men are the proper ones to apply, and should be retained. It is the site of a settlement and whaling station which was formed about the year 1848, but shortly afterwards abandoned, from what cause I am unable to say; but most likely the scarcity of whales. I believe the company sank some £20,000 over it, and some of the people in Invercargill were quite surprised that I had not found out this place while we were on the island, as we should have been quite provided for had we got there; as we should have found good houses, plenty of pigs, and abundance of vegetables growing in wild profusion. Alas! for us that the distance was so great, and the nature of the country such as rendered travelling over it next to impossible. I now felt very curious to see this wonderful place, and Captain Cross was particularly anxious to get his vessel to an anchor before a N.W. gale came on, which does not appear to be far off. At half-past four in the afternoon we passed the N.E. point of the island, giving it a good berth (say a long ¼ mile), as it is low, and shallow water appears to run off it; and a ridge of foul ground evidently connects it with a small island which lies about 2½ miles east from it, and over which there was a nasty confused sea and heavy tide-ripples. One breaker came on board, but did no damage, and immediately we were in smooth water.
We now commenced to look anxiously for this said port. Here we were, amongst a whole host of small islands and rocks—the names of which we were quite ignorant of—night and probably a gale coming on, no place in sight in which there was any probability of obtaining shelter, and our only directions for finding the desired port were the following, which I copied from a letter which has found its way into print, in a little book, entitled 'A History of Gold,' by James Ward, and, slender as it may appear, served us in some measure as a guide to the place. He says—'Port Ross is at the extreme north of the island, and contains secure anchorage for vessels. From the entrance to the head of the port, the distance is about four
