watch, might greatly have injured the ships, and might have obliged us to abandon our design of visiting the south-west coast of New Holland, which it was our business to explore, without loss of time. But fortunately a boom, placed in the critical moment between the ships, prevented the accident.
December 6th. The appearance of several species of sea-gulls, and other birds, which never stray far from the coast, indicated our proximity to land. The wind blew too violently from the S.S.W. to permit us immediately to stand in for it with safety. Besides, the sea having been strongly agitated, and the horizon much obscured with clouds, we resolved to steer S.E. ¼ S. hoping that next day circumstances would be more favourable.
At noon, we found our latitude to be 34° 12′ south, and our longitude 112° east.
We lay to all night, sounding many times with 112 fathoms of line, without finding any bottom.
7th. About half past two in the morning, we were steering E.S.E. and at day-break, the Esperance made the signal for land at N.E. distant about 15,400 toises. It was the western extremity of the south-west coast of New Holland,
discovered
