Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia - Performed between the years 1818 and 1822 — Volume 1 by Phillip Parker King
page 56 of 378 (14%)
page 56 of 378 (14%)
![]() | ![]() |
|
The next morning I landed with Mr. Roe, and climbed the summit of Rocky Head before the sun rose; in the ascent we crossed several deep ravines which, together with the hills, were thickly covered with a wiry grass (spinifex) growing over and amongst heaps of rocks that were piled up in all directions as if it had been done purposely; the greater part of the surface of the island being covered with these stones, we had a considerable difficulty in advancing, and it was not without some labour that we arrived at the summit of the hill. Here the view was very extensive; the coast to the eastward of Cape Preston trends inward and forms a bay, the shores of which are very low. The land on which we were appeared to be the south-westernmost island of a considerable archipelago; and the land to the eastward was observed to be rocky and high, in comparison to the low sandy country we had been lately passing. From Dampier's description of Rosemary Island I was, at first, induced to think that we had landed upon the identical island he visited; but this error was soon discovered. An island to the northward, on which are three hummocks, was soon recognised as Captain Baudin's Ile Romarin, it therefore bears the name of Rosemary Island in my chart, and I have no doubt of its being that under which Captain Dampier anchored, but not the one upon which he landed. To the eastward of Enderby Island, a strait of nearly two miles wide separates it from Lewis Island; and between Enderby and Rosemary Islands is Goodwyn Island. The shores of the bay were plentiful in shell-fish, particularly oysters; and beche de mer* were also abundant in the crevices of the rocks; but there were no traces of this part of the coast having been visited by the Malays, who annually visit it to the eastward, for the purpose of taking that animal. The tracks of natives and their fireplaces were everywhere visible and around the latter the bones of kangaroos and fishes were strewed. |
|