DISTANCE OF UEFUGE. 305 



number of these cases, if not in all, the vessel will 

 merely be stuck upon a coral reef, with ample time 

 to save the lives of the crew and passengers in the 

 boats. These circumstances are of annual occur- 

 rence. At the present time the nearest points of 

 refuge for these boats are Port Essington, 600 miles 

 beyond Cape York, or Coupang in Timor, 500 or 

 600 miles still further to the westward. The land 

 about Port Essington is so low and difficult to make 

 out, that it may easily be missed or passed in the 

 night, and when once passed cannot be regained 

 against the wind, in a crowded and perhaps crazy 

 boat. Many poor fellows, after undergoing great 

 hardship, have thus been compelled to throw them- 

 selves on the hospitality of the small Dutch settle- 

 ment at Coupang. Now a post at Cape York, or 

 the neighbourhood, would not only render these 

 long and perilous passages needless for a crew thus 

 situated, but in many cases it would be able to send 

 assistance to the wreck, if the boats could not con- 

 tain all on board, or would be able to save some of 

 the more valuable part of the cargo or ship's stores. 

 Neither would the wrecked crews or passengers 

 suffer much detention, as in a few days they might 

 be forwarded by a passing vessel to some port in the 

 East Indies, such as Singapore, for instance. 



To these two great advantages, facility of inter- 

 communication and speedy and effectual aid in case 

 of shipwreck, many minor ones might be added, 

 such as the supplying of stores, provisions, gear 



vol. r. x 



