190 
A VOYAGE TO 
[North Coast 
1803. 
January. 
Saturday 15. 
Sunday 16. 
was about one mile wide ; but the whole seemed to be too shallow 
for any thing larger than boats. Amongst the bearings taken from 
this station, those most essential to the survey were, 
Groote Eylandt, the woody north-west bluff', S. 56° 46*' W. 
A distant wedge-shaped rock, the N. E. bluff, N. 59 55 W . 
Chasm I., the steep west end, - N. 3 51 E. 
And from another station, half a mile to the E. S. E., I set 
Groote Eylandt, the central hill, at - S. 14 0 27' E. 
This bearing and that of the north-west bluff, formed connecting 
links in the chain of longitude round the island. 
Next day the botanists landed upon WinchilseU Island, and 
further astronomical observations were taken upon that of Finch ; 
where also a part of the ship's company went to divert themselves, 
and to wash their linen ; and in the evening, we prepared to quit 
North-west Bay. 
A close-grained sand stone, nearly resembling that of Pellew’s 
Group, seems to form the basis of Groote and the neighbouring 
islands ; we found also coral, iron-stone, and quartz. In many places, 
quartz in almost a crystallised state was sprinkled in grains through 
the sand stone, and in others, the sand stone itself was partly vitri- 
fied. Wherever we landed, the surface was so entirely composed 
of stone and sand, that the idea of any kind of cultivation could in 
no wise be assimilated with it ; the hills at a little distance from the 
water side were, however, well covered with wood, and it is not im- 
probable, that there may be vallies in the central parts of Groote 
Eylandt possessing some degree of fertility. The central hill, which 
is six or eight hundred feet in elevation, appeared to be not so 
much as three leagues from the head of North-west Bay, and I 
was desirous to have made an excursion to the top, to see the in- 
terior of the island ; but the state of the ship being such as to press 
us forward with all practicable haste, it was not attempted ; nor did 
I stop to examine particularly the head of the bay, since it appeared 
to be shallow, and of little interest to navigation. 
