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[Page 18]
channel; at the head of the lagoon the soil is a little better and more fit for Cultivation than at the entrance; no traces of water however appeared, and the wells of the Natives being close to the beach, are very brackish from the lagoon to the Western point of the Port, the Soil is entirely sand with a very thin covering of grass and this shore being exposed to winds & tides from the entrance of the Port affords no secure anchorage.
Islands
The small Islands on the South side of the Port are low, swampy and entirely covered with salt Shrubs. They are frequented by vast numbers of Eagles, Swans & Gulls where they build their nests in security from the Natives - A flat of mud, Sand & weeds extends from these Islands quite to the lagoon, and almost to Arthurs Seat on the Eastern shore, leaving a channel of about 2 miles for large vessels. - NB. the sand banks throughout the Port we have since found are continually shifting so that the greatest danger attends the passage between them.