Towards Torres' Strait .] TERRA AUSTRALIS. 
105 
CHAPTER V. 
Passage from the Barrier Reefs to Torres’ Strait. Reefs named Eastern 
Fields. Pandora’s Entrance to the Strait. Anchorage at Murray’s 
Islands. Communication with the inhabitants. Half-way Island. 
Notions on the formation of coral islands in general. Prince ofJV ales’s 
Islands, with remarks on them. JVallis’ Isles. Entrance into the 
Gulph of Carpentaria. Review of the passage through Torres’ Strait. 
T he last reefs were out of sight in the evening of Oct. si, and our isos, 
course was continued for Torres' Strait ; but the barrier was yet at Thurs 2 i. 
too little distance, not to cause apprehension of straggling reefs ; 
and I thought it too hazardous to run in the night, during this passage. 
At noon of the 2 2d, our latitude was 1 6° 39 ', longitude Friday 22 . 
(Allas, 
148° 43, and there was no bottom at 150 fathoms; nor was any Plate xu.) 
thing unusual to be seen, unless it were tropic and man-of-war birds, 
and gannets. The Bature de Diane of Mons. de Bougainville 
should lie about thirty-eight leagues to the N. E. by E., and his 
western reefs about twenty-eight leagues to the N. N. W. ~ W., of 
this situation ; and to them, or perhaps some nearer banks, the birds 
might probably belong.* A piece of land is marked to the south- 
* Bougainville’s longitude of the north end of Aurora Island, one of his Arcldpel de 
Grandes Cyclades (the New Hebrides of Cook), differed 54' of longitude to the east of 
captain Cook’s position ; and it seems very probable that it was as much too great when the 
above dangers were discovered. Admitting this to be the case, the situations extracted 
from his voyage (II, 161, 164) will be as under : 
B&ture de Diane 15°4l' south 150° 25' east of Greenwich, 
Reef - - 15 S4f - 148 6 
Second reef, - 15 17 " 147 57 1 j 
VOL. II. 
P 
