ble of affording shelter
for the boats.

FRESHWATER COVE.

We were agreeably surprised to find a stream of water running into the
head of this cove, as the parched appearance of the low hills over it did
not lead us to expect such good luck, in remembrance of which we called
it Freshwater Cove. Landing, I hastened to the south point of the cove,
to secure the necessary data for the chart, before the surrounding
objects were veiled in darkness. We again appeared to be in a sterile
white sandstone region, where, with the exception of a few land birds,
there was a total absence of animal life, and almost that of the
vegetable, for even the gumtrees common in this part, were not to be
seen. Our view to the southward was very limited, embracing only the
Montgomery Islands of Captain King; they consist of six small rocky
islets resting on an extensive coral flat, that we afterwards observed to
be dry at low-water, and which extended to a large low sandy island,
lying six miles west from them; the latter was not seen by Captain King,
in his distant view of this neighbourhood. The eastern and largest of the
Montgomery Isles stands on the extreme of the coral flat; we found it to
be 70 feet high, and bore South-West by South 7 miles from this point of
Freshwater Cove. The latitude we obtained in the course of the night gave
a result of 15 degrees 49 minutes south.

April 10.

At daylight we continued pursuing our South by East course, following the
same kind of low straight rocky shore, as that of yesterday afternoon. We
passed inside a reef fronting the shore from a mile south of Freshwater
Cove; this passage was about half a mile wide and from 7 to 12 fathoms
deep. Having the flood-tide in our favour, we proceeded rapidly, and at
the end of four miles, found the trend of the coast suddenly changed to
East-North-East for two miles, when it again took a southerly direction,
forming a chain of high rocky islets. Deferring our examination of the
main, lying about a mile in the rear of these islets, we kept on our
South by East course, in the direction of some very high land now seen
for the first time. Three miles further brought us to a small rocky
islet, where we landed for a set of angles.

Our hopes were considerably raised on reaching the top of this islet, by
finding that we looked in vain for land towards the head of Collier Bay;
the high land to the southward proved to be the south point of a large
bay, having on its