The Above Mentioned
Island I Called Rodondo From Its Resemblance To That Rock Well-Known To
All Seamen In The West Indies.
A set of breakers to the southward and
eastward of that rock, on which, though calm, the sea breaks much, bears
from us north-north-west 1/2 west distant 6 miles.
To the eastward there are five islands, the largest of which from its
resemblance to the Lion's Mount at the Cape of Good Hope I called Sir
Roger Curtis's Island, who then commanded on that Station. It is high and
inaccessible on the north-west side and covered with small bushes at the
top. Two other islands like haycocks, only higher and more perpendicular,
standing a considerable distance from each other, the largest of which
bore us south-east 1/4 south distant 16 or 17 miles and the other
south-east by east about 10 miles. The latter is nearly shut in with the
south-east end of Sir Roger Curtis's Island. The fourth is a rock
standing a considerable height out of the water nearly in a position
between the two haycocks or rather sugarloaf-like islands bearing from
south-east 1/4 south. The fifth is a high perpendicular barren cliff
which, as we get almost abreast, looked like two islands joined together
at the bottom, rising to a sharp edge ragged at the top and resembling a
large tower or castle. This island I named The Devil's Tower. An island
inshore was observed, it bore west-north-west distant 10 miles: I called
it Moncur's Island in compliment to Captain Moncur of the Royal Navy, and
another was visible bearing north by east 16 or 17 miles.
Land, apparently an island to the southward and eastward we can just see
from the masthead. It may be necessary to observe that these bearings
were taken at noon, and as it was then a stark calm the vessel was nearly
stationary. By a good observation the latitude was 39 degrees 30 minutes,
longitude 147 degrees 18 minutes east, calculated from lunar observation
2 days before. 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.
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