268 
PORT MORNINGTON. 
It is the Has Ahehaz of D'Anville. The only entrance for large 
vessels is at the northern extremity of the harbour, though dows 
enter at the southern. The passage is rather narrow, but the 
whole navy of Europe might lie within as in a bason, protected 
from every wind, in from five to seven fathom, with a bottom freg 
from every danger. The town, which is situated on a larger island 
within the harbour than any of those that protect it from the sea, 
is a still more wretched place than Dhalac-el-Kibeer. Water is to 
be had, which, though not very good, is equal to that at Mocha ; 
and our eyes convinced us that fresh provision might have been 
obtained, had we possessed the articles necessary for barter. 
The harbour itself I immediately determined to name after the 
Governor-General of India, through whose assistance alone I had 
been able to pursue my plan of ascertaining the real situation of 
this unknown part of the coast; I therefore named it Port Morn- 
ington, and the islands, which form its barrier against the waves 
to the north-eastward, Wellesley's Islands. The bay in which we 
anchored we called Panther Bay. 
When it is considered that Port Mornington lies on a most dan- 
gerous coast, off which are numerous shoals, low islands, and rocks 
that render the navigation dangerous, the discovery of it must 
be allowed to be of great importance. As high as J 7° north it 
appears from the Portuguese, and Sir Home Popham's chart, that 
the range of coral rocks and sand banks, which run to the eastward 
of Dhalac, are not at an end ; but beyond that degree the sea 
appears open till 19° north, where the shoals again commence. 
Port Mornington is therefore accessible without danger at any 
season of the year, and will afford to any ships not only a secure 
