194? cook's first voyage august? 



forms a large open bay, which I called Newcastle 

 Bay, and in which are some small low islands and 

 shoals ; the land adjacent is also very low, flat, and 

 sandy. The land of the northern part of the Cape 

 is more hilly, the valleys seem to be well clothed 

 with wood, and the shore forms some small bays, in 

 which there appeared to be good anchorage. Close 

 to the eastern point of the Cape are three small 

 islands, from one of which a small ledge of rocks runs 

 out into the sea : there is also an island close to the 

 northern point. The island that forms the strait 

 or channel through which we had passed, lies about 

 four miles without these, which, except two, are 

 very small : the southernmost is the largest, and 

 much higher than any part of the main land. On 

 the north-west side of this island there appeared to 

 be good anchorage, and on shore, valleys that pro- 

 mised both wood and water. These islands are dis- 

 tinguished in the chart by the name of York Isles. 

 To the southward and south-east, and even to the 

 eastward and northward of them, there are several 

 other low islands, rocks, and shoals : our depth of 

 water, in sailing between them and the main, was 

 twelve, thirteen, and fourteen fathom. 



We stood along the shore to the westward, with a 

 gentle breeze at S. E. by S., and when we had ad- 

 vanced between three and four miles, we discovered 

 the land a-head, which, when we first saw it, we took 

 for the main, to be islands detached from it bv seve- 

 ral channels. Upon this we sent away the boats, with 

 proper instructions, to lead us through that channel 

 which was next the main ; but soon after discovering 

 rocks and shoals in this channel, I made a signal for 

 the boats to go through the next channel to the 

 northward, which lay between these islands, leaving 

 some of them between us and the main : the ship 

 followed, and had never less than five fathom water in 

 the narrowest part of the channel, where the distance 

 from island to island was about one mile and a half. 



