208 A VOYAGE TO [South Coast. 
1802. any where else, it seems very probable that the discolouring arises 
Saturday 24. from the granite and granitic sand. 
Two more womats were killed this morning ; and a skull was 
picked up, which was thought to be of a small dog ; but more pro- 
bably was that of an opossum. 
From the observations taken whilst beating up to the anchor- 
age, the top of the highest hill at the north end of King's Island will 
be in latitude gg° 36- south, and longitude 143 0 54' east. The varia- 
tion of the compass, taken on the binnacle with the ship's head at 
south, was 7 0 50/ east; but ten leagues to the eastward it was n° 52', 
with the head west-south-west, or reduced to the meridian, 8° 43' 
east. The tides set one mile and a half an hour past the ship, north- 
west-by-west and south-east-by-east, nearly as the coast lies; that 
from the eastward running nearly eight hours, and turning about two 
hours after the moon had passed the meridian ; but which tide was the 
flood, or what the rise, we did not remain long enough to determine. 
The time was fast approaching when it would be necessary to 
proceed to Port Jackson ; both on account of the winter season, and 
from the want of some kinds of provisions. Before this took place, 
I wished to finish as much of the South Coast as possible, and would 
have recommenced at Cape Bridgewater had the wind been favour- 
able ; but it still blew fresh from the southward, and all that part 
remained a lee shore. I determined, however, to run over to the 
high land we had seen on the north side of Bass' Strait ; and to trace 
as much of the coast from thence eastward, as the state of the 
weather and our remaining provisions could possibly allow,, 
- In steering north-north- west from King's Island, two small isles 
were seen lying off the north-west side ; the first opening from the 
northern extreme at S. 50 0 , and the second being clear of it at S.36 0 W. 
These are the same which Mr. Black named New Year's Isles ; 
and his Harbinger's Reefs were seen to extend, in patches, nearly 
two leagues from the north end of King's Island ; but there is, as I 
