At one place where the bank was about fifteen feet high and formed of red clay Mr. Cunningham landed, and collected a variety of interesting plants. The open banks of the river were covered with salicorniae and other common chenopodeae; and, in the midst of the usual assemblage of rhizophoreae, the Avicennia tomentosa, Linn. was observed of remarkable growth, being in many parts from fifty to sixty feet high, three feet in diameter at the base, and of a straight tapering poplar shape.
Fish was plentiful and on the muddy banks, as the water fell, we saw myriads of small amphibious fishes skipping about: they are probably of the same kind as those seen by Captain Cook at Thirsty Sound and by Captain Flinders at Keppel Bay,* on the east coast. Captain Cook describes the species he saw to be a small fish, about the size of a minnow, furnished with two very strong breast fins, by the assistance of which it leaped away upon being approached, as nimbly as a frog. The fish I have just noticed appeared to be of a very similar description, excepting that it did not seem to avoid the water as that of Thirsty Sound; for Captain Cook says in a subsequent paragraph that it preferred the land to water; for it frequently leaped out of the sea, and pursued its way upon dry ground, and chose rather to leap from stone to stone than pass through the puddles of water in its way.**
(*Footnote. Flinders Terra Australis volume 2 page 26.)
(**Footnote. Hawkesworth volume 3 page 125.)
The egret that we had seen last voyage in the Alligator River was also seen here; and white cockatoos were in large flights, but hawks were unusually rare. The bird, called by the colonists at Port Jackson the native companion (Ardea antigone, Linn.) was seen where the natives were. As we returned several alligators swam past the boat; but they were neither so large nor so numerous as those of the Alligator Rivers; the largest not being more than twelve or thirteen feet long. Upon seeing these monsters we congratulated ourselves on our escape, for had we known of their existence in this river before we passed the night on its bank, the danger of being surprised by the natives and the stings of the mosquitoes would have dwindled into insignificance in comparison with the presence of such voracious animals. On our return down the river a snake was seen about five feet long, of a light red colour, but it escaped by gliding into the long matted grass.
August 7.
On the 7th we left the river and proceeded to the westward; round Point Hawkesbury the land falls back extending first in a south-west, and then in a west-north-west direction, until it was lost to our view behind a point, which we afterwards discovered to be the Point Braithwaite of our last voyage, the land of which had the appearance of being an island.
The bay thus formed was called Junction Bay; it was not examined, but, from the direction of its trend, did not appear likely to afford much interest, and could lead to no opening of importance.
August 8.
At eight o'clock the next morning we were near Goulburn Island, steering through Macquarie Strait; and at eleven o'clock we anchored in South-west Bay, near our former watering-place.