d reach. It was rather high and cliffy; but
there was nothing by which to judge of its connection with the main.

At ten o'clock we were close under the land; and finding the water
tolerably smooth, had shortened sail with the intention of anchoring near
a small, sandy beach; but the situation proving to be too much exposed,
we steered eastward along the shore under two close-reefed topsails and
fore-sail, the wind blowing strong in squalls from the south-west. The
furthest land seen ahead at noon was a projecting point, lower than the
other cliffs; it bore E. 7 deg. S., four leagues, and and lies in 35 deg. 33'
south and 137 deg. 41' east. It was named _Point Marsden_, in compliment to
the second secretary of the Admiralty; and beyond it the coast was found
to trend southward into a large bay containing three coves, any one of
which promised good shelter from the gale. This was called NEPEAN BAY. in
compliment to the first secretary (now Sir Evan Nepean, Bart.), and we
hauled up for it; but the strength of the wind was such that a headland
forming the east side of the bay was fetched with difficulty. At six in
the evening we came to anchor in 9 fathoms, sandy bottom, within a mile
of the shore; the east extreme bearing S. 76 deg. E., and the land near Point
Marsden, on the west side of Nepean Bay, N. 61 deg. W., six leagues. A piece
of high land, seemingly unconnected, bore from N. 45 deg. to 78 deg. E.; but no
land could be distinguished to the northward.

Neither smokes nor other marks of inhabitants had as yet been perceived
upon the southern land, although we had passed along seventy miles of its
coast. It was too late to go on shore this evening; but every glass in
the ship was pointed there, to see what could be discovered. Several
black lumps, like rocks, were pretended to have been seen in motion by
some of the young gentlemen, which caused the force of their imaginations
to be much admired; next morning [MONDAY 22 MARCH 1802], however, on
going toward the shore, a number of dark-brown kangaroos were seen
feeding upon a grass-plat by the side of the wood and our landing gave
them no disturbance. I had with me a double-barrelled gun, fitted with a
bayonet, and the gentlemen my companions had muskets. It would be
difficult to guess how many kangaroos were seen; but I killed ten, and
the rest of the party made up the number to thirty-one, taken on board in
the course of the day; the least of them weighing sixty-nin