THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 191

A house for the accommodation of the signalman
and his mate, together with a boat-shed, has been
erected on the southern entrance of the river. I have
the honor to enclose you a copy of their instructions,
as also a diagram of the above signals, which I have
forwarded to the several Collectors of Customs
throughout New Zealand, as well as to the Editors
of the Newspapers in the Australian Colonies.

A life buoy is supplied, and hangs ready for use
on each signal-mast.

Opinions have been expressed as to the advisable-
ness of forming a surf-boat establishment, as at
Taranaki. I will report more fully on this matter
when I have visited other parts of the coast; for in
the immediate neighbourhood of the Hokitika there
are two features which quite preclude the possibility
of such an undertaking being successful--the one I
have already referred to, namely, the want of regu-
larity with which the sea rolls in on the beach. At
Taranaki, Timaru, and Oamaru, the sea rolls in with
a regular line of breakers from two to three deep;
while at Hokitika on a fair average fine day, I have
counted six series of high curling rollers, followed by
others the instant they had broken, almost at right
angies running parallel to the line of beach.

Again, another objection that presents itself is,
that the shingle beach (to use a sailor's phraseology)
is all alive, not like that of Timaru, working con-
stantly to the North, but it is light sandy stuff of no
consistency, and in which no anchor will hold; and
I am of the opinion that whereas, as I have before
stated, there is good holding ground from two to
three miles to the westward, with a sandy bottom,
yet within a mile of the shore no surf buoy moorings
would hold, but would come home with the first strain
on the surf line, without which it would be impossible
to work boats even if the former and more serious
obstacle did not exist.

Another popular cry is for a life-boat to be stationed
at Hokitika, so before closing my report I would
explain why I do not see the utility of the Govern-
ment providing one. This portion of the Province,
from its position in connection with the direction of
the prevalent gales, would hardly ever be a lee shore;
it being a straight coast line and bold too, vessels
cannot become embayed. Small craft on failing to
cross the Bar may be stranded, but any such vessel
must necessarily be of such a light draft of water,
that the shipwrecked seamen have only to wait until
low water to walk ashore dry-shod, and the vessel
herself being hurled within the outside break even
before she takes the ground, she would be preserved
from any chance of breaking up within the tide.

Those whom the life-boat would be expected to
save, are men who will venture to cross and recross
the Bar; it is well known that a suitable place must
be selected even to launch a life-boat successfully,
(no matter what extraordinary adventures she may
go through when afloat), and there is no such place
in the vicinity of the Hokitika, unless she be kept
within the river, in which case I maintain long before
her trained crew (and a life-boat is useless without)
could be mustered, and the boat conveyed to the
scene of accident, the lives so recklessly risked would
be sacrified. The plan of the river, showing the
soundings I will forward when completed, but I
would add for your guidance, that I found an average
depth along the northern bank of the river for three-
quarters of a mile further up than the present town-
ship of 4 to 4 feet at low water, with a soft muddy
bottom on which vessels may ground without injury,
there are however several snags which must be
removed.

I have, &c.,
FREDK. D. GIBSON,
Port Officer.

Wm. Rolleston, Esq.,
Provincial Secretary.

Hokitika, April 29th, 1865.

SIR,-I have the honor to report that, in accord-
ance with my instructions, conveyed by letter from
the Provincial Secretary, I proceeded to the River
Grey on the 7th inst., and on my arrival there, having
communicated with Mr. John Revell, in charge of the
depôt, commenced to remove the Government build-
ings from their original site, and after rafting them
down the lagoon, completed their re-erection on the
Police Reserve at Blaketown, on the evening of
Friday, April the 13th.

Having availed myself of all the information ob-
tained, and after a careful inspection of the entrance
of the river, I felt convinced that the North Spit,
situated in the Nelson Province, was the most suit-
able position for the erection of a flagstaff, I there-
fore selected that site, and the tidal signals were
exhibited for the first time on the 21st instant.

The mast is so constructed as to face both channels,
having two sets of crosstrees placed at right angles,
each furnished with semaphoric arms, thus obviating
the necessity of erecting a second mast on the South
bank or Canterbury side of the river, which is very
low and over which the sea sometimes washes.

The River Grey is situated in Latitude 42° 23' S.,
Longitude 171° 11' E.

The Bar at its entrance, like those of all the other
rivers on the West Coast, is constantly shifting; and
after a heavy fresh when the channel breaks straight
out in a westerly direction, it is perfectly safe, and
easy of access for small vessels drawing from 8 to 9
feet, whereas in the absence of any fresh in the river
the channel makes either to the North or the South,
but usually in the former direction, running for a
short distance nearly parallel with the coast line, and
at such times the entrance of the Grey is far more
dangerous than that of the Hokitika, because vessels
crossing the Bar take the sea abeam when in the
heaviest break, and, unless under command of very
small helm, stand in danger of becoming stranded on
the beach before they are in a position to keep away
for the entrance of the river, which of itself, although
of a great depth of water, is very narrow.

It is high water, full and change, at 10 hours 15
minutes, but the highest tides often occur the day
following.

I have carefully sounded the river as far as navig-
able for vessels, or a distance of rather more than a
mile from its mouth, and the least water I obtained
was from 3 ft. to 4 feet at dead low water, while at
the same time of tide I found from 15 to 18 feet both
at the entrance and abreast the Government coal
wharf.

I have placed a buoy, painted red, on the only
dangerous snag lying in the fairway abreast the
Maori Pa, and I have appointed Mr. James Slatker
to be signal-man, subject to the approval of His
Honor the Superintendent. I have the honor to
enclose to you a copy of the instructions I gave to
him. Before leaving the Grey, I assisted Mr. Revell
in enclosing Messrs. Whitcombe and Townsend's
graves, with the railings forwarded by the Govern-
ment for that purpose.

Having completed my instructions I proceeded by
land to the Teramakau, both for the purpose of
examining the entrance of that river, as well as en-
abling me to report more fully on the suitability of
the coast line between the Grey and Hokitika for
surf-boat communication. This river, which is situ-
ated 10 miles to the southward of the Grey, empties
itself into the sea at the present time by two channels,
the one running northwards, which is nearly dry at
low water, and the other in a southwesterly direction,
in which I found 5 to 6 feet.

The entrance is not so confined as that of the Grey,
nor yet is it equal to the Hokitika, but small vessels