24 A HISTORY OF THE COLONY OF VICTORIA 



the northward could not be distinguished. The western shore 

 extended from the entrance ten or eleven miles in a northern 

 direction, to the extremity of what, from its appearance, I called 

 Indented Head ; beyond it was a wide branch of the port leading 

 to the westward, and I suspected might have a communication 

 with the sea ; for it was almost incredible that such a vast piece of 

 water should not have a larger outlet than that through which we 

 had come." 



Delighted with the prospect, he resolved upon coasting round 

 the port in his ship, but the winds were persistently light and 

 adverse, and in view of the shortness of his provisions he aban- 

 doned the project as likely to occupy too much time. He started, 

 however, in a boat with a small party, and three days' provisions, 

 to see what he could in that time. In his first day's journey he 

 coasted northward as far as Schnapper Point, whence he crossed 

 over to the Indented Head, camping there at nightfall. The next 

 day was devoted to an examination of Corio Bay and its adjacent 

 shores; and on the third day he crossed over to the Werribee 

 Plains and ascended Station Peak, which he named, and where he 

 left, as a memento of his visit, a scroll containing the ship's name 

 and date under a small pile of stones. From this point of vantage 

 he was enabled to form a very good idea of the general character 

 of the country. The party got back to Indented Heads the same 

 night, very much exhausted by the stiff climbing, and a walk of 

 over twenty miles without water. 



On the following morning they returned to the ship, which was 

 lying in Capel Sound ready for sea. " I find it very difficult," 

 says Flinders, " to speak in general terms of Port Phillip. On the 

 one hand, it is capable of receiving and sheltering a larger fleet of 

 ships than ever yet went to sea, whilst on the other, the entrance, 

 in its whole width, is scarcely two miles, and nearly half of it is 

 occupied by the rocks lying off Point Nepean, and by shoals on 

 the opposite side. The depth in the remaining part varies from 

 six to twelve fathoms, and this irregularity causes the strong tides, 

 especially when running against the wind, to make breakers in 

 which small vessels should be careful of engaging themselves ; 

 and when a ship has passed the entrance, the middle shoals are a 



