last, till, near Cape York, it commences with the month of April,
probably even March, and extends to the middle or end of November. How
the winds blow from November to April, I have no experience; but there is
great reason to believe that they come from the northward, and make the
wet season here, whilst dry weather prevails beyond the tropic. In Broad
Sound and Shoal-water Bay we had more northern winds than any other, in
the month of September; but these appeared to be altogether local, caused
by the peculiar formation of the coast; for they did not bring any rain,
though it was evidently near the end of the dry season, and we found the
south-east trade wind before losing sight of the land.

[NORTH COAST. WINDS AND CURRENTS.]

The North Coast appears to have the same winds, with a little exception,
as the tropical part of the East Coast. From March or April to November,
the south-east trade prevails; often veering, however, to east, and even
north-east, and producing fine weather, with sea and land breezes near
the shore. At the head of the Gulph of Carpentaria, the north-west
monsoon began to blow at the end of November; but further westward, at
the northern Van Diemen's Land, I apprehend it will set in at the
beginning of that month, and continue till near the end of March. This is
the season of heavy rains, thunder, and lightning, and should seem, from
our experience, to be the sickly time of the year.

It is thought to be a general rule, that a monsoon blowing directly in
from the sea, produces rain, and from off the land, fine weather, with
sea and land breezes; this I found exemplified on the west side of the
Gulph of Carpentaria, where the rainy north-west monsoon, which then came
off the land, brought fine weather: the rain came with eastern winds,
which set in occasionally and blew strong for two or three days together.
It seems even possible, that what may be the dry season on the North
Coast in general, may be the most rainy on the west side of the Gulph;
but of this I have doubts.

According to Dampier, the winds and seasons on the north-west coast of
Terra Australis are nearly the same as above mentioned upon the North
Coast; but he found the sea and land breezes, during the south-east
monsoon, to blow with much greater strength.

In speaking of the currents, I return to the tropical part of the East
Coast. Within the Barrier Reefs, it is not the current, for there is
almost none, but the tides which