272 BROKEN BAY. 1786 16 May. Settiement of Norfolk Island. King reoom< mended. Broken Bay. Bftrhai!ix>ar. The branches. Rocks and trees. February the 14th the Supply Bailed for Norfolk Island, with Philip Gidley King, aeoond lieutenant of his Majesty's ship Sirius^ for the purpose of settling that island. He only carried with him a petty ofi&cer, surgeon's mate, two marines, two men wiio understood the cultivation of flax, with nine men and six women oonvicts. Their numbers shall be increased when a small detachment of marines can be spared. I have the honor of transmitting your lordship a copy of the order and instructioaus* given to that officer, and I beg to recommend him as an officer of merits whose perse- veranoe in that or any other service m&y be depended on. Phillip then proceeds to relate his efforts to explore the country in the neighbourhood of the settlement — ^the first point to which he directed his steps being Broken Bay. The 2nd of March I went with a long-boat and cutter to examine the broken land mentioned by Captain Cook, about eight miles to the northward of Port Jackson, f We slept in the boat that night within a rocky point in the northward part of the bay, which is very extensive, as the natives, though very friendly, appeared to be numerous ; and the next day, after passing a bar that had only water for small vessels, entered a very extensive branch, from which the ebb tide came out so strong that the boats could not row against it in the stream, and here was deep water. It appeared to end in several small branches, and in a large lagoon that we could not examine for want of time to search for a channel for the boats amongst the banks of sand and mud. Most of the land on the upper part of this branch was low and full of swamps. Pelicans and a variety of birds were here seen in great numbcars leaving this branch, which I called the north-west branch. We proceeded across the bay and went into the south-west branch, which is very extensive, and from which a second branch runs to the westward, affording shelter for any number of ships, and as ftir as we examined, there is water for the largest ships, having seven fathoms at the entrance and deeper water as you go up, but the almost continual rains prevented any kind of survey. Here. the land is much higher than at Port Jackson, more rocky, and equally covered with timber, large trees growing on the summits of moun- tains that appeared to be accessible to birds only.
- Post, p. 627.
+ " Some broken land that seemed to form a bay." — Hawkesworth, vol iii, p. 607. Digitized by Google
