CHAPTER I.
Departure from Port Jackson, with the Lady Nelson.
Examination of various parts of the East Coast, from thence to Sandy Cape.
Break-sea Spit.
Anchorage in Hervey's Bay, where the Lady Nelson joins after a separation.
Some account of the inhabitants.
Variations of the compass.
Run to Bustard Bay.
Port Curtis discovered, and examined.
Some account of the surrounding country.
Arrival in Keppel Bay, and examination of its branches,
one of which leads into Port Curtis.
Some account of the natives, and of the country round Keppel Bay.
Astronomical and nautical observations.
[EAST COAST. TOWARDS HERVEY'S BAY.]
THURSDAY 22 JULY 1802
Lieutenant John Murray, commander of the brig Lady Nelson, having received orders to put himself under my command, I gave him a small code of signals, and directed him, in case of separation, to repair to Hervey's Bay; which he was to enter by a passage said to have been found by the south-sea whalers, between Sandy Cape and Break-sea Spit. In the morning of July 22, we sailed out of Port Jackson together; and the breeze being fair and fresh, ran rapidly to the northward, keeping at a little distance from the coast. (Atlas, Plate VIII.)
At eleven o'clock, the south head of Broken Bay bore W. by N. three leagues; and Mr. Westall then made a sketch of the entrance, with that of the Hawkesbury River, which falls into it (Atlas, Plate XVIII, View 2). The colonists have called this place Broken Bay, but it is not what was so named by captain Cook; for he says it lies in latitude 33° 42' (Hawkesworth III. 103), whereas the southernmost point of entrance is not further than 33° 34' south. There is, in captain Cook's latitude, a very small opening, and the hills behind it answer to his description of "some broken land that seemed to form a bay," when seen at four leagues, the distance he was off; but in reality, there is nothing more than a shallow lagoon in that place. In consequence of this difference in position, Cape Three-points has been sought three or four leagues to the north of Broken Bay; whereas it is the north head of the entrance into the bay itself which was so named, and it corresponds both in situation and appearance.
At noon, the south-eastern bluff of Cape Three-points bore S. 64° W., seven or eight miles, and was found to lie in 33° 32½' south and 151° 23½' east. In steering northward along the coast, at from six to two miles distance, we passed two rocky islets lying under the high shore; and at sunset, Coal Island, in the entrance of Port Hunter, bore N. 9° W., five or six miles. This port was discovered in 1797 by the late captain John Shortland, and lies in 32° 56' south, longitude 151° 43' east.
We passed Port Stephens a little before midnight; and the breeze being fresh at W. by S., the Lady Nelson was left astern, and we lay to for an hour next morning [FRIDAY 23 JULY 1802], to wait her coming up. The land was then scarcely visible, but a north course brought us in with the Three Brothers (Atlas Plate IX.); and at four in the afternoon, they bore from S. 56° to 65° W., the nearest land being a low, but steep point, distant four or five miles in the first direction. The Three Brothers lie from one to five miles behind the shore, at the eastern extremity of a range of high land, coming out of the interior country. The northernmost hill is the broadest, most elevated, and nearest to the water side; and being visible fifty miles from a ship's deck, is an excellent landmark for vessels passing along the coast: its latitude is 31° 43' south, and longitude 152° 45' east.
To the northward of the Three Brothers there is four leagues of low. and mostly sandy shore; and after passing it, we came up with a projection, whose top is composed of small, irregular-shaped hummocks, the northernmost of them being a rocky lump of a sugar-loaf form; further on, the land falls back into a shallow bight, with rocks in it standing above water. When abreast of the projection, which was called Tacking Point, the night was closing in, and we stood off shore, intending to make the same part next morning; for some of this coast had been passed in the dark by captain Cook, and might therefore contain openings.
SATURDAY 24 JULY 1802