King expedition of 1817

King expedition of 1817

Phillip Parker King's first exploring and surveying expedition departed Sydney on 22 December 1817 on board the cutter HMS "Mermaid". On board were King, his two Master's mates Frederick Bedwell and John Septimus Roe, the botanist Allan Cunningham, 12 seamen, 2 boys and the native Boongaree. The purpose of the voyage was to explore and make a rough survey of the northern and north-west coasts of Australia.

From Port Jackson, "Mermaid" sailed south down the east coast, then west through Bass Strait and along the south coast. On 20 January 1818, King anchored in King George Sound, which had previously been visited by only two other British explorers, George Vancouver and Matthew Flinders. He then took "Mermaid" into Oyster Harbour, remaining there for nearly two weeks.

On 1 February, "Mermaid" left King George Sound, continuing west to Cape Leeuwin, then north up the west coast of Australia. Sickness amongst the crew left the boat badly undermanned, preventing King from examining much of the west coast. At North West Cape, they discovered and surveyed a gulf, named Exmouth Gulf after Lord Exmouth. They lost two of their three anchors while surveying the gulf, and this would greatly hamper their surveying from then on.

Continuing north-east along the coast, the "Mermaid" eventually passed the northernmost tip of Arnhem Land, reaching a point on Cobourg Peninsula that King named Port Essington. They then crossed to Timor for reprovisioning. After a stay of two weeks at Coepang, they returned to Sydney down the west coast and east along the south coast. King and a number of the crew became dangerously ill shortly after leaving Timor, this being attributed to the food they had eaten there. During the southern leg of the journey the boat encountered extremely rough weather, and on 24 July a crew member died from his illness. The "Mermaid" arrived back in Sydney on 29 July, having been absent for over 30 weeks.

On reviewing the voyage, King stated that he was largely satisfied with the results. The loss of two anchors had not been as crippling as anticipated, as a long period of fine weather had enabled them to continue their work with one remaining anchor.

References

* King, Phillip Parker (1826), "Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia: Performed between the Years 1818 and 1822, Volumes [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/11203 One] and [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12046 Two] ". John Murray, London.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • 1817 in Australia — See also: 1816 in Australia, other events of 1817, 1818 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.Incumbents Governors Governors of the Australian colonies: *Governor of New South Wales Lachlan Macquarie *Lieutenant Governor of Van… …   Wikipedia

  • King Island Emu — Restoration based on the Paris specimen by John Gerrard Keulemans Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • Phillip Parker King — Admiral Phillip Parker King, FRS, RN (13 December 1791 February 26, 1856) was an early explorer of the Australian coast.He was born on Norfolk Island, to Philip Gidley King and Anna Josepha King and named for his father s mentor, Arthur Phillip,… …   Wikipedia

  • KING, Phillip Parker (1791-1856) — rear admiral and explorer was the eldest son of Philip Gidley King (q.v.), third governor of New South Wales, and his wife Anna Josepha, daughter of Mr Coombes of Bedford. He was born at Norfolk Island on 13 December 1791 and was educated in… …   Dictionary of Australian Biography

  • Expedition von Hume und Hovell — Die Expedition von Hume und Hovell fand in den Jahren 1824 und 1825 unter Führung von Hamilton Hume und William Hovell statt und gehört zu den bedeutendsten Entdeckungsreisen, die im östlichen Australien unternommen wurden. Es war die erste… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • 1817 in France — See also: 1816 in France, other events of 1817, 1818 in France. Events from the year 1817 in France.Events*11 June Concordat of 11 June 1817.Births*2 January François Chabas, egyptologist (d.1882). *3 February Achille Ernest Oscar Joseph Delesse …   Wikipedia

  • King — /kɪŋ/ (say king) noun 1. Billie Jean (born Billie Jean Moffitt), born 1943, US tennis player; Wimbledon champion 1966–68, 1972–73, 1975; US Open Champion 1967, 1971–72, 1974. 2. Inge(borg) Victoria, born 1918 in Germany, Australian sculptor. 3.… …  

  • BLIGH, William (1754-1817) — admiral, and governor of New South Wales son of Francis and Jane Bligh, was born at Plymouth on 9 September 1754. In 1770 he joined H.M.S. Hunter as an able seaman, the term being used only because there was no vacancy for a midshipman. He became …   Dictionary of Australian Biography

  • United States Exploring Expedition — The United States Exploring Expedition was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean ( the Southern Seas ) conducted by the United States Navy from 1838–1842. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap… …   Wikipedia

  • Rufus King — Otherpeople|Rufus KingInfobox Senator name=Rufus King width=200px jr/sr=United States Senator state=New York party=Federalist term=July 161789 May 191796 March 41813 March 31825 preceded= (none) John Smith succeeded=John Laurance Nathan Sanford… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”