James Cook - A Journal of the proceedings of His Majesty's Bark Endeavour on a voyage round the world, by Lieutenant James Cook, Commander, commencing the 25th of May 1768 - 23 Oct. 1770: No. 180

New Zealand
December 1769
the one we lay in is on the SW. side of the S.Westernmost Island that lies in the SE. end of the Bay. I have made no accessible survey of this Bay the time it would have required to have done this discouraged me from attempting it besides I thought it quite Sufficient to be able to affirm with Certainty that it affords good Anchorage & every kind of refreshment for Shipping, but as this was not the Season for roots, we got only fish some few we Caught ourselves with hooks & line & in the Sean but by far the greatest part we purchased of the Natives & these of various sorts such as sharks, Stingrays, Breams, Mullet, Mackerel & some other sorts, their way of Catching them is the same as most/ Viz./ with Hooks & Lines & Spears. of the last they have some prodigious large made all of a strong kind of Grafs. The Mackrel are in every respect the same as those we have in England only some of them are larger than any I ever saw in any other Part of the World. altho' this is the Season for this fish we have never been able to catch one with hook & line. ~ The inhabitants of this Bay are far more numerous than at any other place we have yet been in & seem to live in friendship with one another altho' it doth not at all appear that they are united under one head they inhabited both the Islands & the Main & have a Number of Hippa's or Strong Holds & these are all built in such places as nature hath in a great part fortified & what she hath left undone the People themselves have finished. ~
It is high Water in this bay at full & change of the Moon about 8 o'clock & the tide at these times rises and falls upon a perpendicular 6 or 8 feet. it appears from the few Observations I have been able to make of the Tides on the Sea Coast that the flood comes from the Southwd. & I have lately had reason to  think that there is a current which comes from the Westd. &[indec.] alongshore to the SE. or SSE. as the Land lays. ~
Wednesday 3[?]. PM had a Gentle breeze at NNW. with which we kept turning out of the Bay but gain'd little or nothing, in the evening it fell little wind at [at repeated] 10 o'clock it was Calm, at this time the Tide or Current seting the Ship near one of the Islands where we were very near being ashore but by the help of our Boats & a light Air from the Southwd. we got clear, about an hour after when we thought ourselves out of all danger, the Ship struck a Sunken rock & went immediately clear without receiving any Perceptible damage, just before the man in the Chains had 17 fam. of Water & immediately after she struck 5 fam. but very soon Deepened to 20. This rock lies half a mile WNW from the Northernmt. or outermt. Island that lies on the SE side of the