156 



THE DISCOVERY OF PORT DALRYMPLE. 



Cook's First 

 Voyage, ii., 

 282. 



Ibid., 



4TI 



Ibid., 



483. 



prompted not only the voyage of Abel Tasman towards 

 the unknown South Land in 1642, when he discovered 

 the southern coast of Van Diemen's Land, but many 

 another expedition of the old navigators. As is weil 

 known, Captain Cook's first voyage" in the Endeavour, 

 in 1768, was undertaken for the purpose of observing the 

 transit of Venus from a station in the South Seas. But 

 when the observations had been made, Cook, in accord- 

 ance with his instructions, headed the Endeavour from 

 Tahiti to the far south, to make one more effort to solve 

 the old geographical problem. After reaching lat. 40° S. 

 without seeing any sign of land, he turned north and then 

 west until he sighted what he at first took for the long- 

 sought Terra Australia Incognita. It is scarcely neces- 

 sary tosay that this was the east coast of New Zealand. 

 After circumnavigating the islands, in March, 1770 the 

 question arose as to the homeward route. Cook himself 

 had a strong desire to return by Cape Horn in order 

 finally to determine whether there was or was not a con- 

 tinent in that direction. As, however, winter was 

 approaching, it was thought inadvisable to venture into 

 the stormy seas of those high latitudes. It was resolved, 

 therefore, to return by the East Indies, and with this view 

 to sail westward until they should fall in with the undis- 

 covered east coast of New Holland, and then follow that 

 coast to Us northern extremity. The Endeavour took 

 her departure from Cape Farewell, and on 19th April, 

 1770, sighted land at Point Hicks, about 60 miles west- 

 ward of Cape Howe. Cook had expected to see the 

 coast of Tasman's Van Diemen's Land to the south, and 

 from the sudden filling of the sea concluded that it was 

 not far off, but was not able to determine whether it was 

 joined to New Holland or not. From Point Hicks he 

 sailed north, exploring the whole length of the eastern 

 coast, which he named New South' Wales, until he 

 reached its northern extremity at Cape York, and 

 returned home by Torres Straits. 



Two years later, Cook sailed on his second voyage in 

 the Resolution. He was accompanied by the Adventure 

 commanded by Capt. Tobias Furneaux. ' The ships were' 

 separated in a fog in 50" S. lat., between the Cape and 

 New Zealand, and Furneaux shaped his course for the 

 land marked on the charts as Van Diemen's Land, which 

 he sighted on 5th March, 1773. After a short stay he 

 sailed out of Adventure Bay with the intention of ex- 

 ploring the east coast as far as Point Hicks, Cook's most 

 southern point, in order to discover whether the coast of 



