✨ Provincial Government Notices
NEW ZEALAND
GOVERNMENT GAZETTE
PROVINCE OF CANTERBURY.
Published by Authority.
All Public Notifications which appear in this Gazette, with any Official Signatures,
are to be considered as Official Communications made to those persons to whom they may relate,
and are to be obeyed accordingly.
By His Honor’s Command,
EDWARD JOLLIE,
Provincial Secretary.
VOL. XII.] SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1865. [No. LXXI.
PUBLIC NOTICE.
Provincial Secretary’s Office,
Christchurch, Dec. 22, 1865.
The offices of the Provincial Government
will be closed on Monday the 25th
and Tuesday the 26th instant, and on
Monday the 1st of January, 1866.
By His Honor’s command,
EDW. JOLLIE,
Provincial Secretary.
Provincial Secretary’s Office,
Christchurch, Dec. 22, 1865.
His Honor the Superintendent directs
the publication of the following Report,
by the Port Officer, on the Okarita
and Wanganui Rivers.
EDW. JOLLIE,
Provincial Secretary.
Hokitika, Dec. 7, 1865.
Sir,—I have the honor to submit to you
the result of my personal inspection of the
Wanganui and Okariti Rivers, and I am
now enabled to furnish you with such information as was wanting to complete the
Report I forwarded to you upon this portion
of the coast in May last.
The entrance of the River Wanganui,
which is at the present time very narrow, is
unsafe for a vessel of any description to
attempt. The south spit overlaps its mouth,
and runs for a considerable distance to the
northward, where, the coast being rock-bound, should a vessel become stranded in
endeavouring to take the bar she would
doubtless instantly break up.
All the headlands between this and the
Okarita should be approached with great
caution in fine weather, as the rocks apparently run a considerable distance out to
seaward.
The lagoon, commonly known as the
Okarita, is situate about thirty miles to the
southward of the Wanganui; the coast line
for six miles to the north is a low sandy
bank, covered with coarse grass and flax,
whereas about half-a-mile to the southward
of the entrance there is a high rocky headland, from which a foul bottom apparently
extends some distance in a north-westerly
direction.
The River Okarita empties itself into the
eastern side of this extensive lagoon, into
which the sea flows and ebbs with great
velocity, forming a regular tidal harbour; in
this respect it has a great advantage over the
other rivers, being almost entirely free from
any fresh.
The present channel over the bar runs
N.W. and S.E., with a depth of fourteen
feet at high-water spring tides.
The flood tide continues to run in for one
hour after it is high water in the offing. It
is high water, full and change, at 11.40.
Rise and fall about nine feet.
Vessels entering should keep well over to
the south shore until abreast the north spit,
when they ought to stand straight across
for the opposite side, to avoid the current
sweeping them upon a middle shingle bank.
About a quarter of a mile from the entrance the channel is divided by an island
into two branches, the northern one being
navigable for from 1½ to two miles, with
from four to six feet at low water, while the
southern arm has the same depth of water.
Vol. 12.—No. 71.
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Canterbury Provincial Gazette 1865, No 71
✨ LLM interpretation of page content
🏘️ Provincial Government Office Closure
🏘️ Provincial & Local Government22 December 1865
Office Closure, Public Holiday
- EDW. JOLLIE, Provincial Secretary
🗺️ Report on Okarita and Wanganui Rivers
🗺️ Lands, Settlement & Survey7 December 1865
River Report, Navigation, Port Safety
- EDW. JOLLIE, Provincial Secretary