432 THE ANTARCTIC MANUAL, 
On the 9th we reached the latitude of Cape Howe, and were seventy 
miles to the eastward of it. We there experienced a rise in the tem- 
perature of the water, six degrees in less than an hour. 
On the 10th, when off Cape Jervis, and about forty miles to the 
eastward of it, we again changed the temperature from 68° to 73° as we 
steered in for the land to the northward, but on hauling to the eastward 
it again fell to 68°. A strong southerly current has been long known to 
exist along this coast ; and I feel well satisfied that the thermometer is 
a good guide in making the passage from the southward. The coasting 
vessels, as I was informed at Sydney, had frequently made long passages 
from Van Diemen’s Land and South Australia, which I have but little 
doubt is owing to the prevalence of this minor Gulf Stream, the position 
of which the use of the thermometer will clearly indicate. This current 
will be noticed particularly in the chapter on currents. Its width no 
doubt varies with the season. 
On the 11th of March, at noon, we passed the Heads of Port Jackson, 
and took a pilot. We were, as a body, in better condition than when 
we left Sydney three months before. 
In an hour afterwards we dropped our anchor in Farm Cove, off 
Fort Macquarie. Our reception was flattering ; scarcely was our anchor 
well down before many of our friends came on board to bid us welcome; 
and we felt ten-fold that kind hospitality which on our former visit we 
had first become acquainted with. They appeared to rejoice in our 
success as if we had been their countrymen. 
During our absence from Sydney many improvements had taken 
place. The storehouses for the deposit of grain on an island in the 
harbour were in rapid progress; the new Government House nearly 
completed, and the foundation of an Exchange laid; besides this, many 
improvements in town that were then in progress had been completed; 
and the rapidity with which these works had been accomplished 
strongly reminded me of similar operations at home. 
The country was looking quite green and pretty; indeed, the sail 
up the noble harbour was truly beautiful; it wore quite a different face 
from its former parched appearance, the rains having been abundant 
during our absence. 
Observations were obtained for the rates of our chronometers, and 
the magnetic needles again experimented with. 
On overhauling my ship, the fore-topmast was found to be slightly 
sprung. 
It was with great pleasure I learned the safety of the Peacock ; for 
that vessel had occupied my thoughts more than the others, on account 
of the condition in which she left Sydney. All on board of her were 
well, and the vessel was undergoing repairs in Mossman’s Cove, one of 
the many which this harbour forms. These coves may be termed wet- 
docks affording as they do every facility for the repair of vessels of 
