Volume 1 — CHAPTER 1.10. SYDNEY TO PORT ESSINGTON. (continued 2)

(*Footnote. Afterwards Governor of New Zealand.)

ITS DESCRIPTION.

Although Booby Island is a mere rock, from the various associations connected with it, being during one half of the year the constant resort of Europeans, it becomes at once a place of interest, and imperatively demands some notice at our hands. It is a quarter of a mile in diameter, flat, and about thirty feet high, the summit being bare porphyry rock. A valley intersects the north-west side of the island, in which a few creepers, some brushwood, and two or three trees of tolerable size, with a peculiar broad green leaf, bearing a great resemblance to that of the wild almond of the West Indies, were seen, giving shelter to some pigeons and quails, in which latter the island abounds, even more than in the bird which gives its name to the locality. Still, however, from the white colour of the top of the island, produced by the boobies, it is clearly one of their temporary haunts; and indeed, subsequently, in the month of September, their season of incubation, Mr. Bynoe saw them there in great abundance. The contrary was the case with the quail, which, by that time, had completely deserted the island. Turtle were once found on this isle, but they are now never taken. A few of the stones mentioned by Captain King are still to be seen on the summit.

REMARKS ON THE CORAL REEFS OF AUSTRALIA.

This being a point at which ships correct or test the going of their chronometers, it was necessary to obtain observations for longitude. The spot chosen for the purpose was the landing-place near the South-West corner of the islet, and which we found to be 9 degrees 45 minutes East of Port Essington.

Our opportunities of examination with regard to the inner edge of the Great Barrier, and its contiguous islands and reefs, terminating at Booby Island; it may not be deemed irrelevant to hazard a few remarks in recapitulation. In the first place there was a very perceptible increase in the elevation of the reefs and of those islands resting on similar constructions, as we advanced to the northward. Cairncross Island, in latitude 11 1/4 degrees South, composed of heaped up consolidated fragments, attains an elevation of 17 feet; but its trees rise to a height of 75 feet, whilst to the southward, in latitude 13 1/2 degrees South the islands were partially flooded by a tide, rising only about six feet. The reefs are all either circular or oval-shaped, with a rim rising round them. The description of that fronting the isle we visited for Boydan will illustrate their general character. Their northern ends are the highest, and are almost invariably marked by a heap of dead coral and shells, which as we have mentioned, in one or two instances, from its white appearance has often been taken for sand.

The remarkable breaks in this singularly great extent of coral reefs, known as the Barrier of Australia, being in direction varying from West to West-North-West generally speaking North-West, leads me to believe that the upheaval by which the base of this huge coral building was formed, partakes of the general north-westerly direction, in which a large portion of the eastern world apparently emerged from the water. A glance at the map of that portion of the globe, will strengthen this hypothesis, placing as it does this singular fact at once before the reader's mind. Starting with the stupendous heights of the Himalaya mountains, and proceeding thence to several groups of the Polynesian islands, New Caledonia, and others, this remarkable similarity in the trend of these portions of the earth is plainly distinguishable. It would appear, therefore, from the general north-westerly tendency of these upheavals, that the cavernous hollows beneath the crust of the earth, within whose bosom originated these remarkable convulsions, have a strong inclination in one direction, a circumstance in connection with the earth's history of great and curious interest. With this general statement of facts, which we note for the benefit of scientific men, and in illustration of the singular changes which are taking place on the surface of the globe, we return to our narrative, from which we have wandered at some considerable length.

As the duration of our cruise on the north-west and most interesting portions of the coast, depended in a great measure on the supply of provisions to be obtained at Port Essington, we were naturally anxious to satisfy ourselves upon the point, and accordingly spent but a few hours at Booby Island, taking our departure at 8 P.M. on the day of our arrival.

PROCEED TO PORT ESSINGTON.

Proceeding towards Port Essington, we experienced a constant current setting between North-West and West, from half to three quarters of a knot an hour, except when crossing the mouth of the Gulf of Carpentaria, when from the indraught its direction was changed to West-South-West. The winds were as Captain King has described them, veering from South-South-East in the morning, to East in the evening, and blowing fresh towards the middle of the day.

Beyond this nothing occurred worthy of remark, until the morning of the 17th, when soon after daylight we found ourselves steering rather within a large patch of discoloured water, extending off Cape Croker, the North-East extreme of the Coburg Peninsula, a low point with a slight hummock on it; on the north side of this peninsula is situated Port Essington, thirty miles to the westward of the Cape.

CAPE CROKER REEF.

The light-coloured water off the latter, we knew indicated the reef discovered by the brig Tigris, belonging to the Indian navy, which in company with the New South Wales colonial schooner, Isabella, was returning from rescuing the survivors of the Charles Eaton, from the natives of Murray Island. When half a mile from the North-East side, in 22 fathoms rocky bottom, Cape Croker, bearing South 29 degrees East six miles; we steered out, keeping at the same distance round this patch of light water in twenty and twenty-one fathoms, seven or eight miles from the Cape, which bore when over what appeared the shoalest part, South 42 degrees East.

This conclusion I afterwards found, on meeting Captain Stanley, to be correct, as that bearing led over the part of the reef he struck on in H.M.S. Britomart. But being on the inner part he was distant only three miles from Cape Croker, whilst the outer edge of the reef I believe to be seven miles from it on the same bearing. In hauling up to the southward, round the North-West extreme of the discoloured water, the soundings were as follows, 17, 12, and 19 fathoms, with rocky bottom. The Cape bore when in the least depth South 58 degrees East nine miles.

We were fortunate in having such good means of determining the longitude of Cape Croker, by observation of a twilight star when in the meridian, and others with the sun soon afterwards. These both agreeing, place the Cape 27 1/4 miles east of Port Essington, instead of 20, as it is laid down in the chart. This discovery is of vital importance to ships proceeding to Port Essington; we were therefore glad of so good an opportunity for rectifying the error.

PORT ESSINGTON.

Expectation was on tip-toe as we were fast approaching Port Essington, feeling naturally anxious to see what progress had been made at the new settlement, and to learn the fate of the expedition. There was, however, nothing striking in the first appearance of the land, a low woody shore; the most remarkable object being a sandy islet, with a tree in its centre, about a mile east of Point Smith, the eastern point of Port Essington: Vashon Head forming the western.

As we drew near, a boat came alongside belonging to H.M.S. Britomart. From Mr. Pascoe we heard that the Alligator had just sailed for Sydney, leaving the former to await her return at Port Essington. The people forming the settlement had been very healthy, bearing out Dr. Wilson's account of Raffles Bay; and had found the natives exceedingly well disposed. For this advantage we are indebted to the excellent judgment displayed by the unfortunate* Captain Barker, late Commandant of Raffles Bay, he having during his stay in that place, treated them with kindness, to which they were fairly entitled from men so far their superiors in knowledge and power, and who were moreover intruders upon their soil. Had this noble conduct of Captain Barker been more universally accepted as an example, the results would, we doubt not, have been equally satisfactory elsewhere.

(*Footnote. This expression may to some of our readers require explanation, and we therefore quote a brief extract from Dr. Wilson's voyage round the world, page 284. "In obedience to orders from the Colonial Government, he was examining the coast in the vicinity of Encounter Bay, principally with the view of ascertaining whether any available communication existed between the river Murray (lately discovered by Captain Sturt) and the Sea. While in the execution of this duty, he was barbarously murdered by the natives, and his body thrown into the sea." In Sturt's two Expeditions volume 2 page 239, a detailed narrative of this tragedy is given.)

WRECK OF THE ORONTES.

We also heard with much regret,* of the wreck of the Orontes, which accompanied the expedition from Sydney. She left the settlement, with the intention of proceeding to some port in the East Indies; and when just clearing the harbour struck on a reef, knocking a hole in her bows. She filled so rapidly that they had barely time to reach the shore under Vashon Head, ere she sank. The reef, which now bears her name, is according to Mr. Tyers' plan, received from Mr. Pascoe, a mile in extent east and west, and half a mile north and south; while the nearest part of it is distant from Vashon Head and Point Smith very nearly five miles. From its extremes the following are the bearings; from the western, Vashon Head South 49 degrees West, Point Smith South 55 degrees East: and from the eastern the same points bear South 60 degrees West and South 48 degrees East.

(*Footnote. The loss of a ship is always looked upon as a most untoward event, on the occasion of a new settlement being formed, and is ever forcibly imprinted upon the memory of all ship-masters. This was felt to a most serious extent at Swan River; and many masters of vessels in speaking of Port Essington, have at once expressed their fear of proceeding thither, deterred by the loss of the Orontes.)

ORONTES REEF.

The least depth on the Orontes reef is about a fathom, but the generally discoloured state of the water, renders it impossible to determine its exact position, and thus greatly increases the injury done by its presence to the mouth of the harbour. The same difficulty prevents the end of the reef fronting Point Smith from being made out. After rounding the latter, we hauled to the wind, South-West by South up Port Essington.