PreviousNext
17 February 1770
Previous/Next Page
James Cook's Journal: Daily EntriesVoyaging Accounts
----------
Table of Contents

On this day ...
17 February 1770


Endeavour Voyage Maps

James Cook's Journal Ms 1, National Library of Australia

Joseph Banks's Journal

Sydney Parkinson's Journal

The authorised published account of Cook's Voyage by John Hawkesworth


1770

Index
Search

Contact us

Search for Nautical Term in Falconer's Dictionary of the Marine...
17 February 1770

Saturday 17th PM stood to the Southward for the land above mentioned, with the wind at north a fresh breeze and clear weather. At 8 oClock we had run a 11 Leagues sence noon when the land extended from SWBW to NBW being distant from the nearest shore about 3 or 4 Leagues, in this situation ^had 50 fathom water a fine sandy bottom. Soon after this it fell little wind with calms and continued so until 6 oClock AM when a light breeze sprung up at NW which afterwards Veer'd to NE. At sun rise, being very clear, we plainly discoverd that the last mentioned land was an Island by seeing part of the Land of Tovy-poenammu open to the westward of it extending as far as WBS -

At 8 oClock the extremes of the Island bore N 76° Wt and NNE1/2E and an opening that had the appearence of a Bay or Harbour, lying near the South point, N 20° West distant 3 or 4 Leagues, being in 38 fathom water a brown sandy bottom. This Island ^which I have named after Mr Banks lies about 4 5 Leagues from the Coast of Tovy-poenammu, the south point bears So 21° West from the highest peek on the ^Snowey mountains of that land ^so often mentioned and lies in the Latitude of 43°..52' South and in the Longitude of 186°.30 West by observations made of the Sun and Moon this morning. It is of a circular figure and may be about 24 Leags in compass, the land is of a height sufficient to be seen 12 or 15 Leagues and of a very broken uneven surface, and hath more the appearence of barrenness than fertillity. Last night we saw smook upon it ^and this morning some people and therefore must be inhabited —
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Yesterday Lieutenant Gore having the morning watch at the time we first saw this Island, thought he saw land bearing SSE and SEBE but I who was upon deck at the same time was very certain that it was only Clowds which dissipated as the Sun rose, but neither this nor the runing 14 Leagues to the South, nor the seeing no land to the Eastward of us in the Evening, could satisfy Mr Gore but what he saw in the morning was land or might be land altho there was hardly a possibillity of its being so because we must have been more than double the distance from it yester morning at that time to what we was were either last night or this morning at both of which times the weather was exceeding clear and yet we could see no land either to the Eastward or Southward of us. Notwithstanding all this Mr Gore was of the same opinion this morning; Upon this I order'd the Ship to be wore and to be steer'd ESE by Compass on the other Tack, the point on ^which he said the land bore at this time from us. At Noon was we were in the Latitude of 44°.7' So the South point of the Banks's Island bore North distant 5 Leagues


Previous Page Voyaging Accounts Next Page

© Transcription by Paul Turnbull of National Library of Australia, Manuscript 1 page 191, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/cook/17700217.html