THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 661

Appointment of Postmasters.

General Post Office,
Wellington, 18th October, 1875.

IN virtue of the powers delegated to the Postmaster-
General by His Excellency the Governor, the
following appointments have been made in the Postal
Service of the colony.

WILLIAM H. REYNOLDS,
Acting Postmaster-General.

Post Offices closed.

General Post Office,
Wellington, 18th October, 1875.

THE following list of Post Offices which have been
closed within the colony is published for general
information.

WILLIAM H. REYNOLDS,
Acting Postmaster-General.

Appointments in the Customs Department.

Customs Department,
Wellington, 19th October, 1875.

IN pursuance of the powers delegated to the Com-
missioner of Customs by His Excellency the
Governor, the following appointments have been
made in the Customs Department:--

ALEXANDER ROSE to be Collector at the Port of
Lyttelton.
HENRY WILLIAM BREWER to be Landing Surveyor
at the Port of Auckland.
JOSEPH SLATER to be First Landing Waiter and
Tide Surveyor at the Port of Wellington.

The above appointments all to date from the 1st
October, 1875.

WILLIAM H. REYNOLDS,
Commissioner of Customs.

NOTICE TO MARINERS.

No. 22 of 1875.

Customs Department (Marine Branch),
Wellington, 20th October, 1875.

THE following Hydrographic Notice is published
for general information.

WILLIAM H. REYNOLDS.

[The information contained in this notice is to be
carefully considered, to be noted in the sailing
directions, and compared with the chart when the
ship is navigating the parts to which it refers.]

HYDROGRAPHIC NOTICE. [No. 23.]

Australian Directory, Vol. I., Notice No. 14.

AUSTRALIA—SOUTH COAST.

THE following information respecting the currents
on the south coast of Australia, and also as to cau-
tionary measures to be adopted in approaching Bass
Strait from the westward, is supplementary to that
contained in Hydrographic Notice No. 24, dated 19th
November, 1874. It has been derived chiefly from
a report received from Staff Commander Henry
Stanley, R.N., in charge of the Admiralty Survey in
the Province of Victoria, 1875.*

Currents.—The current, generally running to the
eastward on account of the prevailing westerly winds,
and appearing to follow the configuration of the coast
line, will be found on hauling up for the Australian
coast to be setting to the south-eastward out of the
Great Australian Bight; and, should a north-west
gale be experienced on approaching the land, its
strength may be accelerated to $2\frac{1}{2}$ knots per hour.†
Near the shore with easterly winds a current has
been found setting to the westward, but this current
is probably confined to the vicinity of the coast.

• See Admiralty Chart, Australia, southern portion, sheet 2,
  No. 2759 b, containing cautionary notes on currents, and cur-
  rent chart No. 2640; also Australian Directory, Vol. I., pp. 499,
  500; Hydrographic Notices, No. 42, of 1870, pp. 6, 7; No. 8,
  of 1874, p. 7; No. 9, of 1874, p. 10; and No. 24, of 1874.
  † H.M.S. "Challenger" in 1866 was thus set to the southward
  30 miles in 24 hours, see Australian Directory, Vol. I., p. 503.
  H.M.S. "Adventure," in October, 1874, one day before entering
  Bass Strait from the westward, experienced a current setting
  S. 44° E. (true), 20 miles in 24 hours, after strong winds from
  N.E. and N.W.