REEFS OF THE CORAL SEA. 67 



but on this stroiig'j with squalls and rain, — appeared 

 steady between E.S.E. and S. S.E. and this carried 

 us do^yn to Sandy Cape. In traversing the Coral 

 Sea^ the numerous detached reefs were so carefully 

 avoided that we saw none of them^ — thus in one 

 sense it is to be reg-retted that the passage throug-h 

 them of a surveying- vessel^ with seventeen chrono- 

 meters on board, was productive of no beneficial 

 result by determining- the exact position of an}^ one 

 of these dang-erous reefs^ most of which are only 

 approximately laid down upon the charts.* 



The most important practical result of Capt. Stan- 

 ley's survey of the Louisiade Archij^elag-o and the 

 south coast of New Guinea, was the ascertaining- 

 the existence of a clear channel of at least 30 miles 

 in width along- the southern shores of these islands, 

 stretching- east and west between Cape Deliverance 

 and the north-east entrance to Torres Strait — a 

 distance of about COO miles. This space was so 

 traversed by the two vessels of the expedition with- 

 out any detached reefs being- discovered, that it does 

 not seem probable that an}' such exist there, with 

 the exception of the Eastern Fields of Flinders, the 



* About this time a new reef was discovered during the pas- 

 sage from Cape Deliverance to Sydney of H.M.S. Moeander, 

 Capt. the Hon, H. Keppel. While this sheet was passing through 

 the press, I saw an announcement of the total wreck upon 

 Kenn Reef — one of those the position of which is uncertain 

 — of a large merchant ship, the passengers and crew of which, 

 33 in number, fortunately however, succeeded in reaching More- 

 ton Bay in their boat — a distance of 400 miles. 



F 2 



