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Subjects
In: Australia·Travel Writing·History - Modern (1750+)
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #12046.
The work is a detailed account of Lieutenant‑Commander Philip Parker King’s fourth surveying expedition along Australia’s intertropical and western coasts, undertaken between 1818 and 1822. The narrative opens with a pragmatic report on the purchase and fitting out of a new brig, the Bathurst, after the earlier vessel, the Mermaid, proved inadequate. From there King chronicles a succession of voyages, departing Port Jackson, navigating the treacherous Torres Strait, anchoring at numerous bays and islands, and recording encounters with Indigenous peoples, shipwrecks, and the region’s flora and fauna. Interspersed throughout are precise observations of tides, weather, and geography, as well as extensive appendices that catalogue winds, currents, hydrographic corrections, natural‑history specimens, and even the language of the natives. The text reads like a ship’s log turned travelogue, offering a systematic survey of coastlines, harbours, and reefs, punctuated by vivid descriptions of local wildlife and occasional mishaps such as lost anchors and surgeon injuries.
King’s voice is that of an early‑19th‑century naval officer, combining the measured tone of official reporting with occasional personal remarks about crew hardships and the marvels of discovery. The prose is dense, rich in nautical terminology, and peppered with the observational style of a naturalist, reflecting the scientific ambitions of the period. Readers who relish meticulous exploration narratives, maritime history, or early Australian natural history will find this volume rewarding. It also appeals to scholars interested in colonial encounters with Indigenous peoples, as the work includes sketches, weapon descriptions, and linguistic notes that provide a rare contemporary perspective on the cultures encountered along the coast.
The opening · free to read
AND MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY OF LONDON.
WITH AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING VARIOUS SUBJECTS RELATING TO HYDROGRAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY.
IN TWO VOLUMES, ILLUSTRATED BY PLATES, CHARTS, AND WOOD-CUTS.
VOLUME 2.
LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
CONTENTS.
VOLUME 2.
CHAPTER 1. Survey upon the mermaid. Purchase another vessel. New establishment. Departure on the fourth voyage, accompanied by a merchant-ship bound through Torres Strait. Discovery of an addition to the crew. Pass round Breaksea Spit, and steer up the East Coast. Transactions at Percy Island. Enormous sting-rays. Pine-trees serviceable for masts. Joined by a merchant brig. Anchor under Cape Grafton, Hope Islands, and Lizard Island. Natives at Lizard Island. Cape Flinders. Visit the Frederick's wreck. Surprised by natives. Mr. Cunningham's description of the drawings of the natives in a cavern on Clack's Island. Anchor in Margaret Bay, and under Cairncross Island. Accident, and loss of anchors. Pass through Torres Strait, and visit Goulburn Island. Affair with the natives. The Dick parts company.
CHAPTER 2. Passage from Cape Van Diemen to Careening Bay. Not finding water, visit Prince Regent's River, and procure it from the Cascade. Farther examination of the river. Amphibious mud-fish. Anchor in Halfway Bay, and explore Munster Water and Hanover Bay in a boat. Visit Hanover Bay, and procure water and fish. Interview with natives. The surgeon speared. Retaliate upon them, and capture their rafts and weapons. Description of their implements. Port George the Fourth. Islands to the westward. Red Island of Captain Heywood. Strong tides. Camden Bay. Buccaneer's Archipelago. Cygnet Bay. Dangerous situation of the brig. High and rapid tides. Cape Leveque. Examination of the coast to Cape Latouche Treville. Remarkable effect of mirage. Leave the coast for Mauritius. Voyage thither. Arrival at Port Louis. Refit. Some account of the island.
CHAPTER 3. Departure from Port Louis. Voyage to the South-west Coast of New Holland. Anchor in King George the Third's Sound. Occurrences there. Visited by the Natives. Our intercourse with them. Descriptions of their weapons and other implements. Vocabulary of their language. Meteorological and other observations. Edible plants. Testaceous productions.
CHAPTER 4. Leave King George the Third's Sound, and commence the survey of the West Coast at Rottnest Island. Another remarkable effect of mirage. Anchor under, and land upon Rottnest Island. Break an anchor. Examine the coast to the northward. Cape Leschenault. Lancelin Island. Jurien Bay. Houtman's Abrolhos. Moresby's Flat-topped Range. Red Point. Anchor in Dirk Hartog's Road, at the entrance of Shark's Bay. Occurrences there. Examination of the coast to the North-west Cape. Barrow Island. Heavy gale off the Montebello Isles. Rowley's Shoals. Cape Leveque. Dangerous situation of the brig among the islands of Buccaneer's Archipelago. Examination and description of Cygnet Bay. Lose an anchor, and leave the coast. Adele Island. Return to Port Jackson.
CHAPTER 5. The Bathurst sails for England. Remarks upon some errors in the hydrography of the south coast of Van Diemen's Land. King George the Third's Sound. Passage to the Cape of Good Hope. Cross the Atlantic, and arrive at Plymouth Sound. Observations upon the voyages, and conclusion.
APPENDIX A.
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