i io NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



Murray Islands, and fills in the blank at the Wreck Reef with the 

 figures 11 22' S. and 216 22' W. = 143 38' E. The inference 

 is that he copied from the Captain's log, and set down, without 

 question, data regarding which the Captain himself had some 

 doubt, so that he omitted them from his report. 



After many attempts at plotting from Hamilton's data, on 

 various hypotheses as to his meaning, I can no more make head or 

 tail of the positions of the islands and other landmarks mentioned 

 by him than could Flinders, although I had the advantage of more 

 complete charts than were accessible to, or made by, Flinders. One 

 hypothesis, suggested by the Surgeon's tale, which I tried by all 

 possible tests, was that the boats went through Endeavour Strait ; 

 but this is flatly contradicted by the Captain's narrative. I am 

 satisfied, therefore, that Basil Thomson is correct in supposing that 

 the " Sound " referred to by both Captain and Surgeon was neither 

 Endeavour Strait as a whole nor the passage between Entrance 

 Island and Prince of Wales Island, but the strait between Horn and 

 Wednesday Islands, now known as Flinders Passage. Edwards 

 thus anticipated Flinders (in the " Cumberland ") by twelve years. 

 The island named LAFORY'S was, no doubt, as suggested by Basil 

 Thomson, HORN ISLAND, and the " wolves " which Edwards saw 

 and Hamilton heard must have been DINGOES. This is the only 

 mention of the dingo as an indigenous inhabitant of the Torres 

 Strait Islands which I have met with. 



Edwards, then, took the "Pandora's" boats through the FLINDERS 

 PASSAGE, and was actually its discoverer, rounded the north end of 

 HAMMOND ISLAND/ entered the PRINCE OF WALES CHANNEL and 

 passed through its western half. The first to enter the Prince of 

 Wales Channel was GONZAL, in the " Rijder" in 1756. BLIGH, 

 in the "Bounty's " launch, in 1789, was the first to traverse it from 

 end to end. 



Endeavouring to maintain a westerly course through the 

 Channel, Edwards encountered the " NORTH-WEST REEF," and was 

 forced by it southwards, nearly to Good Island, before he found an 

 open sea by which he could make westward for Timor. 



On emerging from the strait, a last glimpse of Australian land 

 was obtained, S. and by E. Both Edwards and Hamilton refer to 

 this as the northernmost extremity of New South Wales, Edwards 

 adding " which forms the south side of Endeavour Straits." The 

 land visible from the observer's position could not have been Cape 

 York, which would be shut out by the high Prince of Wales Island, 

 and must have been the blunt promontory west of the MOUTH OF 

 THE JARDINE RIVER. 



The provisions with which the boats left the scene of the wreck 

 were inventoried as " a small barrel of water, a keg of wine and some 



1 He gave the name of Hammond to some island hereabouts, but his narrative does 

 not make it clear that it was the island now known by this name. 



