Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia: / A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

by Richard Henry Major

From my first setting out from England I did not design to touch at the Cape, and that was one reason why I touch’d at Brazil, that there I might refresh my men, and prepare them for a long run to New Holland. We had not yet seen the land; but about two in the afternoon, we saw the Capeland bearing east, at above sixteen leagues distance: and Captain Hammond being also bound to double the Cape, we jog’d on together this afternoon and the next day, and had several fair sights of it; which may be seen [Table iii, No. 6, 7, 8.]

To proceed: having still a westerly wind, I jog’d on in company with the Antelope, till Sunday, June the 4th, at four in the afternoon, when we parted, they steering away for the East Indies, and I keeping an E.S.E. course, the better to make my way for New Holland. For tho’ New Holland lies north-easterly from the Cape, yet all ships bound towards that coast, or the streights of Sundy, ought to keep for a while in the same parallel, or in a latitude between 35 and 40, at least a little to the south of the east, that they may continue in a variable winds way; and not venture too soon to stand so far to the north, as to be within the verge of the trade wind, which will put them by their easterly course. The wind increased upon us; but we had yet sight of the Antelope, and of the land too, till Tuesday, the sixth of June. And then we saw also by us an innumerable company of fowls of divers sorts; so that we look’d about to see if there were not another dead whale, but saw none.

The night before, the sun set in a black cloud, which appeared just like land; and the clouds above it were gilded of a dark red colour. And on the Tuesday, as the sun drew near the horizon, the clouds were gilded very prettily to the eye, tho’ at the same time my mind dreaded the consequences of it. When the sun was now not above 2 degrees high, it entered into a dark smoaky-coloured cloud that lay parallel with the horizon, from whence presently seem’d to issue many dusky blackish beams. The sky was at this time covered with small hard clouds (as we call such as lye scattering about, not likely to rain), very thick one by another; and such of them as lay next to the bank of clouds at the horizon, were of a pure gold colour, to 3 or 4 degrees high above the bank. From these, to about 10 degrees high, they were redder, and very bright; above them they were of a darker colour still, to about 60 or 70 degrees high, where the clouds began to be of their common colour. I took the more particular notice of all this, because I have generally observed such colour’d clouds to appear before an approaching storm. And this being winter here, and the time for bad weather, I expected and provided for a violent blast of wind, by reefing our topsails, and giving a strict charge to my officers to hand them or take them in, if the wind should grow stronger. The wind was now at W.N.W. a very brisk gale. About twelve o’clock at night we had a pale whitish glare in the N.W., which was another sign, and intimated the storm to be near at hand; and the wind increasing upon it, we presently handed our top-sails, furled the main-sail, and went away only with our fore-sail. Before two in the morning, it came on very fierce, and we kept right before wind and sea, the wind still increasing. But the ship was very governable, and steered incomparably well. At eight in the morning we settled our fore-yard, lowering it four or five foot, and we ran very swiftly; especially when the squalls of rain or hail, from a black cloud, came over head, for then it blew excessive hard. These, tho’ they did not last long, yet came very thick and fast one after another. The sea also ran very high; but we running so violently before wind and sea, we ship’d little or no water, tho’ a little wash’d into our upper deck-ports; and with it a scuttle or cuttle-fish was cast upon the carriage of a gun.

The wind blew extraordinary hard all Wednesday, the 7th of June, but abated of its fierceness before night; yet it continued a brisk gale till about the 16th, and still a moderate one till the 19th day; by which time we had run about six hundred leagues: for the most part of which time the wind was in some point of the west, namely, from the W.N.W. to the S. by W. It blew hardest when at W., or between the W. and S.W., but after it veered more southerly the foul weather broke up. This I observed at other times also in these seas, that when the storms at west veered to the southward they grew less; and that when the wind came to the east of the south we had still smaller gales, calms, and fair weather. As for the westerly winds on that side the Cape, we like them never the worse for being violent, for they drive us the faster to the eastward; and are therefore the only winds coveted by those who sail towards such parts of the East Indies as lye south of the equator, as Timor, Java, and Sumatra; and by the ships bound for China, or any other that are to pass through the Streights of Sundy. Those ships having once passed the Cape, keep commonly pretty far southerly, on purpose to meet with those west winds, which in the winter season of these climates they soon meet with; for then the winds are generally westerly at the Cape, and especially to the southward of it: but in their summer months they get to the southward of 40 degrees, usually ere they meet with the westerly winds. I was not at this time in a higher latitude than 36 degrees, 40 minutes, and oftentimes was more northerly, altering my latitude often as winds and weather required; for in such long runs ’tis best to shape one’s course according to the winds. And if, in steering to the east, we should be obliged to bear a little to the N. or S. of it, ’tis no great matter; for ’tis but sailing two or three points from the wind, when ’tis either northerly or southerly; and this not only easeth the ship from straining, but shortens the way more than if a ship was kept close on a wind, as some men are fond of doing.

The 19th of June, we were in latitude 34 degrees, 17 minutes S., and longitude from the Cape 39 degrees, 24 minutes E., and had small gales and calms. The winds were at N.E. by E., and continued in some part of the east till the 27th day. When, it having been some time at N.N.E. it came about at N., and then to the W. of the N., and continued in the west-board (between the N.N.W. and S.S.W.) till the 4th of July; in which time we ran seven hundred and eighty-two miles; then the winds came about again to the east, we reckoning ourselves to be in a meridian 1100 L. east of the Cape; and, having fair weather, sounded, but had no ground.

We met with little of remark in this voyage, besides being accompanied with fowls all the way, especially pintado-birds, and seeing now and then a whale; but as we drew nigher the coast of New Holland, we saw frequently three or four whales together. When we were about ninety leagues from the land we began to see sea-weeds, all of one sort; and as we drew nigher the shore we saw them more frequently. At about thirty-leagues distance we began to see some scuttle-bones floating on the water, and drawing still nigher the land we saw greater quantities of them.

July 25th, being in latitude 26 degrees, 14 minutes S., and longitude east from the Cape of Good Hope 85 degrees, 52 minutes, we saw a large gar-fish leap four times by us, which seemed to be as big as a porpose. It was now very fair weather, and the sea was full of a sort of very small grass or moss, which, as it floated in the water, seem’d to have been some spawn of fish; and there was among it some small fry. The next day the sea was full of small round things like pearl, some as big as white peas; they were very clear and transparent, and upon crushing any of them a drop of water would come forth: the skin that contain’d the water was so thin that it was but just discernable. Some weeds swam by us, so that we did not doubt but we should quickly see land. On the 27th also some weeds swam by us, and the birds that had flown along with us all the way almost from Brazil now left us, except only two or three shear-waters. On the 28th we saw many weeds swim by us, and some whales blowing. On the 29th we had dark cloudy weather, with much thunder, lightning, and violent rains in the morning, but in the evening it grew fair. We saw this day a scuttle-bone swim by us, and some of our young men a seal, as it should seem by their description of its head. I saw also some bonetas and some skipjacks, a fish about eight inches long, broad, and sizeable, not much unlike a roach, which our seamen call so from their leaping about.

The 30th of July, being still nearer the land, we saw abundance of scuttle-bones and sea-weed, more tokens that we were not far from it; and saw also a sort of fowls, the like of which we had not seen in the whole voyage, all the other fowls having now left us. These were as big as lapwings, of a grey colour, black about their eyes, with red sharp bills, long wings, their tails long and forked like swallows, and they flew flapping their wings like lapwings. In the afternoon we met with a ripling like a tide or current, or the water of some shoal or over-fall; but were past it before we could sound. The birds last mention’d and this were further signs of the land. In the evening we had fair weather, and a small gale at west. At eight a clock we sounded again, but had no ground.

We kept on still to the eastward, with an easy sail, looking out sharp; for, by the many signs we had, I did expect that we were near the land. At twelve a clock in the night I sounded, and had forty-five fathom, coarse sand and small white shells. I presently clapt on a wind and stood to the south, and the wind at W., because I thought we were to the south of a shoal call’d the Abrohles (an appellative name for shoals, as it seems to me), which in a draught I had of that coast is laid down in 27 degrees, 28 minutes latitude, stretching about seven leagues into the sea. I was the day before in 27 degrees, 38 minutes by reckoning. And afterwards steering E. by S. purposely to avoid it, I thought I must have been to the south of it: but sounding again at one a clock in the morning, August the 1st, we had but twenty-five fathom, coral rocks; and so found the shoal was to the south of us. We presently tack’d again, and stood to the north, and then soon deepned our water; for at two in the morning we had twenty-six fathom, coral still: at three, we had twenty-eight, coral ground: at four, we had thirty fathom, coarse sand, with some coral: at five, we had forty-five fathom, coarse sand and shells; being now off the shoal, as appear’d by the sand and shells, and by having left the coral. By all this I knew we had fallen into the north of the shoal, and that it was laid down wrong in my sea-chart: for I found it lye in about 27 degrees latitude, and by our run in the next day I found that the outward edge of it, which I sounded on, lies sixteen leagues off shore. When it was day we steered in E.N.E. with a fine brisk gale, but did not see the land till nine in the morning, when we saw it from our topmast head, and were distant from it about ten leagues, having then forty fathom water and clear sand. About three hours after we saw it on our quarter-deck, being by judgment about six leagues off, and we had then forty fathom, clean sand. As we ran in, this day and the next, we took several sights of it, at different bearings and distances. This morning, August the 1st, as we were standing in we saw several large sea fowls, like our gannets on the coast of England, flying three or four together; and a sort of white sea-mews, but black about the eyes, and with forked tails. We strove to run in near the shore to seek for a harbour to refresh us after our tedious voyage; having made one continued stretch from Brazil hither of about 114 degrees, designing from hence also to begin the discovery I had a mind to make on New Holland and New Guinea. The land was low, and appear’d even, and as we drew nearer to it, it made (as you see in Table iv, No. 3, 4, 5)[^[32]] with some red and some white clifts; these last in latitude 26 degrees, 10 minutes south, where you will find fifty-four fathom within four miles of the shore.

About the latitude of 26 degrees south we saw an opening and ran in, hoping to find a harbour there; but when we came to its mouth, which was about two leagues wide, we saw rocks and foul ground within, and therefore stood out again: there we had twenty fathom water within two mile of the shore. The land every where appear’d pretty low, flat and even, but with steep cliffs to the sea; and when we came near it there were no trees, shrubs, or grass to be seen. The soundings in the latitude of 26 degrees south, from about eight or nine leagues off till you come within a league of the shore, are generally about forty fathom; differing but little, seldom above three or four fathom. But the lead brings up very different sorts of sand, some coarse, some fine, and of several colours, as yellow, white, grey, brown, blueish and reddish.