APPENDIX, 



No. I. 



Captain Blackwood having placed at my disposal a 

 copy of the Orders under which he sailed, I give them here 

 in order that the reader may understand the nature and 

 object of our voyage. The subsequent abstract of the 

 voyage will shew something of the way in which the Orders 

 were carried out. 



By the Commissioners for executing the Office of Lord 

 High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great 

 Britain and Ireland, Sfc. 



Whereas, a large proportion of the vessels trading to the 

 South Sea, and to Australia, are obliged to return to 

 Europe, or proceed to India, by way of Torres Strait ; and 

 whereas, many of those vessels, when weak-handed, in order 

 to avoid the frequent anchorage necessary in the in- shore 

 passage, by what is called King's Route, stand out to sea 

 till an opportunity offers for making one of the narrow 

 gaps in the Barrier Reefs, through which they steer for 

 the Strait; and whereas, several vessels have thus been 

 lost, there being no other guide to these openings than the 

 casual observation of latitude which is often incorrect, there 

 being no land to be seen till entangled within the Reefs, 

 and no Chart on which the dangers are correctly placed. 



We have therefore thought fit, for the above reasons, to 

 have the Great Barrier Reef explored, and to have those 

 gaps surveyed, in order that some means may be devised 



