But I Take It To Be Correctly 147 Degrees East From My
Making The Ramhead According To The Best Charts, Therefore The Bearings
Are Laid Down In My Chart From 147 Degrees East.
"Wilson's Promontory was so named by Mr. George Bass of H.M.S. Reliance
who was the first navigator
That ascertained the real existence of a
strait separating Van Dieman's Land from New Holland in his voyage in a
whale boat from Sydney to Western Port.* (* "Mr. Bass places Wilson's
Promontory in 38 degrees 56 minutes south, Lieutenant Grant in 39 degrees
17 minutes, and Mr. Black in 39 degrees 8 minutes. As Mr. Bass's latitude
is by computation from the whale boat, I think a preference may be given
to Lieutenant Grant's position, as he had the advantage of a good
sextant." P.G.K.) Having made it I set off in one of my boats early in
the morning of the 10th* (* Grant now abandons the plan previously used
of heading each entry in the diary with the date of the day on which it
was written, and includes the dates of the various events in the text of
his narrative.) to endeavour to land on one of the islands lying off it;
but after a long pull found the one I judged from its sloping aspect to
be the easiest for that purpose, a solid rock for a considerable height
with surf too powerful for such a small boat as mine. After several
fruitless attempts I was obliged to abandon the idea, contenting myself
with taking a view of it - and those contiguous. One of them was an
immense rock; on one side perfectly round, with a large hole in the other
in the form of an arch with a breastwork rising high enough above the
level of the sea to preclude the water from getting into it; the hollow
appeared as scooped out by art instead of nature. I gave it the name of
the Hole in the Wall and to the range of islands stretching along the
main - the name of Glennie's Islands after Mr. George Glennie, a
particular friend of Captain Schanck's to whom I was under personal
obligations. On the summit of all these islands there was a thick brush
growing, whereas the land off Cape Liptrap already mentioned exhibited a
fine level country. The day being far spent in this survey I deemed it
best to get on board as the vessel was just visible with her head towards
us and becalmed. On the 12th we had fresh gales and cloudy weather, the
shore we were running along was low and covered with thick brush training
in a north-east direction which Messieurs Flinders and Bass have given
very accurate descriptions of."
Of his coming to Sydney, Grant writes, "Governor King had taken the
precaution of leaving a letter for me at the Cape, describing the
particular marks for knowing the entrance of the Port, which no doubt
saved us much trouble. They consisted of a flagstaff erected on the South
Head or left hand side of the entrance, and when vessels are seen the
flag is hoisted. This land being high may be seen at a considerable
distance on a clear day. In the afternoon of the 16th saw the flagstaff
as described by Governor King. At six in the evening we entered between
the Heads of Port Jackson. We found much swell in going in but were soon
in smooth water and an excellent harbour, perhaps one of the finest in
the known world. As the wind was from the south and contrary to getting
into Sydney Cove we were obliged to beat up to it, and at half-past seven
in the evening (on Tuesday December 16th) we let go our anchors in 8
fathoms water after a voyage of 71 days from the Cape of Good Hope, and
with the satisfaction of being the first vessel that ever pursued the
same track across that vast ocean, as we have no traces of its being done
particularly from the Island of Amsterdam, namely; between the degrees of
latitude 38 and 39 1/2 degrees south until the Lady Nelson made the coast
of New Holland in latitude 38 degrees and steering to the eastward along
a tract of land nearly four degrees to the westward of any seen by
Messieurs Flinders and Bass."
Following the example of many a first discoverer, he ends the account of
his voyage with an expression of thankfulness to God for the protection
shown him "during the whole passage."
The Lady Nelson's arrival at Sydney gave great satisfaction to the
colony, and Colonel Collins remarks that a few such vessels were much
needed there in order to obtain a necessary knowledge of the coast.
Governor King naturally was most interested in Grant's description of his
passage through Bass Strait, and the news that the Lady Nelson had passed
deep indentations with beautifully wooded shores and rocky islands lying
off them pleased everybody. But King did not conceal his disappointment
that her commander had been unable to land anywhere or to penetrate the
deep bay called Governor King's Bay. The Admiralty had instructed the
Governor to have the whole of the south coast properly charted, and he
determined that Grant should return in the Lady Nelson and thoroughly
survey it. King also made an eye-sketch of the land, for he saw that
Grant's chart was imperfect. For that reason he sent Ensign Barrallier,
of the New South Wales Corps, who was a competent surveyor, in the brig,
and it is, chiefly, to Barrallier we are indebted for our earliest and
most authentic charts of the places which the Lady Nelson visited in the
second voyage.
Grant, however, had to contend with many difficulties in both voyages.
First and foremost he had to face the risk and dangers of an entirely new
coast, and this without a companion ship. King was aware of this for he
wrote to Banks:
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