whole of the Island of New Guinea, as the most of the Names are in these 2 Languages; and such part of the Coast as we were upon I found the Chart tolerable good, which obliges me to give some Credit to all the rest, notwithstanding we neither know by whom or when they were taken, and I always understood, before I had a sight of these Maps, that it was unknown whether or no New Holland and New Guinea was not one continued land, and so it is said in the very History of Voyages these Maps are bound up in. However, we have now put this wholy out of dispute; but, as I believe, it was known before, tho' not publicly, I claim no other Merit than the Clearing up of a doubtful point. Another doubtfull point I should have liked to have clear'd up, altho' it is of very little, if of any Consequence, which is, whether the Natives of New Holland and those of New Guinea are, or were, Original, one People, which one might well suppose, as these 2 Countrys lay so near to each other, and the intermediate space fill'd up with Islands. On the other hand, if these 2 people have or ever had any friendly communication with Each other it seems strange, as I have before observed, that they should not have transplanted from New Guinea over to New Holland Cocoa Nutts, Bread fruit, Plantains, etc., etc., all very useful Articles for the support of Man, that We never saw grow in the latter, and which we have now seen in the former. La Maire hath given us a Vocabulary of Words spoken by the People of New Britain (which before Dampier's time was taken to be a part of New Guinea), by which it appears that the people of New Britain speak a very different Language from those of New Holland. Now should it be found that the Natives of New Britain and those of New Guinea have had One Origin, and speak the same Language, it will follow, of Course, that the New Hollanders are a different People from both.[1]
Tuesday, 4th.—Stood to the Westward all this day, having at first a moderate breeze Southerly, which afterwards freshned and Veered to S.E. and E.S.E. We keept on sounding all the time, having from 14 to 30 fathoms not regular, but sometimes more and sometimes less. At noon we were in 14 fathoms; by observation in the Latitude of 6° 44′ S., Long. 223° 51′ W. Course and distance sail'd since Yesteday Noon S. 76′ W., 120 Miles.
Wednesday, 5th.—Winds at E. by S. and S.E. by E., a fresh gale and Clear weather, with which were run 118 Miles upon a S. 69° 15′ W. Course, which at Noon brought us into the Latitude of 7° 25′ S., Long. 225° 41′ W.; depth of Water 28 fathoms, having been in soundings the whole of this day's run, generally between 10 and 20
- ↑ In the north of Australia the natives are distinctly allied to the Papuans, but on the east of the continent they are of a type of their own, and speak many different languages.
