Here the town of Kingscote was laid out, and some very good houses built,
which are now falling to dilapidation and decay, since it has been
abandoned by the Company's servants for some years. Nevertheless
Kingscote is a very pretty sea-port town, and the harbour is undoubtedly
good. The bay is large enough to hold a number of ships, and is secure
from all winds, being almost completely land-locked. The water inside
moreover is smooth, since the bay is protected by a long spit of sand,
whereby the roughness of the outer sea does not affect it, and vessels
consequently lie there during heavy weather without any apparent motion.
It is to be regretted, that, with such advantages, Kingscote Harbour
should have any drawback, but when we have given credit for its
capabilities as a harbour, we have done all, and even as a harbour,
sailors are divided in opinion, whether or not American River, or a small
bay, five miles to the south-east of it, are not to be preferred. In
Nepean Bay there is a deficiency of water, which is not the case in
either of the last mentioned places. The soil is equally good in the
neighbourhood of all three, but Kingscote having been occupied, the
ground has been cleared of the dense brush that grew on it in a state of
nature, and some of the most productive gardens in the Province are to be
found there. It is astonishing what quantities of the finest onions are
sent from Kingscote, with other produce, to Adelaide.
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