A VOYAGE TO TERRA AUSTRALIS.
[South Coast, Kanguroo Island.]
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1802
March
Saturday 20
Sunday 21.
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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 Althorpe
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 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-east under close-reefed
top sails, to get under the lee of the southern land ; and at eight
o'clock, wlien the largest Althorpe 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 tojudge 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
top sails and fore sail, the wind blowing strong in squalls from
the south-west. The furthest land seen a-head at noon, was a projecting
point, lower than the other cliffs., it bore E. 7° S., four
leagues, 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 head land 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,
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PAGE 169
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N. 61° W., six leagues. A piece of high land,
seemingly unconnected, bore from N. 4e to 781, 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,
however, on going toward the shore, a number of dark-brown kanguroos
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 kanguroos were
seen; but I killed ten, and the rest of 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 kanguroos 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
brush wood, and over fallen trees, to reach the higher land with
the surveying instruments; but the thickness and height of the wood
prevented any thing 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 kanguroos
and the presence of seals upon the shore, concurred with the absence
of all traces of men to show that it was not inhabited.
The whole ship's company was employed this afternoon, in
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1802
March
Sunday 21
Monday
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PAGE 170
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1802
March
Monday 22
Tuesday 23.
(Atlas,
Plate XVII.
view 12.)
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skinning and cleaning the kanguroos ; and a delightful regale they
afforded, after four months privation from almost any fresh provisions.
Half a hundred weight of heads, fore quarters, 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 KANGUROO ISLAND.
Next day was employed in shifting the top masts, 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 kanguroos 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
Kanguroo 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. 6o° 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.
All the cliffs of Kanguroo Island seen to the west of the anchorage,
had the appearance of being calcareous, and the loose stones scattered
over the surface of Kanguroo 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 laminc of quartz were sometimes
seen in the interstices. In some places the slate was split into
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PAGE 171
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pieces of a foot long, or more, like iron bars, and had a shining,
ore- 1802. like appearance and the strata were then further from
the horizontal March. line than I observed them to be elsewhere.
A thick wood covered almost all that part of the island visible
from the ship; but the trees in a vegetating state were not equal
in size to the generality of those lying on the ground, nor to the
dead trees standing upright. Those on the ground were so abundant,
that in ascending the higher land, a considerable part of the walk
was made upon them. They lay in all directions, and were nearly
of the same size and in the same progress towards decay; from whence
it would seem that they had not fallen from age, nor yet been thrown
down in a gale of wind. Some general conflagration, and there were
marks apparently of fire on many of them, is perhaps the sole cause
which can be reasonably assigned ; but whence came the woods on
fire? That there were no inhabitants upon the island. and that the
natives of the continent did not visit it, was demonstrated, if
not by the want of all signs of such visit, yet by the tameness
of the kanguroo, an animal which, on the continent, resembles the
wild deer in timidity. Perhaps lightning might have been the cause,
or possibly the friction of two dead trees in a strong wind ; but
it would be somewhat extraordinary that the same thing should have
happened at Thistle's Island, Boston Island, and at this place.,
and apparently about the same time. Can this part of Terra Australis
have been visited before, unknown to the world The French navigator,
La Pérouse, was ordered to explore it, but there seems little
probability that he ever passed Torres' Strait.
Some judgment may be formed of the epoch when these conflagrations
happened. from the magnitude of the growing trees; for they must
have sprung up since that period. They were a species of eucalyptus,
and being less than the fallen trees, had most probably not arrived
at maturity but the wood is hard and solid, and it may thence be
supposed to grow slowly. With these considerations, I should be
inclined to fix the period at not less than ten, nor more
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PAGE 172
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than twenty years before our arrival. This brings us back to La
Pérouse. He was in Botany Bay in the beginning Of 1788 ;
and if he did pass through Torres.' Strait,. and come round to this
coast, as was his intention, it would probably be about the middle
or latter end of that year, or between thirteen and fourteen years
before the Investigator. My opinion is not favourable to this conjecture;
but I have furnished all the data to enable the reader to form his
own judgment upon the cause which might have prostrated the woods
of these islands.
The soil of that part of Kanguroo Island examined by us, was judged
to be much superior to any before seen, either upon the south coast
of the continent, or upon the islands near it; with the exception
of some portions behind the harbours of King George's Sound. The
depth of the soil was not particularly ascertained ; but from the
thickness of the wood it cannot be very shallow. Some sand is mixed
with the vegetable earth, but not in any great proportion; and I
thought the soil superior to some of the land cultivated at Port
jackson, and to much of that in our stony counties in England.
Never perhaps had the dominion possessed here by the kanguroo been
invaded before this time. The seal shared with it upon the shores.
but they seemed to dwell amicably together. It not unfrequently
happened, that the report of a gun fired at a kanguroo near the
beach, brought out two or three bellowing seals from under bushes
considerably further from the water side. The seal, indeed, seemed
to be much the most discerning animal of the two; for its actions
bespoke a knowledge of our not being kanguroos, whereas the kanguroo
not unfrequently appeared to consider us to be seals.
The latitude of the landing place near Kanguroo Head from an observation
in the artificial horizon, was 35° 43' 0" south; and the longitude
of our anchorage by time keepers, 137° 58' 3" east. This
last, being deduced from observations only four days after the proof
had of the time keepers having gone correctly since leaving Port
Lincoln, should be as accurate, or very nearly so, as the longitude
of that port.
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PAGE 173
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The variation observed from two compasses
on board, with the head south-westward. was 6° 31' east;
but when the ship swung to a tide coming from east-north-east ;
the change in the bearings of different objects showed the variation
to be about 4° less. The true variation I deduce to be 4°
13' east; which is an increase upon what was observed on the west
side of Cape Spencer, of 2°; although the distance be no more
than twenty-four leagues, and the previous increase from Cape Catastrophe
had been almost nothing. It seems probable that the existence of
magnetic bodies in the land to the north-westward, and perhaps,
also in Kanguroo Island and Cape Jervis, was the cause of this change
in the direction of the needle.
From appearances on the shore, I judged the rise
of tide to be about six feet. The flood came from the east-north-east.
twice in the day, and by the swinging of the ship, ceased at two
hours and a half after the moons passage; but the time of high
water was afterwards found to be later by one hour and a half.
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1802
March
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