He Had Observed The Sign Of An Anchor, Or Broad-Arrow,
Cut Into A Tree With A Stone Tomahawk, And Which He Supposed Had Been
Done, Either By A Shipwrecked Sailor, Or By A Runaway Convict From Moreton
Bay, When It Was A Penal Settlement:
The neighbouring trees were variously
marked by Blackfellows.
[Note. Captain P. P. King, who surveyed this part of the coast, informs me
that the coast hills as seen from the sea, are generally of peaked form,
particularly the remarkable elevation of Mount Funnel, at the back of
Broad Sound - which is apparently not connected with the neighbouring
ranges - and also that of Double Mount, which is visible from a distance
of 60 miles. The Cumberland Islands also, which front the coast in the
same vicinity, are of peaked shape, and one, Mount Dryander, on the west
side of Whitsunday Passage, is a very high peak. In the Appendix to
Captain King's Voyage, Dr. Fitton describes the islands, from the
specimens which were submitted for his inspection, to be of primitive
formation; and notices the following rocks: Compact felspar of a
flesh-red hue, enclosing a few small crystals of reddish felspar and of
quartz; Coane porphyritic conglomerate of a reddish hue; Serpentine;
Slaty clay - which forms the general character of the Percy Islands.
Repulse Island produced a compact felspar - a compound of quartz, mica,
and felspar, having the appearance of decomposed granite. (King's Voyage,
Appendix, p. 607.) Captain King also describes this portion of the coast
to be more than usually fertile in appearance; and Captain Blackwood, of
Her Majesty's Ship Fly, saw much of this part, and corroborates Captain
King's opinion as to its fertility. It is hereabouts that the Araucaria
Cunninghamiana grows in such abundance.]
Being too weak to travel, I sent Mr. Roper and Brown to the northward and
to the north-east, to examine the country.
By my lunar observations, I made our longitude 148 degrees 19 minutes;
our latitude was 22 degrees 57 minutes; so that our distance from Keppel
Bay was 175 miles, and from Broad Sound 100. The Mackenzie probably
disembogues into Keppel Bay, and if so, it will form the inlet to a fine
country; for I suppose that all the creeks going down to the south and
south-west, either fall into the Mackenzie itself, or join one of its
tributaries.
Mr. Gilbert found the skull of a large kangaroo, the nasal cavity of
which appeared unusually spacious. He brought home a new Malurus, and a
Rallus: he also shot another species of Rallus on the water-hole near our
encampment; he also brought in a true Caprimulgus.
On Mr. Roper's return, he informed me that he had met with a creek at the
other side of the hills to the east of us; that the hills were covered
with dense scrub, teeming with wallabis; and that the creek went to the
north-east, several other creeks joining it; that, lower down, it was
lined with Casuarinas, and that about seven miles from the hills, he
found fine water-holes.
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