ekviii INTRODUCTION. {Prior Discoveries, 
Flinders having something of a sugar-loaf form. Between these hills and the 
an ?r9s! S " smooth land to the west of Circular Head, there was a large bight, 
in which some patches of land were indistinctly visible through the 
haze ; but as the wind was then blowing directly into the bight, the 
fear of getting embayed prevented its examination. Our position at 
noon was as follows : 0 , 
Latitude observed, - - -4° 39i s 
Circular Head, distant seven miles, - S. 17 E. 
West extreme of the smooth land behind it, S. 6 W. 
Sugar-loaf hummock, - - - N. 55 W. 
Northernmost hummock, - - N. 42 W. 
From the time of leaving Port Dalrymple no tide had been 
observed, until this morning. It ran with us, and continued until 
three o'clock; at which time low land was seen beyond the 
three hummocks. This trending of the coast so far to the north 
made me apprehend, that it might be found to join the land 
near Western Port, and thus disappoint our hopes of discovering 
an open passage to the westward ; the water was also discoloured, 
as if we were approaching the head of a bay, rather than the issue of 
a strait; and on sounding, we had 17, and afterwards 15 fathoms on 
a sandy bottom. 
The wind having become light and the tide turned to the east- 
ward, our situation at dusk was little altered from what it had been 
at three o'clock ; but from the clearing away of the haze, the lands 
in the great bight had become more distinguishable, and the follow- 
ing bearings were taken : 
Table Cape, distant 11 or 12 leagues, - - S. 43^ E. 
Circular Head, - - S. 26 E. 
Sugar-loaf hummock, - - N - 75 w - 
Extreme of the three-hummock land, - N. 48 W. 
Low point in the great bight, with a cliffy 
head at a further distance behind it, - S. 70 W. 
The cliffs visible behind the low point had every appearance of being 
