Scarcely Any Thing Was Added To The
Geography Of This Portion Of The Globe, Between The Last Voyage Of Dampier,
And The First Voyage Of Cook.
One of the principal objects of this voyage
of our celebrated navigator, was to examine the coast of New
Holland; and
he performed this object most completely, so far as the east coast was
concerned, from the 38th degree of latitude to its northern extremity; he
also proved that it was separated from New Guinea, by passing through the
channel, which he called after his ship, Endeavour Strait. In the year
1791, Captain Vancouver explored 110 leagues of the south-west coast, where
he discovered King George's Sound, and some clusters of small islands. In
the same year two vessels were dispatched from France in search of La
Peyrouse; in April 1792, they made several observations on Van Dieman's
Land, the south cape of which they thought was separated from the main
land; they also discovered a great harbour. In the subsequent year 1793,
they again made the coast of New Holland, near Lewin's Land, and they
ascertained that the first discoveries had been extremely accurate in the
latitudes which they had assigned to this part of it.
In consequence of the British forming a settlement at Botany Bay, much
additional information was gained, not only regarding the interior of New
Holland, in the vicinity of the settlement, but also regarding part of its
coast: the most interesting and important discovery relative to the latter
was made towards the end of the year 1797, by Mr. Bass, surgeon of His
Majesty's ship Reliance. He made an excursion in an open boat to the
southward of Port Jackson, as far as 40 degrees of south latitude, and
visited every opening in the coast in the course of his voyage: he observed
sufficient to induce him to believe that Van Dieman's Land was no part of
New Holland. Soon after the return of Mr. Bass, the governor of the English
colony sent out him and Captain Flinders, then employed as a lieutenant of
one of His Majesty's ships on the New South Wales station, with a view to
ascertain whether Mr. Bass's belief of the separation of Van Dieman's Land
was well founded. They embarked on board a small-decked boat of 25 tons,
built of the fir of Norfolk island. In three months they returned to Port
Jackson, after having circumnavigated Van Dieman's Land, and completed the
survey of its coasts. The strait that separates it from New Holland was
named by the governor, Bass's Strait. The importance of this discovery is
undoubted. In voyages from New Holland to the Cape of Good Hope,
considerable time is gained by passing through it, instead of following the
former course. In the year 1800, Captain Flinders was again sent out by the
governor, to examine the coast to the northward of Port Jackson; of this
nothing more was known but what the imperfect notices given of it by
Captain Cook supplied.
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