m, to keep at
sea than to run for an anchorage, as the sea will seldom hurt a good ship
properly managed, and she is always ready to take advantage of any change
that may take place.

"Should a gale of wind come on when a vessel is far to the westward of
King's Island, she may run for Portland Bay. In going in, you pass to the
eastward of the St. Lawrence Islands, and haul directly in for the land
west-north-west; keep along the south shore of the bay, at a distance of
one mile, until you see the flag-staff at Mr. Henty's; bring that to bear
west, and you will have six fathoms water about three-quarters of a mile
from shore."

From Cape Jarvis the coast line tends to the north along the eastern
shore of St. Vincent's Gulf. The scenery, as you turn the point, is
extremely diversified. Dark cliffs and small sandy bays, with grassy
slopes almost to the water's edge, succeed each other, backed by moderate
hills, sparingly covered with trees, and broken into numerous valleys.
Thus you pass Yankelilla, Rapid Bay, and Aldingis; but from Brighton the
shore becomes low and sandy, and is backed by sand hummocks, that conceal
the nearer country from the view, and enable you to see the tops of the
Mount Lofty Range at a distance of from eleven to twelve miles.

Port Adelaide, a bar harbour, is about nine miles from Glenelg, and
situate on the eastern bank of a large creek, penetrating the mangrove
swamp by which the shore of the Gulf is thereabouts fringed. This creek
is from ten to eleven miles in length. Its course for about two miles
after you cross the bar is nearly east and west, but at that distance it
turns to the south, and runs parallel to the coast; and there is an
advantage in the direction it thus takes, that would not be apparent to
the reader unless explained. It is, that, as the land breeze blows off
the shore in the evening, and the sea breeze sets in in the morning
vessels can leave the harbour, or run up to it as they are inward or
outward bound.

The landing-place of the early settlers was too high up the creek, and
was not only the cause of great inconvenience to the shipping, but of
severe loss in stores and baggage to the settlers; but at the close of
the year 1839, Mr. McLaren, the then manager of the South Australian
Company commenced and finished a road across the swamp to a section of
land belonging to his employers, that was situated much lower down the
creek, and on which the present Port now stands.