# A Voyage of Discovery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic Regions/Volume 2/Chapter 2

Seal Hunting on the Pack Ice. Page 162.
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER II.
Early on the morning of the 7th of July we 1841. July 7.weighed, and stood down the river; his Excellency Sir John Franklin, and many of our friends, came on board for the purpose of seeing us fairly off, and bidding us a long farewell. With a fresh northerly breeze we had soon passed the beautiful and placid scenery which each bank of the river presents to view; and here, as in many parts of the interior, the peaceful settlements and improving farms which are scattered profusely over the face of the country, in the highest state of cultivation, again recalled to our minds some of the richest and most beautiful scenery of our own country, and impressed us with a feeling, no doubt greatly influenced by the hospitality and affectionate friendship we had experienced from its inhabitants, that we were taking a final leave of our southern home, and perhaps should never again meet with many of those from whom we had experienced so much kindness. At 10 we hove to in Storm Bay, when Sir John Franklin and our friends took leave of us, giving and receiving three hearty cheers at parting. They returned to Hobarton in the government brig, and we pursued our course towards Cape Raoul. In the afternoon we passed the entrance of Port Arthur, one of the best harbours in Van Diemen's Land. It is situated ​between Cape Raoul and Cape Pillar; and, although a dense mist concealed these two remarkable capes from our view, we occasionally caught a glimpse of the lofty basaltic columns of Cape Pillar, which we passed at a few miles' distance, just before dark. The wind being fresh from the northward, we felt the effects of a heavy irregular sea as we stood to the eastward during the night, when we got from under the lee of the land.
July 8.We tacked to the westward before daylight, but light variable winds and a heavy N.E. swell prevented our making any progress; so that, at noon Cape Pillar was still in sight, at a distance of eleven or twelve miles, bearing S. 58º W., our latitude being 43º 5′, long. 148º 21′ E. Thick weather, with rain, the usual accompaniments of a northerly wind, prevailed during the day; but the swell, as it subsided, became more regular, and the wind veered to the westward in the evening. Cape pigeons, blue petrel, and the dusky and black-backed albatrosses were our companions. Many large patches of seaweed were passed through, and a few whales were seen during the day.
July 9.The next morning the wind became more favourable, and before noon we had all studding-sails set. Our run to Port Jackson was unattended with any circumstance worthy of notice. At July 11.daylight, on the morning of the 11th, Cape Howe was seen bearing N.N.W.; and at 1 p.m. soundings were obtained in two hundred and ninety-two fathoms, on a bank of fine sand and greenish mud, ​Cape Howe at the time bearing N. 29° W. distant about seventeen miles: the temperature at that depth being 49·7°; that of the surface and of the air being 59°.
On the following day, when in latitude 37° 20′ S. July 12.long. 151° 36′ E., we had no soundings with five hundred and fifty fathoms, the temperature of the sea at that depth being 46·2, whilst that of the surface was 60°.
On the morning of the 14th we were off the July 14.extensive and celebrated opening called Botany Bay by Captain Cook, and arrived between the narrow heads of Port Jackson at noon. Here a pilot came off to us; and, the wind dying away to a perfect calm, we lowered our boats, and towed the ships up one of the most magnificent harbours in the world. A boat from the shore brought me a kind note of welcome from His Excellency Sir George Gipps, with the offer of every assistance in his power to promote our objects; and immediately that our ships were anchored between the government demesne and Garden Island, Commander Crozier and I went on shore to pay our respects to the governor, from whom we experienced the most cordial reception. I obtained permission from him to put up our observatories on Garden Island, a convenient and retired place, where we could uninterruptedly pursue our work. I should have preferred making our observations at Fort Macquarie, on the exact spot where Lieutenant Wilkes had obtained his, during the visit of the ​United States' exploring expedition in 1839; but at this time it was quite unfit for magnetic observations, from the number of iron guns and piles of cannon balls that were distributed about it, so that instruments could not be placed on any part of the fortifications without being subject to their vitiating influence.
As my chief object in coming here was to obtain a series of magnetometric observations in comparison with those made at the observatory at Hobarton, on the approaching term day of the 21st, with the view to ascertain how far simultaneous observations, at periods previously agreed upon, as well as on days of considerable perturbations, might be depended on for determining the difference of longitude between the two places of observation, we were obliged to work hard day and night to get the instruments fixed and adjusted in good time. By the untiring diligence of Commander Crozier, however, and of the officers of the Erebus and Terror, every thing was in perfect order and in readiness to begin several hours before the appointed time, and a complete and satisfactory series of experiments was made. During the day we were honoured by a visit from the governor, who inspected the ships and observatories, and expressed a warm interest in the objects of our undertaking. Nothing could exceed the kind ​attention and hospitality which were manifested by His Excellency and Lady Gipps to myself and the officers of the expedition during our stay at Sydney; and I have much pleasure also in acknowledging the civilities that were offered to us by the principal inhabitants of the colony, but which the necessity of unremitting labour at the observatories obliged us to decline. I had also the high gratification of meeting with some very old friends in Captain Philip Parker King, R. N., Mr. McLeay, the late colonial-secretary, and his son Mr. W. S. McLeay, who had been several years resident in the colony, and from whom I learnt many interesting particulars of the cruize of the American expedition, which had touched here on its return from the Antarctic Regions; but as the greatest secrecy had been prescribed to its commander by the government, I could, at that time, place but little dependence on what I heard, but which has since turned out to be perfectly true in the principal particulars.
Mr. McLeay's house being situate very near to our ships, we had many opportunities of enjoying the kind hospitalities he so liberally and continually extended to our officers, and whose sentiments towards myself were those of almost paternal regard and solicitude, which the remembrance of having, in my younger days, assisted me in my scientific pursuits, may probably have in some degree tended to awaken.
In the beautiful grounds, consisting of above twenty acres, about Mr. McLeay's house, and which ​are laid out with the greatest taste, Dr. Hooker had an opportunity of examining many rare and curious plants, which had been collected together from various parts of the world, and naturalised by the care and skill of the proprietor and his sons, forming a botanic garden of great value, and, even now, of great interest; although at the most unfavourable period of the year, being in the depth of winter, and in the rainy season.
The quantity of rain which sometimes falls at this place is truly astonishing: during our stay of twenty-one days, it unfortunately happened for us, but happily for the country, that there were only four days on which no rain fell; and on two or three occasions it came down in perfect sheets of water, so that, on the afternoon of the 16th, during two hours and a half, more than three inches of rain fell into the rain gauge at Garden Island: and again on the 17th, between 7 a.m. and noon, nearly five inches were recorded. On mentioning these facts to Sir George Gipps, he told me that on one occasion twenty-three inches fell in the course of twenty-four hours, as measured by a rain gauge on the South Head, an amount far exceeding any thing I had ever before heard of, and equal to the quantity that falls during a whole year in some parts of Great Britain. It produced great destruction of property in its course to the ocean; and there are everywhere to be seen numerous evidences of these periodical deluges in the deeply-worn watercourses, in the soft sandstone of which the country is chiefly composed. I have since been ​referred to an account of a fall of rain which greatly exceeds that which was recorded at South Head, or I should have had some difficulty in believing that some mistake had not been made in the register. It is stated by M. Arago, that at Joyeuse, in the department of Ardeche, according to the register of M. Tardy de la Brossy, the maximum of rain in a single day, in the course of twenty-three years, was found to have occurred on the 9th August, 1807, and amounted to what then appeared the enormous quantity of 9.87 in.: but, on the 9th Oct., 1827, in the space of twenty-two hours only, there descended at the same place 31.17 inches of rain.
The greatest quantity which fell into our rain gauge in twenty-four hours was 8.52 inches between noon of the 16th and noon of the 17th of July; during the whole of which period the wind was light from the SS.W., and the mercury in the barometer so high as 30.38 inches: it fell to 30 inches when the rain ceased in the afternoon of the 17th.
But far more serious drawbacks to the prosperity of the colony are the occasional withering droughts, which destroy the vegetation in a most awful ​manner. Not more than three or four years before our visit, the colonists suffered severely from one of those visitations, and a famine of bread, and still more a scarcity of water, were dreaded. The four pound loaf was sold for two shillings and eightpence, and the Commanding officer of Engineers reported that there was not at one time in reality a larger quantity of water in the reservoir than was sufficient for seven days' consumption. The extreme sandiness of the soil, and total absence of springs are great disadvantages; but the measures which Sir George Gipps has adopted, of damming up the small watercourses when filled by the winter floods, will provide a supply for the whole summer season, and prevent the recurrence of so much distress in future. He told me, that, during the drought of 1838, a gentleman from the interior rode his horse forty miles without being able to give him a drink, and had eventually to pay half-a-crown, at an inn on the road, for less than a quart of water.
I regretted extremely that it was not in my power to see more of the present condition and resources of the colony: the constant attendance at the observatory, and the unfavourable weather, prevented my making any excursions into the country, or indeed seeing either the town or public buildings to advantage.
The first appearance of the colony impresses the mind with wonder and admiration; and it seems hardly possible to imagine that little more than fifty years have elapsed since a "howling ​wilderness" occupied the place on which this great metropolis of a future empire now stands. Its magnificent harbour, or rather series of harbours, so beautiful to the eye of the painter, so perfect to that of a sailor,—so easy of access and egress, and so perfectly capable of containing and protecting, by the erection of judiciously placed fortifications, any number of shipping, are advantages that more than compensate the natural defects of a barrenness of soil, and proportional deficiency of luxuriance in the vegetation of its immediate vicinity; whilst the princely mansions of the country gentlemen, which have been built on each side of the harbour, give evidence of the wealth and industry of the colonists. Just at the period of our visit, the colony was suffering under a severe commercial pressure, brought on by overtrading, and the want of labourers. Until very lately, the settlers had enjoyed the benefit of convict labour, but, since they had obtained their prayer to the Home Government that no more convicts should be sent into the colony, they have been obliged to pay their common labourers about thirty pounds a-year, in addition to very expensive rations. Accounts recently received, however, announce the gratifying intelligence that they have nearly recovered the shock, and that their commercial transactions are now proceeding more prosperously and on a more solid foundation. The monetary distress and confusion which had been produced by excessive speculation, and which had borne ​heavily even on some of the more wealthy individuals, have been overcome by economy, industry, and perseverance in developing the resources of the country; and the great difficulties and embarrassments of that time have been succeeded by years of general prosperity and comparative abundance. Since then, also, to the Legislative Council of New South Wales has been added a third class of persons, in the representatives of the people; a measure of very doubtful benefit to the colony, and considered by many to be the first great step towards its separation from the mother country. It now consists of three classes,—first, the official servants of her Majesty; 2nd., Gentlemen of independence, nominated by the Crown; and, 3rd., Representatives elected by the people. Three years only have yet elapsed since the first meeting of the Legislative Council as enlarged by act of Parliament, for the government of the colony, and the admitted general success of the experiment cannot but be in a great measure ascribed to the commanding influence and abilities of the present Governor, Sir George Gipps, and to the firmness, acknowledged talents, and universal love and respect entertained by all classes towards Mr. McLeay, the venerated Speaker of the Assembly; and we may hope that under such guidance and example, now that this mode of government may be considered as established, the people will show themselves fit for, and worthy of, the trust ​which has been confided to them, and will select as their representatives those only who will devote themselves to the duties required of them, and direct the best energies of their minds to elevating the commercial, social, and moral condition of the colony.
It is, however, the religious condition of the colonists which demands the most anxious attention of the government. With three acknowledged or established religions whose ministers are paid from the public purse, it requires a more than ordinary degree of prudence and wisdom in administering to each of the three sects—Romanists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians—the monies in due proportions; and the great want of church accommodation for all classes, and of ordained pastors of the Church of England in particular, is the cause of thousands falling away into a most shocking state of irreligion and infidelity; and, unless liberal and efficient measures be adopted by both the Home and Colonial governments to extend the means of education and religious instruction, the consequences cannot fail to be most calamitous.
Here, as at Van Diemen's Land, the Governor, being a member of the Church of England, is complained of by those of that communion with being often obliged to give a more favourable decision to either of the other sects, in order to prevent the suspicion of an undue bias towards his own church; and the religious feuds are often carried so high between the Presbyterians and ​Episcopalians, that each party seems to do its utmost to prevent any advantage accruing to the other: thus every step towards improvement and extension of the one sect is strongly and bitterly resisted by its opponent, and these feelings of religious jealousy or rivalry have been sufficiently powerful to induce even good and pious men of various denominations of the Christian Church to oppose and withstand, and eventually frustrate, the endeavours of the benevolent and virtuous to supply sound religious instruction to many thousands of souls, because the good of the Church of England might be advanced by the measure. May we not hope that a period of calm reflection will eradicate these petty but pernicious feelings of rivalry, which tend only to retard and place a stumbling block in the way of those who are struggling forward in their Christian course?
The only excursion into the country which my engrossing duties admitted was a day's trip up the river to Paramatta, a distance of about fifteen miles. The Governor's official duties requiring his presence there, and being desirous to show me a little of the country, he kindly offered ine a seat in his barge, which I gladly accepted, especially as I was very anxious to obtain a good comparison of our chronometers with the time of the observatory at Paramatta, whose longitude had been so well determined by Sir Thomas Brisbane, when he first established the observatory at his own expense; and also to make arrangements for measuring the ​difference of meridians between it and Garden Island, by means of rockets, and thereby secure an accurate determination of the longitude of the latter place, for the convenience of merchant vessels sailing from the port. Although in the depth of winter, I was much struck with the richness and varied beauty of the scenery on both sides of the river. Landing at a wharf a short distance below the town, I walked directly up to the observatory, and was engaged there with Mr. Dunlop, whilst the Governor transacted the business which had called him to Paramatta, during which time we were fortunate in obtaining several good transits of stars; and having agreed upon a plan of co-operation with Mr. Dunlop, about the rocket experiments, and after partaking of some refreshment prepared for us at government-house, I returned to Sydney with His Excellency in his carriage; the drive was far less agreeable and interesting than the row up the river, especially on account of the heavy rains that had lately fallen, having rendered the roads in some places almost impassable for carriages, except by the powerful aid of four good horses. The roads generally in the colony are much inferior to those of Van Diemen's Land, owing chiefly to the want of proper materials, which they have to bring from a considerable distance, and at a very great expense. The principal roads were, however, undergoing very extensive repairs at this time, which contributed in no small degree to their present bad condition.
​The following evening being favourable for our projected experiments, Mr. Smith was despatched to an intermediate station, called Bedlam, to set-off some rockets, as we considered it probable that we should see them more distinctly than if sent up at either of the extreme stations. The instant of each rocket's explosion was noted at both places, and, after several nights' observations, the results were brought into comparison, and found to differ only in tenths of a second; twenty-five were judged sufficient for the accurate determination. The mean difference of time obtained amounted to 55$^s$.85, and, taking the longitude of the observatory at Paramatta at 10$^h$ 4$^m$ 6$^s$.25, as given in the Third Part of the Philosophical Transactions for 1829, p. 16–29., would give for the longitude of the place of observation at Garden Island 151º 15′ 31″.5 E.; and again applying the meridian distance between this place and the Ross Bank observatory, as given by the means of our chronometers, we find the longitude of the latter place from these data to be 147º 23′ 40″.7 E.
We found after a few trials that the rockets sent up at Garden Island could be seen perfectly well from the Paramatta observatory, which rendered the night excursions to Bedlam unnecessary.
Although the general magnetometrical observations were complete by the 28th July, the weather was so unfavourable that the absolute determinations could not be obtained until the 2d of August, which day was also devoted to making such ​computations as were necessary; and before night abstracts of all the observations that had been made at Garden Island by the officers of the expedition were packed up and sent on board the Ruby, of London, for conveyance to England; by which vessel I also transmitted to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty a statement of the operations of the expedition up to the present time. The Ruby sailed the next morning; but we remained until the following day to finish our arrangements, take down and stow away the observatories, and make other necessary preparations for our departure.
The mean variation of the compass observed on Garden Island, between the 21st and 28th of July, was 9º 57′ 19″ E., and the mean dip 60º 50′ 5″ S.
In the course of the afternoon Commander Crozier and I went to government-house, to take leave of Sir George and Lady Gipps, from whom we had experienced during our stay the greatest kindness and warmest hospitality, especially evinced by their leaving us perfectly at liberty to accept or decline their almost daily invitations, but always receiving us with a most cordial welcome whenever our duties admitted of our appearing at their hospitable mansion. And our expedition is indebted to the Governor, not only for every assistance that we required, but for the readiness he uniformly manifested in facilitating our pursuits.
We also took leave of our warm-hearted friends ​of the McLeay family, and of several of the gentlemen of the Australian Club, who had done us the honour to invite all the principal officers of the expedition to a grand public dinner.
We dined, and spent our last evening at Sydney, with the Governor and a number of friends he had invited to meet us; and, on our return on board at night, we found the ships had been unmoored in the afternoon, and were in every respect ready to sail at daylight in the morning, if the light westerly wind which was then blowing should continue favourable.
Late at night Commander T.R. Sulivan arrived in a merchant vessel from the East Indies, he having been appointed by the Commander-in-Chief to fill the vacancy occasioned by the melancholy death of Commander Croker, of H.M.S. Favourite; and as we had every reason to believe that vessel to be in some of the ports of New Zealand, his opportune arrival gave me the pleasure of Commander Sulivan's company to the Bay of Islands, where I expected we should meet the Favourite.
August 5.A perfect calm in the morning, and the flowing tide, prevented our sailing so early as I wished; but a westerly wind springing up on the turn of tide at 11 a.m., we weighed, and made sail out of the harbour. At noon we were at sea, running with all sail before a favourable and freshening breeze. At 4 p.m., the light-house on the South Head bore E. by S, distant 20 miles, from which we took our departure, and shaped our course for ​the north end of New Zealand, distant rather more than a thousand miles.
We were much surprised to find the temperature both of the air and of the sea rise very considerably on leaving the harbour: the air from 55º to 60º; the surface of the sea from 55º to 63º immediately outside the Heads, which latter temperature continued without variation as we increased our distance from the land, that of the air again falling as the night advanced.
We observed some vivid lightning in the S.E., and apprehended a change of wind, but in this we were fortunately mistaken, the strong westerly breeze prevailing, and carrying us rapidly forward on our course, so that by noon the next day we had run a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, and were, by observation, in lat. 33º 52′ S., long. August 6. 154º 8′ E., dip 62º.41, var. 9º 42′ E.; by which also we found that we had been carried by a current twenty-nine miles to the south, which may in some measure account for the increased temperature of the sea above mentioned. At night, the Terror falling far astern, rendered a reduction of sail necessary, to our great mortification, as we had been struggling hard the whole day to keep a-head of a merchant ship which sailed some hours after us from Sydney, and which we now observed going fast past us, under comparatively easy sail; but our vessels were very deeply laden, considerably below their bearings, having completed to three years' provisions, stores, and fuel, at Sydney; so ​that, although carrying a heavy press of sail, we could not get them to go more than eight knots. We saw no birds during the day, a circumstance to us of unusual occurrence, but which reminded us of the low latitude in which we were sailing. Towards evening, the wind veered to the northward, and throughout the day we had several heavy showers of rain.
During the night we were obliged to reduce our sail to topsails and foresail, to enable the Terror to close, which she had hardly accomplished by day-light, when all sail was again made, the wind Aug. 7.having backed from the N.W. to the S.W. At noon, we had run one hundred and sixty miles during the last twenty-four hours, and had been carried ten miles to the southward by the current. The change of wind had produced an awkward cross sea, which, together with frequent sharp squalls, occasioned us the loss of a few studding-sail booms; but this was of no consequence, as we were going to a country where the finest spars in the world for the purpose could be obtained without trouble or expense; but we were much surprised to experience such heavy squalls at so great a distance from any land.
Aug. 8.At noon we were in lat. 33º 27′ S., and long. 160º 43′ E., having run a distance of one hundred and sixty-three miles. We found the current today had carried us ten miles to the northward, so that it would appear that the breadth of the belt of warm water which runs along the eastern coast of ​New South Wales to the southward, at the rate of about twenty miles a-day, whose influence we had felt for the two previous days, does not much exceed three hundred miles. The temperature of the surface had sensibly changed since noon yesterday, from 64º to 61º; that of the air remaining steady at 59º. The Cape pigeon and sooty albatross were again seen this afternoon, as also were several flocks of flying fish—one of these creatures flew on board. In the evening, and throughout the night, observers were placed in different parts of the ship, to watch for the occurrence of falling stars, which might be expected to take place about the middle of this month. As the thorough accomplishment of this object required the aid of more observers than we could muster amongst the officers, even with the assistance of the civilians, who were ever ready to help on these occasions, it was necessary to train some of the more intelligent and careful of the seamen of each watch to this duty; and their report of the number seen in the division of the heavens to which their attention was directed was made to the officer of the watch at the end of every half-hour. One of the more zealous of these observers, who had not been so fortunate as to see any " falling stars " during his first half-hour, did not wish to leave his post when relieved, "as he was sure two or three would fall in a few minutes; he had been watching them, and could see they were shaking!"
At 1 p.m., in lat. 33º 40′, long. 164º 18′, weAug. 9. ​tried the temperature of the sea: at three hundred fathoms it was 49º.7; at one hundred and fifty fathoms 55º.8, and at the surface 59º, the specific gravity being 1.0274 at 60º.
Aug. 9.Three sperm whales were seen, also a few flying fish, sooty albatross, and cape pigeons. At 8.20 p.m., "a bright meteor was observed to burst in the S.W., at an altitude of 20º, exhibiting a shower of beautifully variegated stars." It was also noticed on board the Terror, and is more circumstantially described in her log-book: "At 8.20, observed a brilliant meteor emerge from a dark cloud near the southern cross, at an altitude of 10º; it rose to the altitude of about 25º, and in descent showed five bright lights." Fifteen falling stars were seen between 10 and 11 p.m., at which time about one half of the hemisphere was obscured by clouds.
Aug. 10.The wind had gradually declined during the morning until 9 o'clock, when, being very nearly calm, I took the only opportunity we yet had of trying the new self-registering thermometers that had been made at my request to stand a much greater pressure than those we had been at first supplied with, and which could never be safely sent to a greater depth than five hundred fathoms. We hove to at 9h. 20m. in lat. 33º 41′ S., long. 166º 23′ E., and tried for soundings with 820 fathoms, but without striking the ground. The temperature of the sea at 750 fathoms was 40º.4; at 600 fathoms, 42º.7; at 450 fathoms, 45º.6; at 300 fathoms, 49º.5; at ​150 fathoms, 53º.6; at 100 fathoms, 56º.7; at 50 fathoms, 57º.6; at 2 fathoms, 58º.7; and at the surface, 59º.7: the new thermometers agreeing very satisfactorily in their indications with those we had formerly used, when sent down together to several depths less than 600 fathoms. From these experiments it would appear that the mean temperature of the ocean was not attained; and for this purpose it would be necessary to descend below 800 fathoms in this latitude. The temperatures obtained at the several different depths were in each case about a degree higher than those taken in the same parallel in the Atlantic, and differing to very nearly the same amount from some obtained by Sir Edward Belcher in 32º 46′ N. latitude, and 152º W. longitude, and of which he kindly furnished me an account, when I met him at the Cape, in April, 1843. The following table will show the comparison at these three widely different positions.
| Aug. 10th, 1841. Lat. 33º 41′ S. Long. 166º 23′ E. | Aug. 10th, 1841. Lat. 33º 41′ S. Long. 166º 23′ E. | Aug. 10th, 1841. Lat. 33º 41′ S. Long. 166º 23′ E. | Aug. 10th, 1841. Lat. 33º 41′ S. Long. 166º 23′ E. | Mar. 1st, 1840. Lat. 33º 23′ S. Long. 7º 41′ E. | Mar. 1st, 1840. Lat. 33º 23′ S. Long. 7º 41′ E. | Mar. 1st, 1840. Lat. 33º 23′ S. Long. 7º 41′ E. | Sir E. Belcher's Experiment. Lat. 32º 46′ N. Lon. 165º 53′ W. | Sir E. Belcher's Experiment. Lat. 32º 46′ N. Lon. 165º 53′ W. | Sir E. Belcher's Experiment. Lat. 32º 46′ N. Lon. 165º 53′ W. | Mean of all. Lat. 33º 27′ | Mean of all. Lat. 33º 27′ |
| Fath. | | º | ′ | | º | ′ | | º | ′ | º | ′ |
| 750 | — | 40 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 40 | 4 |
| 600 | — | 42 | 7 | | 41 | 7 | | 43 | 3 | 42 | 6 |
| 450 | — | 45 | 6 | | 43 | 0 | | 43 | 2 | 43 | 9 |
| 300 | — | 49 | 5 | | 47 | 4 | | 48 | 1 | 48 | 3 |
| 150 | — | 53 | 6 | | 53 | 2 | | 42 | 7 | 53 | 2 |
| 100 | — | 56 | 7 | | 56 | 0 | | 55 | 7 | 55 | 8 |
We were at the time of these experiments about Aug. 10.two hundred and seventy miles from the islands called the Three Kings, off the north end of New ​Zealand, which was the nearest land, and at so great a distance could hardly be supposed to have exercised any influence on the temperature of the sea.
In the afternoon we had light, variable winds from the S.E., accompanied by sharp squalls and showers of rain: many different kinds of marine animals were taken in the net, which the light breeze admitted of our towing astern, and it was interesting to recognize amongst them several of the same species with those we had taken in the tropical regions of the Atlantic. A large shoal of porpoises, and some immature albatross, were also seen.
Aug. 11.At 10 a.m. we struck soundings in four hundred fathoms, on a bank of sand and small black stones; the dredge was put overboard, and after dragging along the ground about half an hour it was found to contain some beautiful specimens of coral, corallines, flustræ, and a few crustaceous animals. The freshening breeze prevented our obtaining a larger number of specimens. The position of this bank is in lat. 33º 32′ S. long. 167º 40′ E., and about two hundred and twenty miles N. 80º W. from the Three Kings. The discovery of a coral bank rising from so great a depth towards the surface of the ocean, and probably in future ages to form an island between New South Wales and New Zealand, is a remarkable circumstance; and a careful determination of its exact size and the smallest depth of water over any part of it, by which means its annual ​growth might be hereafter ascertained, would have been desirable; but our present object did not admit of our bestowing so much time on the investigation as it would have required. The temperature of the sea at different depths over this bank were as follows: at four hundred fathoms, 45º.3; at three hundred fathoms, 48º.1; at two hundred fathoms, 51º; and at one hundred and fifty fathoms, 53º; which, when compared with those at corresponding depths obtained in the deeper sea yesterday, would seem to bear out the following remark extracted from the instructions prepared for me by the Meteorological Committee of the Royal Society.
"As no sea can be supposed absolutely motionless, the presence of a shoal, by casting up to the surface water which, but for it, would have continued to sweep along at a greatly lower level with the general body of the current, must bring the temperature of the surface water into nearer correspondence with that below. In low latitudes the surface water is hotter than that below; and accordingly it is a general remark, that the temperature sinks as the water shoals, or even in passing over banks whose depth is very considerable. If this theory of the phenomenon be correct, the contrary ought to be observed in situations where the surface water is colder than that below, as it is known to be, under particular circumstances, in the polar seas." The subject is one of considerable interest ​to the navigator, as the approach to land or shoal water is indicated by the thermometer, in many places, with a high degree of sensibility. A remarkable instance of this kind occurs off the west coast of Africa, of which an account is given in the first volume of this narrative.
Stormy weather during the three following days prevented our trying for soundings to a greater depth than four hundred fathoms, at which we did not reach the bottom. The appearance of solan geese, numerous patches of seaweed, and a remarkable degree of phosphorescence of the water, indicated our approach to land. It was seen at 9 a.m. of the 15th, bearing S.E. At noon, in lat. 34º S. and long. 172º E., we had no soundings with three hundred and fifty fathoms; the Three Kings bearing from S. 50º E. to S. 8º E., distant between seven and eight leagues. The wind being fresh from the N.E., with a heavy sea running, we stood towards the islands on the port tack, but should not have weathered them, had we not been assisted by a strong tide to windward; between the principal of the three islands and the small islet at the N.E. extreme, we observed a reef of rocks just above water, over which the waves were breaking furiously. We could not discern any bay or harbour on the north side of the island, which Tasman named the island of the Three Kings, in allusion to the day (Epiphany) on which he is said to have cast anchor off it. From our ships it had the ​appearance of a wild unprotected rocky shore, but the soundings were such as to leave no doubt upon our minds that he might have anchored under the lee of the island in perfect safety.
Having weathered the small north-eastern islet, and finding the soundings regularly diminish from sixty-five fathoms, on fine gray sand and broken shells, at 6 p.m., to thirty-five fathoms at 9 p.m., we stood towards the main land until that time, when we tacked off to the eastward during the darkness of night; the only land in sight being the high bold Cape Maria Yan Diemen, of romantic association.
It was so designated by Tasman nearly two hundred years ago, after a young lady of that name, to whom he was attached, and whom he afterwards married; she was the daughter, or near relation, of Anthony Van Diemen, the governor of the Dutch possessions in India, a great friend of Tasman, and by whom the expedition he commanded was sent forth, having been fitted out under his immediate superintendence at Batavia.
This great navigator was, therefore, the discoverer of the North Island of New Zealand as well as of Van Diemen's Land. The recent alteration of the name of the latter place to that of Tasmania, whilst it has paid only a just tribute to his memory, will serve at the same time to perpetuate a name which occupies so honourable and proud a position in the history of nautical discovery.
The wind continuing moderate, and shifting to Aug. 16.the northward, we tacked at 1.40 a.m., and ​sounded in sixty-three fathoms, gray sand and broken shells. At day-light we saw Cape Maria bearing S. by W. ½ W. (true), and Cape North was soon afterwards seen as we stood to the eastward. We now experienced squally weather as we closed the land, and the wind backing to the eastward we were unable to fetch along the coast, and were therefore employed during the rest of the day contending with the wind, but making very little progress towards our desired port, owing to the north-easterly swell which prevailed.
At noon Cape North bore S. 56º E. (true), distant about eight miles; the range of hills of which it forms the termination rises to the elevation of 1130 feet above the level of the sea; and a peaked mountain, bearing S. 10º W. attains nearly 1000 feet. The rest of the coast is of very inconsiderable height, seldom exceeding four to six hundred feet, and in some places so low as, at a distance, to give the appearance of a separation. At 5 p.m., we sounded in thirty-two fathoms, shingle and broken shells, Cape North bearing S. 71º W., between two and three miles distant. Beating along the coast, we found the soundings sufficiently regular to be a safe guide, even during foggy weather; but under such circumstances it is to be avoided if possible, the tides being strong and irregular, and the survey of the shores very imperfect.
Aug. 17.The wind continued adverse during the night, and the whole of the next day, so that it was not ​until late in the evening that we arrived at, and hove to off, the entrance of the Bay of Islands, the night being too dark for us to attempt the harbour. A lighthouse on Cape Brett, Cape Pocock, or one of the outer islands of the bay, is a desideratum of the first importance to the trade of this place. Had the wind increased to a heavy gale, our ships would have been in a very dangerous position; as it was, we were not without much anxiety during the night; the rapidly descending barometer and general aspect of the weather gave but too evident symptoms of the approaching gale, and when day broke, the haze was so dense that we could not see the land; fortunately for us, a partial clearing of only a few minutes duration gave us a glimpse of the fine bold promontory called Cape Brett, with its pierced rock off it, by which it can be distinguished from all other headlands. We immediately bore away before the breeze, which had by this time increased to a gale, steering for Kororarika Point, which we got sight of through the fog and the rain, which was pouring down in torrents. Furling all our square sails, we ran before the wind, passing the anchorage of Kororarika, and, guided by the admirable chart of Captain Fitzroy, entered the narrows of the river Kawa Kawa, the ships stirring the mud up as they passed over the bar, on which there was rather less water than they drew, and anchored about a mile and a half from its entrance, at 10 30 a.m., in five fathoms—moored with the best ​bower to the N.E., and small bower to the S.W., with thirty-six fathoms of cable upon each; Point Omatta flag-staff bearing S. 56º E., Point Gore N. 3º W. We observed the American corvette Yorktown at anchor off Kororarika, when the fog and rain cleared away in the evening; and the next morning I had the pleasure of receiving a visit from her commander, Captain Aulick, when I was sorry to learn from him that, having fulfilled the purposes which brought him here, and finished the refitting of his ship, he intended to sail almost immediately for the Sandwich Islands.
Commander Crozier and I went to pay our respects to Mr. Fitzgerald, the only representative of the civil authority at this place. He had recently arrived from England, having been appointed to a high official situation, but at the request of the Governor was fulfilling the duties of chief magistrate at this place until a favourable opportunity should occur for removing with his wife and family to the new seat of government at Auckland. At this time he was residing in a wooden house that Governor Hobson had brought from England with him, and which had been put up on the lands purchased by him with the intention of establishing at this place the capital of the colony; but, to the great disappointment of the inhabitants of Kororarika, and the settlers in the neighbouring country, he very judiciously removed with all the government officers to a more eligible spot at the Thames, where the ​city of Auckland was at this time in process of erection. Captain Hobson was unfortunately absent on an official inspection of the more remote settlements established by the New Zealand Company, so that I had no opportunity of paying my respects to him. From Mr. Fitzgerald I received every attention, and permission to place our observatories on any part of the government grounds we might think most suitable; but the spot we had selected in the course of a forenoon's pull along the shores of the river, belonged to the Missionaries of the Church of England, and he referred me to the Reverend Mr. Williams, formerly a lieutenant of the Royal Navy. We therefore called upon that gentleman at the Missionary establishment of Paihia, who immediately granted us the required permission: in the afternoon our observatories were landed, and in a few hours were ready to receive the instruments.
The spot I had selected for our observatories was on a low level point of shingle, not more than three or four feet above high water, upon the left bank of the river Kawa Kawa, close by a small stream, whose muddy banks at low water gave occasion to our sailors to call it the "muddy-muddy," and about a quarter of a mile from the place called by the natives, "Haumi," marked by a small cluster of trees, on the beach where the bodies of the French navigator, Marion, and his unfortunate companions, were devoured by the exasperated savages, who conveyed them from the scene of the massacre, ​first across the narrow neck of land to Kororarika, and thence in canoes to Haumi, where they could indulge their horrid feast in more security and without fear of interruption.
Capt. Fitzroy very justly observes, that this sad catastrophe is now known to have been caused by mutual ignorance of each other's language; the Frenchmen, not understanding that the spot was "tabooed" persisted in fishing there against the remonstrances of the natives, and endeavoured to maintain their intrusion by force.
With reference to the anchorage I had chosen for our ships, and in which I was guided chiefly by his remarks, he observes, that "the estuary, or arm of the sea, forms an excellent harbour for ships not larger than third-class frigates; or, to speak in a more definite manner, for those which do not draw more than seventeen feet of water. On each side the land rises to five or six hundred feet, sheltering the anchorage without occasioning those violent squalls, alternating with calms, that are found under the lee of very high land, over which strong wind is blowing. As far as I know, there are very few shoals or banks in the wide space which forms the inner harbour. A slight stream of current and tide runs outwards during about seven hours, and the tide sets inwards about five, though with still less strength." To his ample and interesting account of this part of New Zealand and its inhabitants, and to the numerous more recent accounts of this painfully interesting ​country, which have been published by those who had better means of obtaining accurate information than I had, I must refer the reader, confining any remarks I may have to make to points bearing more immediately upon our own pursuits and the especial objects of our voyage.
* ↑ A detailed and highly interesting account of the state of the colony at that time is given by Lieutenant Wilkes in the second volume of the "Narrative of the United States' Exploring Expedition," pp. 163–274.
* ↑ Annales de Chimie, tome xxxvi.
* ↑ Those who witnessed the heavy fall of rain and its destructive effects, which occurred between 3$^h$ 30$^m$ and 6$^h$ 30$^m$ p.m., on the 1st August, 1846, in London; during which above four inches of rain fell, may form some idea of the quantity here mentioned; but who can conceive the terrible consequences that would have resulted had it continued without intermission twenty-four hours?
* ↑ It was opened on the 3rd of August, 1843.
* ↑ Page 50.
* ↑ Page 34.