At noon, we were about two leagues from the land, and by observation, in latitude 27° 46’ S. which was seventeen miles to the southward of the log; our longitude was 206° 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. ¾#190; E. till between four and five in the afternoon, when we discovered breakers on 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° 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 and 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° 56’, and its longitude is 206° 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° 53’. These hills lie but a little way inland, and not far from each other: they are remarkable for the singular form of their elevation, which very much resembles a glass-house, 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. At noon, our latitude was, by observation, 26° 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° 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. ¼#188; E. This day we saw smoke in several places, and some at a considerable distance inland.

Voyaging Accounts