THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

ALEXANDER KERR, Esq., of Nelson, and
THOMAS RENWICK, Esq., of Nelson,
to be the Auditors of the accounts of the re-
ceipts and expenditure of the Nelson College.
E. W. STAFFORD.

Colonial Secretary's Office,
Auckland, 12th January, 1859.
HIS Excellency the Governor, has been
pleased to appoint,
THE RESIDENT MAGISTRATE, AUCKLAND,
THE RESIDENT MAGISTRATE, NAPIER,
THE RESIDENT MAGISTRATE, WELLINGTON,
and
THE RESIDENT MAGISTRATE, NEW PLY-
MOUTH,
under the XI Section of the "Militia Act,
1858," to call Special Meetings of the Justices
of the Peace, for the purpose of forming Militia
Lists.
E. W. STAFFORD.

Colonial Secretary's Office,
Auckland, 12th January, 1859.
HIS Excellency the Governor has been
pleased to appoint
J. T. W. BACOT, Esq., Staff Surgeon,
to be a Member of the Central Board of Vac-
cination.
E. W. STAFFORD.

Colonial Secretary's Office,
Auckland, 12th January, 1859.
HIS Excellency the Governor directs the
publication of the following Geological
Report by Dr. F. Hochstetter, for general in-
formation.
E. W. STAFFORD.

REPORT
Of a Geological Exploration of the Coal-
field in the Drury and Hunua District, in
the Province of Auckland (N. Z.)

By Dr. FERDINAND HOCHSTETTER,
Member of the I. R. Geological Institution
of the Austrian Empire, and Geologist on
board the Austrian frigate, "NOVARA."

HAVING been requested by the Government of
New Zealand to examine and report upon the
Coal-field recently discovered in the neighbour-
hood of Auckland, and having received the
sanction of Commodore Baron de Wüllerstorf-
Urbair, of the Austrian Frigate "Novara," for
this purpose; I have the honor to report as fol-
lows:--

After having spent the 24th and 25th of
December last in making an investigation of
the Geological structure of the country in the
immediate neighbourhood of Auckland, be-
tween the isthmus of Whau on the west, and
the isthmus of Otahuhu on the east,-I started
on the 28th of December in company with the
Rev. A. G. Purchas, Mr. C. Heaphy, Pro-
vincial Surveyor, Mr. Drummond Hay, and

9
several other gentlemen, together with some
of my colleagues, for the Drury and Hunua
District, to examine, as closely as my time per-
mitted, the Coal, which had recently been dis-
covered there by the Rev. A. G. Purchas, and
has since been opened in several places by
various settlers.

Our head quarters were at Mr. Young's
Hotel, at Drury, from the top of which the
Austrian Flag floated as a pleasant token of
welcome. Our reception was most gratifying;
nearly all the settlers in the neighbourhood
were assembled, showing the great interest that
was felt in our mission. I would here state
that it was mainly owing to the excellent ar-
rangements made by the Government, to the
energy and perseverance of the accompanying
gentlemen, and to the useful information af-
forded by some of the settlers, that I have
been enabled, in the very short time at my dis-
posal, to visit and examine the most important
points of the portion of the Coal-field brought
under my notice, and likewise to pay a hasty
visit to the Waikato River between Mangata-
whiri and Tuakau. I have thus obtained a
general view of the geological formation of
that part of the country; and have arrived at
results, which I trust will in some measure
answer the expectations of the Government,
and prove of value to the people of Auckland
by leading to the development of so important
a source of national wealth. I shall confine
myself at present to matters having a practical
bearing, reserving my report on the strictly
scientific portion of the subject until my re-
turn to Vienna, in order to afford time and
opportunity for a careful examination of the
fossils, and an analysis of the various minerals
and rocks, of which I have collected specimens.

The Plains of Papakura and Drury on the
eastern shore of the Manukau Harbor are of an
undulating character, and but slightly elevated
above the sea. They are bounded on the
south-east and south by a thickly wooded
range of hills of moderate elevation, perhaps
from 1000 to 1500 feet in height.

The general direction of this range is from
south-west to north-east, from the Waikato to
the Wairoa; except a portion near Drury,
which runs nearly north and south, and rises
almost immediately from the plain. On the
slope of that portion, in more or less deep
gullies, seams of Coal are exposed, in some
places by the natural action of the water, and
in others by the exertions of the settlers.

1. The first, and the southernmost, place we
   visited was on Mr. Farmer's land near Drury,
   on the right bank of a small stream in a gully
   just inside the forest, where a shaft about 20
   feet deep has been opened by Mr. Turnbull,
   exposing three seams of coal, separated by thin
   layers of shale, and amounting altogether to
   about 15 feet in thickness. A considerable
   quantity has been raised from this shaft; but,
   on account of the water it contained at the
   time of my visit, I could not examine as ac-
   curately as I should have wished the section
   and character of the seam. The dip here is