangaroo Island seen to the west of the anchorage had the appearance of being calcareous, and the loose stones scattered over the surface of Kangaroo Head and the vicinity were of that substance; but the basis in this part seemed to be a brown slate, lying in strata nearly horizontal, and laminae of quartz were sometimes seen in the interstices. In some places the slate was split into pieces of a foot long, or more, like iron bars, and had a shining, ore-like appearance; and the strata were then further from the horizontal line than I observed them to be elsewhere.