Tides.
Cairncross Island.
Escape River.
Correct position of Reefs.
York Isles.
Tides.
Torres Strait.
Endeavour Strait.
Booby Island.
Remarks on Barrier and its contiguous Islands and Reefs.
Cape Croker and reef off it.
Discover error in longitude of Cape.
Reefs at the mouth of Port Essington.
Arrive at the latter.

May 22.

We again bade adieu to our friends at Sydney, and sailed to explore the
north-western part of the continent, which from the number of openings
still unexamined, possessed the interest that invariably attaches to
whatever is unknown. We submitted, accordingly, with impatience to the
delay caused by light north-westerly winds, and a southerly current of
nearly a knot per hour, which prevented us from reaching the parallel of
Port Macquarie before the 29th; when about forty miles from it we
experienced a gale,* from North-East and East-North-East, that lasted
till the evening of the next day, when we found ourselves about 140 miles
South-East of Port Stephens. During this gale the southerly current
increased its velocity to two miles an hour, and its strength appeared to
be about seventy miles from the land. This delay rendered it necessary to
obtain a fresh chronometric departure, and as the winds prevented our
returning to Port Jackson, we proceeded to Port Stephens, where we
anchored, June 5th. We found the Admiralty chart of the coast in the
neighbourhood very defective, some islands being completely omitted,
whilst others were much misplaced.

(*Footnote. This gale was from South-East at Sydney, and the most severe
they had experienced for many years; it blew many vessels adrift and did
other damage.)

REMARKABLE HEADLANDS. PORT STEPHENS.

I have before spoken of the change in the features of this portion of the
eastern coast. Here a number of conical hills, from four to six hundred
feet in height, suddenly presented themselves to our view, two of them,
very remarkable headlands, and preserving the aboriginal names of Yacaba
and Tomare, constitute the entrance points of Port Stephens. The sea-face
of Tomare is a high line of cliffs, from which projects a sand-spit,
leaving only a narrow entrance. When in this I noticed that a round hill
at the south end of a distant range, was over the opening between the
first island and the northern shore of the harbour. Within the entrance
are extensive sandbanks, leaving between them and the south shore a
narrow, and in some parts deep, channel, s