COASTS OF AUSTRALIA. 
13 
have since been discovered by Dr. Clarke Abel, 1 818 , 
near Simon’s Town, at the Cape of Good Hope, Jan * 20, 
and are described by him to be vegetables im- 
pregnated with carbonate of lime ; but from the 
specimens we obtained, it would appear that it 
is neither coral, nor a petrified vegetable sub- 
stance, but merely sand agglutinated by calca- 
reous matter^. 
The next morning we got under weigh, and 21. 
stood over to the entrance of Oyster Harbour, 
off which we anchored to examine the bar ; after 
satisfying myself on this head, and choosing a 
spot within the entrance to anchor at, we got 
under-sail, and in crossing the bar had not less 
than thirteen feet and a half, being nearly about 
the time of high water ; but between the heads 
of the harbour it deepened to five, seven, and 
eight fathoms. Our anchorage was about twenty- 
five yards from the eastern shore, and not 
more than fifty yards within the narrowest part of 
the entrance ; it was convenient for our pur- 
poses, as the wood was abundantly procured 
close to our water-holes, which were dug at the 
edge of the sand, within thirty yards of the ves- 
sel; so that the people employed in these occupa- 
tions could be protected against the natives by the 
* Vide Appendix, C. 
