On this day ...
28 May 1770
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
Range from Botany Bay to Trinity Bay
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At day-break we made sail, Cape Manifold bearing S. by E. distant eight leagues, and the islands which I had set the night before were distant four miles in the same direction. The farthest visible point of the main bore N. 67 W. at the distance of twenty-two miles; but we could see several islands to the northward of this direction. At nine o’clock in the forenoon, we were abreast of the point which I called CAPE TOWNSHEND. It lies in latitude 22° 15’; longitude 209° 43’: the land is high and level, and rather naked than woody. Several islands lie to the northward of it, at the distance of four or five miles out at sea; three or four leagues to the S.E. the shore forms a bay, in the bottom of which there appeared to be an inlet or harbour. To the westward of the Cape the land trends S.W. ½ S. and there forms a very large bay which turns to the eastward, and probably communicates with the inlet, and makes the land of the Cape an island. As soon as we got round this Cape, we hauled our wind to the westward, in order to get within the islands, which lie scattered in the bay in great numbers, and extend out to sea as far as the eye could reach even from the mast-head: these islands vary both in height and circuit from each other; so that, although they are very numerous, no two of them are alike. We had not stood long upon a wind before we came into shoal water, and were obliged to tack at once to avoid it. Having sent a boat ahead, I bore away W. by N. many small islands, rocks, and shoals, lying between us and the main, and many of a larger extent without us: our soundings till near noon were from fourteen to seventeen fathom, when the boat made the signal for meeting with shoal water: upon this we hauled close upon a wind to the eastward, but suddenly fell into three fathom and a quarter; we immediately dropped an anchor, which brought the ship up with all her sails standing. When the ship was brought up we had four fathom, with a coarse sandy bottom, and found a strong tide setting to the N.W. by W. ½ W. at the rate of near three miles an hour, by which we were so suddenly carried upon the shoal. Our latitude by observation was 22° 8’ S.; Cape Townshend bore E. 16 S. distant thirteen miles; and the westermost part of the main in sight W. ¾#190; N. At this time a great number of islands lay all round us.
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© Derived from Vols. II-III of the London 1773 edition: National Library of Australia call no. FERG 7243, pages 526 - 528, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/hv23/526.html