demand attention; and these, so far as
they came under my observation, have been already described, and are
marked on the charts. At a distance from the barrier there is a current
of some strength, at least during the prevalence of south-east winds; but
instead of setting southward, as I have described it to do from Sandy
Cape to Cape Howe, the current follows the direction of the trade wind,
and sets to the north-west, with some variation on either side, at the
rate of half a mile, and from thence to one mile an hour. This I found to
continue amongst the reefs of Torres' Strait, nearly as far as Murray's
Islands; but from thence onward through the strait, its direction in
October was nearly west, something more than half a mile; and so
continued across the Gulph of Carpentaria to Cape Arnhem, with a little
inclination toward the south.

Along the north coast of Terra Australis, the current seems to run as the
wind blows. In March, before the south-east monsoon was regularly set in,
I found no determinate current until the end of the month, when Timor was
in sight, and it then set westward, three quarters of a mile an hour; but
in the November following, I carried it all the way from Cape Arnhem, as
captain Bligh had done from Torres' Strait in September 1792; the rate
being from half a mile to one mile and a quarter in the hour.

The navigation along the tropical part of the East Coast, within the
Barrier Reefs, is not likely to be soon followed, any more than that
round the shores of the Gulph of Carpentaria; nor does much remain to be
said upon them, beyond what will be found in this Book II, and in the
charts; and in speaking of the outer navigation, my remarks will be more
perspicuous and useful if I accompany a ship from Port Jackson, through
Torres' Strait; pointing out the courses to be steered, and the
precautions to be taken for avoiding the dangers. It is supposed that the
ship has a time keeper, whose rate of going and error from mean Greenwich
time have been found at Sydney Cove, taking its longitude at 151 deg. 11' 49"
east; and that the commander is not one who feels alarm at the mere sight
of breakers: without a time keeper I scarcely dare recommend a ship to go
through Torres' Strait; and from timidity in the commander, perhaps more
danger is to be anticipated than from rashness. The best season for
sailing is June or July; and it must not be earlier than March, nor later
than the end of September.