On this day ...
15 - 16 December 1769
Endeavour Voyage Maps
James Cook's Journal Ms 1, National Library of Australia
Transcript of Cook's Journal
Joseph Banks's Journal
Sydney Parkinson's Journal
Bay of Islands round North Cape to Queen Charlotte's Sound
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On the 16th, at six in the morning, we saw land from the mast-head, bearing S.S.W.; and at noon it bore S. by W. distant fourteen leagues: while we were standing in for the shore we sounded several times, but had no ground with ninety fathom. At eight, we tacked in a hundred and eight fathom, at about three or four miles from the shore, which was the same point of land that we had to the N.W. before we were blown off. At noon it bore S.W. distant about three miles; Mount Camel bore S. by E. distant about eleven leagues, and the westermost land in sight bore S. 75 W.; the latitude by observation was 34° 20’ S. At four o’clock, we tacked and stood in shore, in doing which, we met with a strong rippling, and the ship fell fast to leeward, which we imputed to a current setting east. At eight, we tacked and stood off till eight the next morning; when we tacked and stood in, being about ten leagues from the land: at noon, the point of land which we were near the day before, bore S.S.W. distant five leagues. The wind still continued at west; and at seven o’clock, we tacked in thirty-five fathom, when the point of land which has been mentioned before, bore N.W. by N. distant four or five miles; so that we had not gained one inch to windward the last twenty-four hours, which confirmed our opinion that there was a current to the eastward. The point of land I called NORTH CAPE, it being the northern extremity of this country. It lies in latitude 34° 22’ S. longitude 186° 55’ W. and thirty-one leagues distant from Cape Bret, in the direction of N. 63 W. It forms the north point of Sandy Bay, and is a peninsula jutting out N.E. about two miles, and terminating in a bluff head that is flat at the top. The isthmus which joins this head to the main land is very low, and for that reason the land of the Cape, from several situations, has the appearance of an island. It is still more remarkable when it is seen from the southward, by the appearance of a high round island at the S.E. point of the Cape; but this also is a deception; for what appears to be an island is a round hill, joined to the Cape by a low narrow neck of land. Upon the Cape we saw a Hippah or village, and a few inhabitants; and on the south east side of it there appears to be anchorage, and good shelter from the south west and north west winds.
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© Derived from Vols. II-III of the London 1773 edition: National Library of Australia call no. FERG 7243, pages 375 - 376, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/hv23/371.html