Passage from the Barrier Reefs to Torres' Strait. Reefs named Eastern Fields. Pandora's Entrance to the Strait. Anchorage at Murray's Islands. Communication with the inhabitants. Half-way Island. Notions on the formation of coral islands in general. Prince of Wales's Islands, with remarks on them. Wallis' Isles. Entrance into the Gulph of Carpentaria. Review of the passage through Torres' Strait.
The last reefs were out of sight in the evening of Oct. 21, and our course was continued for Torres' Strait; but the barrier was yet at too little distance, not to cause apprehension of straggling reefs; and I thought it too hazardous to run in the night, during this passage.
At noon of the 22d [FRIDAY 22 OCTOBER 1802], our latitude was 16° 39', longitude 148° 43', and there was no bottom at 150 fathoms (Atlas, Plate XII.); nor was any thing unusual to be seen, unless it were tropic and man-of-war birds, and gannets. The _Bâture de Diane_ of Mons. de Bougainville should lie about thirty-eight leagues to the N. E. by E., and his western reefs about twenty-eight leagues to the N. N. W. ½ W., of this situation; and to them, or perhaps some nearer banks, the birds might probably belong.* A piece of land is marked to the south-west of the first reefs, but its existence is very doubtful; for all that M. de Bougainville says of it (II, 163) is, that "some even thought they saw low land to the south-west of the breakers."
[* Bougainville's longitude of the north end of Aurora Island, one of his _Archipel de Grandes Cyclades_ (the New Hebrides of Cook), differed 54' of longitude to the east of captain Cook's position; and it seems very probable that it was as much too great when the above dangers were discovered. Admitting this to be the case, the situations extracted from his voyage (II, 161, 164) will be as under: Bâture de Diane 15° 41' south 150° 25' east of Greenwich. Reef 15 34½ 148 6 Second reef, 15 17 147 57 ]
Next day at noon, we were in 15° 12' south, and 149° 2' east; the current had set half a knot to the N. N. W., and many of the former kinds of birds, as also boobies and petrels, were seen. Hitherto we had kept up nearly to the wind, in order to gain an offing from the coast and Barrier Reefs; but next morning [SUNDAY 24 OCTOBER 1802] the course was directed N. W. At noon, latitude 13° 47', longitude 148° 39': many boobies seen, and some petrels and tropic birds. On the 25th [MONDAY 25 OCTOBER 1802], a shag flew round the ship, and a large flock of petrels was seen: latitude at noon, 12° 55', longitude 147° 23', and the current setting more than a mile an hour to the west (Atlas, Plate XIII.). At eight in the evening, when we hauled to the wind, there was no bottom at 130 fathoms.