Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 1.djvu/284

 178 EXPLORATION BY SEA. 1770 which had not been visited by the Dutch. But no such instructions were given ; and, as it turned out, the explora- tion of the eastern coast was rather a matter of accident Cook. than design. Before he sailed in the Endeavour, he was instructed to explore New Zealand after the astronomical observations at Otaheite were completed, and then to re- turn to England by such route as he should think proper.* When he had completed the examination of the islands, he Three ^^^ *o determine which of the three routes before him he routes. should take on his voyage home. Cape Horn. I had myself a strong desire to return by Cape Horn, because that would have enabled me finally to determine whether there is or is not a southern continent ; but against tliis it was a sufficient objection that we must have kept in a high southern latitude in tlie very depth of winter, with a vessel which was not thought sufficient for the undertaking; and the same reason was urged Capo of against our proceeding directly for the Cape of Good Hope with for in that rout ; it was therefore resolved that we should return East Indies, by the East Indies, and that with this view we should, upon leaving the coast, steer westward, tiU we should fall in with the east coast of New Holland, and then follow the direction of that coast to the northward till we should arrive at its northern ex- tremity ; but if that should be found impracticable, it was further resolved that we should endeavour to fall in with the land, or islands, said to have been discovered by Quiros.f • Voyage towards the South Pole, general introduction, p. xx. Cook passed nearly six months — from the 6tn October, 1769, to the 3l8t March, round them and ascertained the existence of the islands it comprises. But he was only four months on the coast of New South Wales, nearly two of which were passed in the Endeavour River ; so that his available time for exploration was limited to two months — one-third of the time devoted to New Zealand. The reason for his careful examination of that country may be found in '*a favourite opinion amongst geographers," since Tasnum's time, that New Zealand was paH of a southern continent. The existence of such a continent was contended for by de Brosses and Dalrymple on the ground that the ascertained body of land in the northern hemisphere required a similar extent of it in the southern, in order to balance the globe. + Hawksworth, vol. iii, pp. 432-3. Compare Sydney Parkinson's Journal of a Voyage to the South Seas, 1784, p. 124. Digitized by Google
 * '^* still more force, because no discovery of moment could be hoped
 * i770 — in exploring the coasts of New Zealand, during which he sailed