Coast and Lakes of Gipps Land. 95 



16. My attention was called to the first by the remarks of a 

 Mr. M. Campbell, who for some years back has been conversant 

 with the coast, and who informed me of the existence of an 

 easterly current along the shore ; but it was only upon the 

 occasion of proceeding to obtain soundings outside the bars 

 that I had any suspicions of its true nature, in consequence of 

 finding blue water in nine fathoms, with a strong drift, and 

 in seventeen fathoms, at a distance of about two miles from 

 the shore, a great increase of colour, with soundings a consisting 

 of fine gravel and very coarse quartz sand, showing that the 

 current was not a superficial one only. From various causes 

 I was unable to take the velocity, but, judging from the rate 

 of drift and the nature of the soundings, I think the current 

 cannot be much less than two miles per hour. 



17. From the strength and direction of the stream, I am 

 induced to believe that it is part of the great polar current 

 shown on Maury's charts, running to the north, of which, 

 dividing against the southern extremity of Tasmania, one 

 portion continues as a northern current up the eastern shores 

 of Tasmania and New South Wales, to Moreton Bay, and 

 the other, meeting the southern side of the Australian Con- 

 tinent,* is diverted to the eastward through Bass's Straits, 

 and forms the current the edge of which runs along- the 

 Gipps Land shores. 



18. Although there may be little doubt on this matter, it 

 would be desirable to obtain confirmation, by floating bottles 

 (containing memoranda of time and place of starting) in 

 the leading currents to the westward of the Straits. 



19. During the period of the recent survey of the entrance 

 a series of bottles were properly sealed, with notes inside of 

 the time and place where floated, and a request made that 

 any person picking up the same would note the time and 

 place and forward the papers contained, either to the office 

 of Roads and Bridges, or to the Melbourne Argus, for 

 publication. The last series of bottles, dated the 15th Sep- 

 tember, were intended to have been floated at two miles 

 distance from the coast, but the threatening weather 

 prevented this being done, and the bottles were consequently 

 only launched in the old entrance and watched through the 

 line of breakers into the currents beyond. 



* Note.— Evidence has since been obtained tbat this is part of the easterly- 

 current setting from St. Paul's, across the Indian Ocean, past the South 

 Coast of Australia. 



20/4/65. T. E. B. 



