NEW SOUTH WALES. 287 



islands, where, the gale continuing at west, they 

 were kept until the 3d of December, when they 

 were enabled to proceed to the westward. The land 

 here trended to the W. N. W. as far as visible 

 through the haze, which suffered them only to dis- 

 tinguish that it was high and uneven. Atnoon the 

 latitude was 40* 58', and the longitute 140° 44'. 

 Their progress was slow; but what was seen of 

 it appeared high and mountainous, the moun- 

 tains forming into low peaks, to which a few 

 large shapeless knobs added a great Angularity. 

 On the haze clearing away, and the shore being 

 distinctly seen, it appeared rocky, but wooded 

 nearly down to the water's edge. Here and 

 there were seen spaces of open ground, some of 

 which sloped toward the sea, and had a few large 

 trees growing on them. A peaked mountain, 

 some miles inland, might have been thought, 

 from its shape and height, to have been once a 

 volcano. 



On the 6th, towards noon, soon after passing 

 Circular Head, the outermost land in sight 

 stretched so far on the northward, that the 

 course to clear it was N. N. W. It formed like 

 two hummocks. 



Nothing new presented itself on the follow- 

 ing day, but some small flights of sooty petrels. 



On the 8th, being threatened with a gale, they 

 came to anchor under the land, off a small beach 

 on its N. E. part, where the S. W. wind could 

 not molest the vessel. Here Mr. Bass land- 

 ed to examine the country, but the tall stur- 

 dy brusb-wood grew so close that their dogs 



