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A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 13 by Robert Kerr

R >> Robert Kerr >> A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 13




In the afternoon, the wind being at N.E. we stood off and on, and at
three or four miles distance from the shore had thirty fathom water: The
wind afterwards coming cross of land, we stood to the northward, having
from thirty to twenty-one fathom, at the distance of four or five miles
from the shore.

At five in the morning, the wind veered to the north, and blew fresh,
attended with squalls: At eight, it began to thunder and rain, and in
about an hour it fell calm, which gave us an opportunity to sound, and
we had eighty-six fathom at between four and five leagues from the
shore: Soon after this we had a gale from the southward, with which we
steered N. by W. for the northermost land in sight. At noon, we were
about four leagues from the shore, and by observation, in latitude 30 deg.
22', which was nine miles to the southward of our reckoning, longitude
206 deg. 39' W. Some lands near the shore, of a considerable height, bore W.

As we advanced to the northward from Botany Bay, the land gradually
increased in height, so that in this latitude it may be called a hilly
country. Between this latitude and the Bay, it exhibits a pleasing
variety of ridges, hills, vallies, and plains, all clothed with wood, of
the same appearance with that which has been particularly described: The
land near the shore is in general low and sandy, except the points,
which are rocky, and over many of them are high bills, which, at their
first rising out of the water, have the appearance of islands.[73] In
the afternoon, we had some small rocky islands between us and the land,
the southermost of which lies in latitude 30 deg. 10', and the northermost
in 29 deg. 58', and somewhat more than two leagues from the land: About two
miles without the northermost island we had thirty-three fathom water.
Having the advantage of a moon, we steered along the shore all night, in
the direction of N. and N. by E. keeping at the distance of about three
leagues from the land, and having from twenty to twenty-five fathom
water. As soon as it was light, having a fresh gale, we made all the
sail we could, and at nine o'clock in the morning, being about a league
from the shore, we discovered smoke in many places, and having recourse
to our glasses, we saw about twenty of the natives, who had each a large
bundle upon his back, which we conjectured to be palm-leaves for
covering their houses: We continued to observe them above an hour,
during which they walked upon the beach, and up a path that led over a
hill of a gentle ascent, behind which we lost sight of them: Not one of
them was observed to stop and look towards us, but they trudged along,
to all appearance, without the least emotion either of curiosity or
surprise, though it is impossible they should not have seen the ship by
a casual glance as they walked along the shore; and though she must,
with respect to every other object they had yet seen, have been little
less stupendous and unaccountable than a floating mountain with all its
woods would have been to us. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was
28 deg. 39' S., and longitude 206 deg. 27' W. A high point of land, which I
named _Cape Byron_, bore N.W. by W. at the distance of three miles. It
lies in latitude 28 deg. 37' 30" S., longitude 206 deg. 30' W., and may be known
by a remarkable sharp peaked mountain, which lies inland, and bears from
it N.W. by W. From this point, the land trends N. 13 W.: Inland it is
high and hilly, but low near the shore; to the southward of the point it
is also low and level. We continued to steer along the shore with a
fresh gale, till sun-set, when we suddenly discovered breakers a-head,
directly in the ship's course and also on our larboard bow. At this time
we were about five miles from the land, and had twenty fathom water: We
hauled up east till eight, when we had run eight miles, and increased
our depth of water to forty-four fathom: We then brought-to, with the
ship's head to the eastward, and lay upon this tack till ten, when,
having increased our sounding to seventy-eight fathom, we wore, and lay
with the ship's head to the land till five in the morning, when we made
sail, and at day-light, were greatly surprised to find ourselves farther
to the southward, than we had been the evening before, though the wind
had been southerly, and blown fresh all night: We now saw the breakers
again within us, and passed them at the distance of one league. They
lie in latitude 28 deg. 8' S. stretching off east two leagues from a point
of land, under which is a small island. Their situation may always be
known by the peaked mountain which has been just mentioned, and which
bears from them S.W. by W. for this reason I have named it _Mount
Warning_. It lies seven or eight leagues inland, in latitude 28 deg. 22' S.
The land about it is high and hilly, but it is of itself sufficiently
conspicuous to be at once distinguished from every other object. The
Point off which these shoals lie, I have named _Point Danger_. To the
northward of this Point the land is low, and trends N.W. by N.; but it
soon turns again more to the northward.

[Footnote 73: The appearance and adjustment of the hills in New Holland
have attracted very considerable regard. They are thought to bear a
strong resemblance in disposition to the Andes in South America. Some
interesting information on this topic will be given when we treat of
another voyage. This hint may suffice for the present.--E.]

At noon, we were about two leagues from the land, and by observation, in
latitude 27 deg. 46' S., which was seventeen miles to the southward of the
log; our longitude was 206 deg. 26' W. Mount Warning bore S. 26 W. distant
fourteen leagues, and the northermost land in sight bore N. We pursued
our course along the shore, at the distance of about two leagues, in the
direction of N. 1/4 E. till between four and five in the afternoon, when
we discovered breakers in our larboard bow. Our depth of water was
thirty-seven fathom, and at sun-set, the northermost land bore N. by W.
the breakers N.W. by W. distant four miles, and the northermost land set
at noon, which formed a point, and to which I gave the name of _Point
Look-out_, W. distant five or six miles, in the latitude of 27 deg. 6'. On
the north side of this Point, the shore forms a wide open bay, which I
called _Moreton's Bay_, in the bottom of which the land is so low that I
could but just see it from the top-mast head. The breakers lie between
three or four miles from Point Look-out; and at this time we had a great
sea from the southward, which broke upon them very high. We stood on
N.N.E. till eight o'clock, when having passed the breakers, and deepened
our water to fifty-two fathom, we brought-to till midnight, when we made
sail again to the N.N.E. At four in the morning, we had 135 fathom, and
when the day broke, I perceived that during the night I had got much
farther northward, and from the shore, than I expected from the course
we steered, for we were distant at least seven leagues; I therefore
hauled in N.W. by W. with a fresh gale at S.S.W. The land that was
farthest to the north the night before, now bore S.S.W. distant six
leagues, and I gave it the name of _Cape Moreton_, it being the north
point of Moreton's Bay: Its latitude is 26 deg. 56', and its longitude is
206 deg. 28'. From Cape Moreton the land trends away west, farther than can
be seen, for there is a small space, where at this time no land is
visible, and some on board having also observed that the sea looked
paler than usual, were of opinion that the bottom of Moreton's Bay
opened into a river. We had here thirty-four fathom water, and a fine
sandy bottom: This alone would have produced the change that had been
observed in the colour of the water; and it was by no means necessary to
suppose a river to account for the land at the bottom of the Bay not
being visible, for supposing the land there to be as low as we knew it
to be in a hundred other parts of the coast, it would have been
impossible to see it from the station of the ship; however, if any
future navigator should be disposed to determine the question, whether
there is or is not a river in this place, which the wind would not
permit us to do, the situation may always be found by three hills which
lie to the northward of it, in the latitude of 26 deg. 53'. These hills lie
but a very little way inland, and not far from each other: They are
remarkable for the singular form of their elevation, which very much
resembles a glasshouse, and for which reason I called them the _Glass
Houses_: The northermost of the three is the highest and largest: There
are also several other peaked hills inland to the northward of these,
but they are not nearly so remarkable.[74] At noon, our latitude was, by
observation, 26 deg. 28' S. which was ten miles to the northward of the log,
a circumstance which had never before happened upon this coast; our
longitude was 206 deg. 46'. At this time we were between two and three
leagues from the land, and had twenty-four fathom water. A low bluff
point, which was the south head of a sandy bay, bore N. 62 W., distant
three leagues, and the northermost point of land in sight bore N. 1/4 E.
This day we saw smoke in several places, and some at a considerable
distance inland.

[Footnote 74: The depth of the Bay from Cape Moreton is said to be 34
miles--it then contracts into a small stream; and there is a
considerable river near Glass-House Peaks, as they have been
called.--E.]

In steering along the shore at the distance of two leagues, our
soundings were from twenty-four to thirty-two fathom, with a sandy
bottom. At six in the evening, the northermost point of land bore N. 1/4
W., distant four leagues; at ten it bore N.W. by W. 1/2 W. and as we had
seen no land to the northward of it, we brought-to, not well knowing
which way to steer.

At two in the morning, however, we made sail with the wind at S.W., and
at day-light, we saw the land extending as far as N. 1/4 E. the point we
had set the night before bore S.W. by W., distant between three and four
leagues. It lies in latitude 25 deg. 58', longitude 206 deg. 48' W.: The land
within it is of a moderate and equal height, but the point itself is so
unequal, that it looks like two small islands lying under the land, for
which reason I gave it the name of _Double Island Point_; it may also be
known by the white cliffs on the north side of it. Here the land trends
to the N.W. and forms a large open bay, the bottom of which is so low a
flat that from the deck it could scarcely be seen. In crossing this bay,
our depth of water was from thirty to twenty-two fathom, with a white
sandy bottom. At noon, we were about three leagues from the shore, in
latitude 25 deg. 84' S., longitude 206 deg. 45' W.: Double Island Point bore S.
1/4 W. and the northermost land in sight N. 1/4 E. This part of the
coast, which is of a moderate height, is more barren than any we had
seen, and the soil more sandy. With our glasses we could discover that
the sands, which lay in great patches of many acres, were moveable, and
that some of them had not been long in the place they possessed; for we
saw in several parts, trees half buried, the tops of which were still
green; and in others, the naked trunks of such as the sand had
surrounded long enough to destroy. In other places the woods appeared to
be low and shrubby, and we saw no signs of inhabitants. Two water-snakes
swam by the ship: They were beautifully spotted, and in every respect
like land-snakes, except that their tails were broad and flat, probably
to serve them instead of fins in swimming. In the morning of this day,
the variation was 8 deg. 20' E., and in the evening, 8 deg. 36. During the
night, we continued our course to the northward, with a light breeze
from the land, being distant from it between two and three leagues, and
having from twenty-three to twenty-seven fathom, with a fine sandy
bottom.

At noon on the 19th, we were about four miles from the land, with only
thirteen fathom. Our latitude was 26 deg. 4', and the northermost land in
sight bore N. 21 W., distant eight miles. At one o'clock, being still
four miles distant from the shore, but having seventeen fathom water, we
passed a black bluff head, or point of land, upon which a great number
of the natives were assembled, and which therefore I called _Indian
Head_: it lies in latitude 25 deg. 3'. About four miles N. by W. of this
head, is another very like it, from whence the land trends away somewhat
more to the westward: Next to the sea it is low and sandy, and behind it
nothing was to be seen, even from the mast-head. Near Indian Head we saw
more of the natives, and upon the neighbouring shore fires by night, and
smoke by day. We kept to the northward all night, at the distance of
from four miles to four leagues from the shore, and with a depth of
water from seventeen to thirty-four fathom. At daybreak, the northermost
land bore from us W.S.W. and seemed to end in a point, from which we
discovered a reef running out to the northward as far as we could see.
We had hauled our wind to the westward before it was light, and
continued the course till we saw the breakers upon our lee-bow. We now
edged away N.W. and N.N.W. along the east side of the shoal, from two to
one mile distant, having regular soundings from thirteen to seven
fathom, with a fine sandy bottom. At noon, our latitude, by observation,
was 20 deg.26', which was thirteen miles to the northward of the log: We
judged the extreme point of the shoal to bear from us about N.W. and the
point from which it seemed to run out bore S. 3/4 W., distant twenty
miles. This point I named _Sandy Cape_, from two very large patches of
white sand which lay upon it. It is sufficiently high to be seen at the
distance of twelve leagues, in clear weather, and lies in latitude
24 deg.45', longitude 206 deg. 51': The land trends from it S.W. as far as can
be seen. We kept along the east side of the shoal till two in the
afternoon, when, judging that there was a sufficient depth of water upon
it to allow passage for the ship, I sent the boat a-head to sound, and
upon her making the signal for more than five fathom, we hauled our
wind, and stood over the tail of it in six fathom. At this time we were
in latitude 24 deg.22', and Sandy Cape bore S. 1/2 E., distant eight
leagues; but the direction of the shoal is nearest N.N.W. and S.S.E. It
is remarkable that when on board the ship we had six fathom, the boat,
which was scarcely a quarter of a mile to the southward, had little more
than five, and that immediately after six fathom we had thirteen, and
then twenty, as fast as the man could cast the lead: From these
circumstances, I conjectured that the west side of the shoal was steep.
This shoal I called the _Break Sea Spit_, because we had now smooth
water, and to the southward of it we had always a high sea from the S.E.
At six in the evening, the land of Sandy Cape extended from S. 17 E. to
S. 27 E., at the distance of eight leagues; our depth of water was
twenty-three fathom: With the same soundings we stood to the westward
all night. At seven in the morning, we saw, from the mast-head, the land
of Sandy Cape bearing S.E. 1/2 E., distant about thirteen leagues: At
nine, we discovered land to the westward, and soon after saw smoke in
several places. Our depth of water was now decreased to seventeen
fathom, and by noon we had no more than thirteen, though we were seven
leagues from the land, which extended from S. by W. to W.N.W. Our
latitude at this time was 24 deg. 28' S. For a few days past we had seen
several of the sea-birds called boobies, not having met with any of them
before; last night a small flock of them passed the ship, and went away
to the N.W.; and in the morning, from about half an hour before
sun-rise, to half an hour after, flights of them were continually coming
from the N.N.W. and flying to the S.S.E. nor was one of them seen to fly
in any other direction; we therefore conjectured that there was a
lagoon, river, or inlet of shallow water, in the bottom of the deep bay,
to the southward of us, whither these birds resorted to feed in the day,
and that not far to the northward there were some islands to which they
repaired in the night. To this bay I gave the name of _Hervey's Bay_, in
honour of Captain Hervey. In the afternoon we stood in for the land,
steering S.W. with a gentle breeze at S.E. till four o'clock, when,
being in latitude 24 deg. 36', about two leagues from the shore, and having
nine fathom water, we bore away along the coast N.W. by W. and at the
same time could see land extending to the S.S.E. about eight leagues.
Near the sea the land is very low, but within there are some lofty
hills, all thickly clothed with, wood. While we were running along the
shore, we shallowed our water from nine to seven fathom, and at one time
we had but six, which determined us to anchor for the night.

At six in the morning we weighed, with a gentle breeze from the
southward, and steered N.W. 1/4 W. edging in for the land till we got
within two miles of it, with water from seven to eleven fathom; we then
steered N.N.W. as the land lay, and at noon, our latitude was 24 deg. 19'.
We continued in the same course, at the same distance, with from twelve
fathom to seven, till five in the evening, when we were abreast of the
south point of a large open bay, in which I intended to anchor. During
this course, we discovered with our glasses that the land was covered
with palm-nut trees, which we had not seen from the time of our leaving
the islands within the tropic; we also saw two men walking along the
shore, who did not condescend to take the least notice of us. In the
evening, having hauled close upon a wind, and made two or three trips,
we anchored about eight o'clock in five fathom, with a fine sandy
bottom. The south point of the bay bore E. 3/4 S. distant two miles, the
north point N.W. 1/4 N. and about the same distance from the shore.

Early the next morning I went ashore, with a party of men, in order to
examine the country, accompanied by Mr Banks, Dr Solander, the other
gentlemen, and Tupia: The wind blew fresh, and we found it so cold, that
being at some distance from the shore, we took our cloaks as a necessary
equipment for the voyage. We landed a little within the south point of
the bay, where we found a channel leading into a large lagoon: This
channel I proceeded to examine, and found three fathom water till I got
about a mile up it, where I met with a shoal, upon which there was
little more than one fathom; but having passed over it, I had three
fathom again. The entrance of this channel lies close to the south point
of the bay, being formed by the shore on the east, and on the west by a
large spit of sand: It is about a quarter of a mile broad, and lies in
S. by W. In this place there is room for a few ships to lie in great
security, and a small stream of fresh water; I would have rowed into the
lagoon, but was prevented by shallows. We found several bogs, and swamps
of salt water, upon which, and by the sides of the lagoon, grows the
true mangrove, such as is found in the West Indies, and the first of the
kind that we had met with. In the branches of these mangroves there were
many nests of a remarkable kind of ant, that was as green as grass: When
the branches were disturbed they came out in great numbers, and punished
the offender by a much sharper bite than ever we had felt from the same
kind of animal before.[75] Upon these mangroves also we saw small green
caterpillars in great numbers: Their bodies were thick set with hairs,
and they were ranged upon the leaves side by side like a file of
soldiers, to the number of twenty or thirty together: When we touched
them, we found that the hair of their bodies had the quality of a
nettle, and gave us a much more acute, though less durable pain. The
country here is manifestly worse than about Botany Bay: The soil is dry
and sandy, but the sides of the hills are covered with trees, which grow
separately, without underwood. We found here the tree that yields a gum
like the _sanguis draconis_; but it is somewhat different from the trees
of the same kind which we had seen before, for the leaves are longer,
and hang down like those of the weeping willow.[76] We found also much
less gum upon them, which is contrary to the established opinion, that
the hotter the climate, the more gums exude. Upon a plant also which
yielded a yellow gum, there was less than upon the same kind of plant in
Botany Bay. Among the shoals and sandbanks we saw many large birds, some
in particular of the same kind that we had seen in Botany Bay, much
bigger than swans, which we judged to be pelicans; but they were so shy
that we could not get within gun-shot of them. Upon the shore we saw a
species of the bustard, one of which we shot; it was as large as a
turkey, and weighed seventeen pounds and a half. We all agreed that this
was the best bird we had eaten since we left England; and in honour of
it we called this inlet _Bustard Bay_. It lies in latitude 24 deg. 4',
longitude 208 deg. 18'. The sea seemed to abound with fish; but unhappily,
we tore our seine all to pieces at the first haul: Upon the mud banks,
under the mangroves, we found innumerable oysters of various kinds;
among others the hammer-oyster, and a large proportion of small
pearl-oysters: If in deeper water there is equal plenty of such oysters
at their full growth, a pearl fishery might certainly be established
here to very great advantage.

[Footnote 75: For some remarks on these creatures, see the Section which
treats of this country in general,--E.]

[Footnote 76: There are several trees which yield a resinous substance,
resembling what is called dragon's blood, as the Pterocarpus draco, the
Dracaena draco, the Calamus draco, the Dalbergia monetaria, &c. Some
observations on the botany of New Holland are reserved for a future
page.--E.]

The people who were left on board the ship said, that while we were in
the woods about twenty of the natives came down to the beach, abreast of
her, and having looked at her some time, went away; but we that were
ashore, though we saw smoke in many places, saw no people: The smoke was
at places too distant for us to get to them by land, except one, to
which we repaired. We found ten small fires still burning within a few
paces of each other; but the people were gone: We saw near them several
vessels of bark, which we supposed to have contained water, and some
shells and fish-bones, the remains of a recent meal. We saw also, lying
upon the ground, several pieces of soft bark, about the length and
breadth of a man, which we imagined might be their beds; and, on the
windward side of the fires, a small shade, about a foot and a half high,
of the same substance. The whole was in a thicket of close trees, which
afforded good shelter from the wind. The place seemed to be much
trodden, and as we saw no house, nor any remains of a house, we were
inclined to believe that, as these people had no clothes, they had no
dwelling; but spent their nights, among the other commoners of Nature,
in the open air; and Tupia himself, with an air of superiority and
compassion, shook his head, and said, that they were _Taata Enos_, "poor
wretches,".[77] I measured the perpendicular height of the last tide,
and found it to be eight feet above low-water mark, and from the time of
low-water this day, I found that it must be high-water at the full and
change of the moon at eight o'clock.

[Footnote 77: The natives of New Holland are indeed "poor wretches;" but
let it be remembered that the term poor is relative. The reader must
make allowance for prejudice, in judging of their state from the
testimony of one who had lived in Otaheitan luxury. A Sicilian, it is
probable, would give a very sorry account of the Highlands and
Highlanders of Scotland--

Yet still e'en here Content can spread a charm,
Redress the clime, and all its rage disarm.

We never more erroneously estimate the happiness of a people, than when
we set up our own habits as the criterion of perfection. The error of
Tupia is the error of thousands.--E.]

At four o'clock in the morning we weighed, and with a gentle breeze at
south made sail out of the bay. In standing out, our soundings were from
five to fifteen fathom; and at day-light, when we were in the greatest
depth, and abreast of the north head of the bay, we discovered breakers
stretching out from it N.N.E. between two and three miles, with a rock
at the outermost point of them just above water. While we were passing
these rocks, at the distance of about half a mile, we had from fifteen
to twenty fathom; and as soon as we had passed them, we hauled along
shore W.N.W. for the farthest land we had in sight. At noon, our
latitude, by observation, was 23 deg. 52' S.; the north part of Bustard Bay
bore S. 62 E. distant ten miles; and the northermost land in sight N. 60
W.; the longitude was 208 deg. 37', and our distance from the nearest shore
six miles, with fourteen fathom water.

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The mother of a lawyer who says her daughter's best-selling "misery memoir" is fiction broke down in court yesterday as she told a jury how she had struggled to raise her family. Carmen Briscoe-Mitchell is suing barrister Constance Briscoe for libel. Briscoe alleged she had suffered abuse and neglect during her south London childhood in Ugly, the first part of her autobiography published in 2006.

Briscoe-Mitchell began crying as she described her relationship with George Briscoe, father of seven of her 11 children, on the second day of the hearing at the high court in London at which she is also suing the book's publishers Hodder and Stoughton over her daughter's claims. Her counsel, William Panton, said Briscoe was "spinning a yarn". Her mother had worked as a dressmaker to keep her children, often without their father, and had provided for them equally to the best of her ability, an assertion supported by Briscoe's siblings, he said. Briscoe painted a picture of being regularly punched, kicked and beaten with a stick by her mother, said Panton, yet had not complained to police, social services or teachers.

Briscoe's lawyer, Andrew Caldecott QC, said the jury must remember when they heard witnesses that they were dealing with events between 1964 and 1975 when Briscoe-Mitchell, 74, was in her prime, not a vulnerable old lady, and Briscoe was a child. "Constance Briscoe says she was the victim of sustained cruelty and serious neglect when she was a child. She chose to say it. She has to prove it."

The trial was not of the accuracy of every word or paragraph in the book but of whether or not it was true that Briscoe was physically and emotionally abused by her mother over a lengthy period, said Caldecott. "We say this is a book that has its share of errors but it was properly put in the biography section of a bookshop, not in the fiction section."

Briscoe-Mitchell was asked about her relationship with George Briscoe. "My husband wasn't there to help me along with his children. I've had a very hard time with my husband. He wouldn't maintain them, he wasn't there. It was rough, it wasn't easy but I managed.

"He was in and out. He'd just come and make a baby and go back to his girlfriend and that was my life. It was too much. He'd come and kick the door off." Briscoe-Mitchell said she had four times taken him to court for maintenance. The only time she received any payment was when he was arrested and police gave her the £15 in his pocket. "He didn't want to know about his children, he got no interest there at all."

The case continues.

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