e at spring tides is not less
than thirty, and perhaps reaches to thirty-five feet. At Upper Head it is
from twenty at the neaps, to thirty or more at the springs; but the
bottom rises so much towards the top of the sound, that the tide there
never seems to exceed twelve feet. The time of high water is nearly
_eleven hours after_ the moon's passage over and under the meridian;
though the flood runs up near an hour on the west side of the sound,
after it is high water by the shore.

The places best calculated for the construction of docks, appear to be at
the uppermost or 4th Flat Isles, where the shoals form a natural harbour,
and at the entrance of the opening near Upper Head, in which is a small
islet of sand and rock, not covered with mangroves nor surrounded with
mud flats. The pines of Port Bowen, Shoal-water Bay, and the
Northumberland Isles, would furnish the necessary spars and lighter
planking; and there is no reason to think that the _eucalyptus_, which
grows all over the country, should not be as fit for timbers, etc., as it
is found to be further southward. No iron ore was seen in the
neighbourhood; but were a colony established and the back ridge of
mountains well examined, this and other metallic productions might be
found. The attraction which the mountains seemed to have upon the needle,
is in favour of this probability; but the iron work might be prepared at
Port Jackson where the ore exists, and in whose vicinity there are plenty
of coals.

Fresh water was scarce at this time, none being any where discovered near
the sea side, except a small rill at the back of Upper Head, little more
than adequate to the supply of the tents; it can however be scarcely
doubted, that fresh water for domestic purposes would be found in most
parts of the country; and there is a season of the year, most probably
the height of summer, when rain falls abundantly, as was demonstrated by
the torrent-worn marks down the sides of the hills.

Not a single native was seen, either on the shores of Thirsty, or Broad
Sounds, during the whole time of our stay.

There are kangaroos in the woods, but not in numbers. The shoals all over
the sound are frequented by flocks of ducks and curlews; and we saw in
the upper part, some pelicans, an individual of a large kind of crane,
and another of a white bird, in form resembling a curlew. Many turtle
were seen in the water about Long Island, and from the bones scattered
around the deserted