Series 03: Joseph Banks - Endeavour journal, 25 August 1768 - 12 July 1771 (vol. 2) - No. 0063
Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 63]
59.
Octr. 1769 Tolaga Bay
very good time often heaving most loud & deep sighs.
28. This morn we went ashore in an Island on the left hand as you come into the bay calld by the natives Tubolai here we saw the largest canoe we had met with her lengh was 68 1/2 feet her breadth 5 hight 3:6: she was built with a sharp bottom made in 3 peices of trunks of trees hollowd the middlemost of which was much longer than either of the other two Her gunnel planks were in one peice 62 ft 2 in lengh carvd prettily enough in bass releif the head was also richly carvd in their fashion we saw also a house larger than any we had seen tho not more than 30 feet long it seemd as if it had never been finishd being full of chipps the wood work of it was squard so even & smooth that we could not doubt of their having among them very sharp tools all the side posts were carvd in a masterly stile of their whimsical taste which seems confind to the making of spirals & distorted human faces all these had clearly been removd from some other place so probably such work bears a value among them
While Mr Sporing was drawing on the Island he saw a most strange bird fly over him head he describd it about as large as a Kite & brown like one his tail however was of so enormous a