Volume I Part 23 (1/2)
(Footnote This set of the tide being rather across the channel renders the passage between King Island and Reid's rocks by noto New South Wales, used this passage and was very nearly wrecked; the set of the tides at that ti known It appears they saw the south point of King Island just at dark, and shaped a course ide of Reid's rocks; they found themselves, however, drifted by the tide close on thee of the moon in this entrance of the Strait to be half an hour before noon; but the western streaain precedes loater by the same amount of ti of Decee between Three Hummock Island, and Hunter, formerly called Barren Island; and we had every reason to be thankful at finding ourselves in such a snug berth, for during our stay, we experienced gales froes that no shi+p could have saved herself This es sheltered fro operations were sadly delayed by this boisterous weather
Three Hu on its eastern side The south rises abruptly froh It is coranite, boulders of which front ures The whole of the island is clothed with an al laterally forms a perfect network, so that it is impossible to traverse it Mr Bynoe procured few specimens of birds in consequence The woodcutters one day cut a small brown opossum in half: it seemed to be a very rare if not a new animal; but unfortunately the head part could not be found Small brown rats were very nu hind feet, and sat up like kangaroos
The trees on this island are s chiefly Banksia and Eucalypti Water is plentiful We supplied the shi+p fro on the north point of a sandy bay on the South-East side of the island
(Footnote The reef that so nearly sealed the Mer, we found to lie half a mile north-west from the north-east end of Three Hummock Island)
BARREN ISLAND
Hunter Island well deserves its forreen kind of scrub overruns its surface, which at its highest point is three hundred feet above the level of the sea In forer extended, pointing north The inclination of its strata differs, dipping to the sea on both sides, east and west These at first sight appeared to be of the same kind of sandstone that we had seen so much of on the North-West coast, but on closer inspection I found they were raised beaches; the prevailing ranitoid rock
THE BLACK PYRAMID
From stations on Hunter Island ere enabled to deter its west or seaward side, and also that of a dark h, appropriately na 16 miles West by North frorees 28 minutes South which places it nearly five miles south of its position in the old charts It is quite a finger-post to this entrance of the Strait, and all shi+ps should pass close to it When I looked at these islands and rocks I could not help thinking of poor Captain Flinders and his enterprising companion Mr Bass, the discoverers of the north-western part of Tash their fra Hunter Island, in the little Norfolk cutter, they first felt the long swell of the ocean and became convinced of the insular character of Tasmania! This discovery must have a indeed is so calculated to fill the heart of the navigator with pride, as the consciousness that he has widened the sphere of geographical science, and added new seas and new lands to the knoorld
The south end of Hunter Island is about three miles from a point of the mainland, called Woolnorth; but froe and the rapid rush of the tide it is only navigable for sreat caution Point Woolnorth is a rather low sloping point composed of the same rock as Hunter Island Ten ain occurs 100 feet above the level of the sea Behind Point Woolnorth the country swells into hills nearly six hundred feet high Three miles froricultural Company, of which I shall say more anon Some forty persons are here located under the care of a Gere collection of insects, which he has since taken to Germany The soil on this extremity of Tasmania isfor the purposes of cultivation Fro East 1/2 South 26three shallow bights
WALKER ISLAND
Walker and Robbins islands, which lie together in the shape of an equilateral triangle, with sides of nine miles, front the coast about midway, and leave only a narrow boat-channel between them and the main
On Walker Island our boatsIsland on a sealing excursion They were clothed like those on New Year Island One was half European and half Taslish and appeared to take more care of her person than her two coines of pure blood A feild floere tastefully entwined with her hair, which was dressed with so with thereat measure for their maintenance on the Wallaby they killed The skin also of these animals constitutes to them an important article of trade
It was the 15th before we had co as I have before observed, to the constant bad weather, which was doubly felt by the boats in which all the hbourhood were collected
CIRCULAR HEAD
We now examined the coast to Circular Head, under the north side of which we anchored in 7 fatho a day under the South-East corner off Robbins Island, where we found good anchorage in westerly winds Making too free with the shore with a low sun ahead, we grounded for a short ti off the low point North-West from Circular Head Three quarters of a e just awash, on which several vessels have run By keeping the bluff extreme of Circular Head open it ular cliffyabruptly from the water till its flattened crest reaches an elevation of 490 feet
This strange projection stands on the eastern side of a small peninsula
On the parts broken off where it joins the sandy bay on the north side, we found the compass perfectly useless, fronetic iron ore they contain
It is on this point that the headquarters of the Van Diericultural Coe of a Mr Curr, whose house with its extensive out-buildings and park, occupying soreets the eye of the stranger, to whoht, that the natural graces of the scene, ularity hich man marks his conquests from the wilderness The name of this faintvillage occupies a flat to the left, and in the bay on the south side of the head, which is the general anchorage, is a store with a substantial jetty
English grasses have been sown at this establish four sheep, instead of as before, four acres being required for one; the irass was also made evident by the excellent condition in which all the stock appeared to be
HYFIELD
The garden at Hyfield was quite in keeping with the other parts of the establish to observe a nulish fruit trees I was told, however, that they suffered exceedingly froht by the inds In one corner that at first escaped aze of all by a winding boalk, I found in a sort of alcove, the tomb of a child; upon it lay a fresh bouquet of flowers, revealing that the dead was not forgotten by those ere left behind It was easy to divine, and I afterwards learned this to be the case, that it was theto pay this tribute of affection to the departed A weepingdrooped its supple branches over the to the air with their rich fragrance; not even the chirping of a bird disturbed the sole seehts, and I lingered awhile to indulge in the by the few footmarks that I was an intruder, hastened to retire, by no means sorry, however, to have discovered this evidence of the enduring love a
In the Park at Hyfield were so to thrive exceedingly well There were also two eht of which reminded me of a very curious observation I had before ain struck me forcibly, namely, that the face of the Eines of New South Wales Had there been any intiht have been disposed to resort to this circumstance as an explanation; for some maintain that the human countenance partakes of the expression and even of the form of whatever, whetherwith
SURREY HILLS