Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 1.djvu/385

 NORFOLK ISLAND. 273 Immediately ronnd the headland that forms the southern en- 1788 trance into the bay there is a third branch, -which I think the fine43t ift May. piece of water I ever saw, and which I honored with the name of Pittwater j it is^ as well as the south-west branch, of sufficient extent to contain all the navy of Great Britain, but has only eighteen Pittwater. feet at low water on a narrow bar, which runs across the entrance ; within the bar there are from seven to fifteen fathoms water. The land here is not so high as in the south-west branch, and there are some good situations where the land might be cultivated. We found small springs of water in most of the coves, and saw three cascades falling from a height which the rains then rendered inac- Caacades. cessible. I returned to Port Jackson, after being absent eight days in the boats. Some of the people feeling the effects of the rain, which had been almost constant, prevented my returning by land, as I intended, in order to examine a part of the country which appeared open and free from timber.*^ Norfolk Island again forms a subject of comment — Lieutenant Ball^s return from it having enabled Phillip to give some account of its capabilities, based on Lieutenant King's report. The discovery of Lord Howe Island is also noted. lieutenant Ball, who commands the Supply, arrived the 19th Norfolk of Mansh. He made Norfolk Island on the 29th of February, and ^''^^' was &ve days before a place could be found at which it was pos- sible to land the provisions, and saw very few places at which it was possible to land a man, so completely do the rocks surround that island. They succeeded, however, having found a small open- ing in a reef that runs across a bay that is at the south end of the island, and the six months' provisions were all safely landed. Lieu- tenant King describes this island as one entire wood, without a King's single acre of clear land that had been found when the Supply left ^^^"p**°"^ them, and says that the pine trees rise fifty and sixty feet before they shoot out any branches. There are several other kinds of timber on the island, which, as far as he could examine it, was a rich black mould with great quantities of pumice stone. The trees are so bound together by a kind of supple-jack that the pene- trating into the interior parts of the island was very difficult. Several good springs of water were found, and I apprehend his ' Phillip's Voyage, p. 76 j Collins, p. 19. s Digitized byCjOOQlC