lies about 5 Leagues from the Coast of Tovy poenammu; the S. point bears S. 21° W. from the higher peak on the Snowy Mountain so often mention'd, and lies in the Latitude of 43° 52′ S. and in the Longitude of 186° 30′ W., by observations made of the Sun and Moon this morning. It is of a circular figure, and may be about 24 Leagues in Compass; the land is of a height sufficient to be seen 12 or 15 Leagues, and of a very broken, uneven Surface, and hath more the appearance of barrenness than fertility. Last night we saw smoke up it, and this morning some people, and therefore must be inhabited. Yesterday Lieutenant Gore, having the Morning Watch at the time we first saw this Island, thought he saw land bearing S.S.E. and S.E. by E.; but I, who was upon Deck at the same time, was very Certain that it was only Clouds, which dissipated as the Sun rose. But neither this, nor the running 14 Leagues to the South, nor the seeing no land to the Eastward of us in the Evening, could Satisfy Mr. Gore but what he saw in the morning was, or might be, land; altho' there was hardly a possibility of its being so, because we must have been more than double the distance from it at that time to what we were either last night or this morning, at both of which times the weather was Exceeding Clear, and yet we could see no land either to the Eastward or Southward of us. Notwithstanding all this, Mr. Gore was of the same opinion this morning; upon this I order'd the Ship to be wore, and to be steer'd E.S.E. by Compass on the other Tack, the point on which he said the land bore at this time from us.[1] At Noon we were in the Latitude of 44° 7′ S.; the S. point of Banks Island bore N., distant 5 Leagues.
Sunday, 18th.—Gentle breezes at N. and fair weather. P.M. stood E.S.E, in search of Mr. Gore's imaginary land until 7 o'clock, at which time we had run 28 Miles since Noon; but seeing no land but that we had left, or signs of any, we bore away S. by W., and continued upon that Course until Noon, when we found ourselves in the Latitude of 45° 16′ S. Our Course and distance sail'd since Yesterday is S. 8° E., 70 Miles; the South point of Banks Island N. 6° 30′ W., distant 28 Leagues; Variation per Amplitude this morning 15° 30′. Seeing no signs of Land, I thought it to no purpose standing any farther to the Southward, and therefore hauled to the Westward, thinking we were far enough to the Southward to weather all the land we had left; but this opinion was only founded on the information we had had from the Natives of Queen Charlotte's sound.[2]
- ↑ Another instance of the general desire to leave nothing unexplored.
- ↑ The ship was still 250 miles from the south point of New Zealand.
fine harbour of Lyttelton, the port of Christchurch, a town of nearly 40,000 inhabitants. The harbour on the south side, that Cook saw, is Akaroa, a magnificent port.
