lothing.
Geological Formation.
Discover the Adelaide River.
Interview with Natives.
Attempt to come on board.
Messrs. Fitzmaurice and Keys nearly speared.
Exploration of the Adelaide.
Its capabilities.
Wood-ducks.
Vampires.
Another party ascends the Adelaide.
Meet Natives.
Canoes.
Alligator.
Visit Melville Island.
Green Ants.
Thoughts of taking ship up Adelaide abandoned.
Tides in Dundas Strait.
Return to Port Essington.
Theatricals.
H.M.S. Pelorus arrives with Provisions.
Further remarks on the Colony.

PORT ESSINGTON.

The expanse of water presented to our view in standing up Port Essington,
quite delighted us. It is in truth a magnificent harbour, and well worthy
of having on its shores the capital of Northern Australia, destined,
doubtless, from its proximity to India, and our other fast-increasing
eastern possessions, to become not only a great commercial resort, but a
valuable naval post in time of war. Many circumstances combine to render
it a desirable station. Its great size, having an extent sufficient to
hold the largest fleet, is in itself of vast importance, while, as a
shelter for distressed vessels, or the surviving crews of wrecks, it
cannot be too highly rated: the more so that excellent wood for repairing
ships grows in the neighbourhood, especially teak and oak, specimens of
which with others, Captain Laws forwarded, in 1828, to one of the
dockyards in England.

As we advanced the shores of the harbour contracted, and at the distance
of thirteen miles from the entrance are only one mile apart; scarcely
half, however, of this space is navigable, from a bank extending off the
west side, which is a rocky head called Spear Point, from the
circumstance of Captain King having been there nearly speared by the
natives. The bearings for clearing the extremes of this reef are as
follows. For the south-eastern, Adam Head South 20 degrees West, for the
eastern, Middle Head South 18 degrees West, and for the north-eastern,
Oyster Head North 47 degrees West. This great decrease in the breadth of
the passage, necessarily gives the tide at this spot great rapidity, by
which a channel, thirteen fathoms deep, has been formed close to the
eastern shore, a low sandy tongue of land called Point Record. This name
was given to it on the occasion of Port Essington and the contiguous
country, being taken possession of by Sir Gordon Bremer when on his way
to settle Melville Island, in 1824. A bottle containing