157 
Wellesley’s Islands.] TERRA AUSTRALIS. 
who seemed to wait in expectation of being visited ; but our sound- 
ings diminishing to 3 fathoms, and the master having still less, we Monday#. 
stood out and were followed by the boat. I he wind was then 
at N. E. ; and Isle Pisonia being brought to bear N. W. at nine 
o’clock, we tacked and weathered it nearly a mile, carrying from g 
to 13 fathoms water. Turtle tracks were very distinguishable upon 
the beach, but these prognostics, once so much desired, did not now 
interest us ; however, on the wind becoming so light that we could 
not weather some breakers whilst the lee tide was running, the 
stream anchor was dropped in g fathoms, and I went to the island 
with the botanical gentlemen. 
More holes were scratched in the sand here by the turtle, than 
even upon the island last quitted ; and several of the poor animals 
were lying dead on their backs. The isle is nothing more than a 
high sand bank upon a basis of coral rock, which has become thickly 
covered with w’ood, and much resembles several of the smaller isles 
in Torres’ Strait. There was no trace of former visitors, though 
it is not more than four miles from the island where Indians had 
been seen in the morning; the tides probably run too strong in 
a narrow, four-fathom channel, close to Isle Pisonia, to be encoun- 
tered by their rafts. 
Next morning, the wind was at N. E. ; and after weathering a Tuesday r. 
reef which runs out three miles from the island under Cape Van 
Diemen, we closed in with the land, and steered westward along it 
with soundings from g to 4 fathoms. A low head with white cliffs 
was passed at nine o’clock, and proved to be the northernmost 
point of this land; beyond it the coast extended W. by S., in a long 
sandy beach, and the country was better clothed with trees than on 
the south side. At noon we came abreast of a low woody point, 
with a shoal running off, where the coast took a south-west direction ; 
and our situation and bearings were then as under : 
