190 ENTRATfCE ISLE. 



the harbour ; both these and Entrance Isle escaped 

 Captain King's notice, owing to the distant view he 

 had of this part of the coast. A point bearing 

 S.W. distant 3 miles, was the extreme of the main 

 land that we could see in the direction we were going. 

 We found the sandstone of this Island not of the 

 same ancient red colour as that on the shore front- 

 ing it. One boat was employed in the meantime 

 sounding the entrance of the harbour, which we 

 found to be 2 miles across, and from 9 to 1 5 fathoms 

 deep ; the mouth of it faces the W.N.W., Entrance 

 Isle lying half a mile outside its points, with a clear 

 channel nearly a mile wide, on either side of it. 



About a quarter of a mile oiFthe main, and front- 

 ing the south side of this island, there is a singular 

 needle-shaped rock, 20 feet high, marking the 

 outer extreme of a coral ledge, which is covered at 

 high water. As it now blew a fresh breeze from 

 seaward, and the afternoon was far advanced, we 

 spent the remainder of the day in a further exami- 

 nation of the entrance. We were much pleased 

 with the result of our evening's work, finding the 

 approach to this line harbour quite free from danger, 

 and capable of admitting vessels of any size ; there 

 were no reefs or islets seaward of it to add to the 

 anxiety of the navigator, or lessen the value of our 

 discovery ; the importance of which will be greatly 

 enhanced, should Lieutenants Grey and Lushington 

 have the good fortune to discover any land fit for 

 colonization in its neicrhbourhood. Our labours 



