THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 115

Assessor appointed.

Native Office,
Wellington, 4th February, 1876.
HIS Excellency the Governor has been pleased to
appoint
HAMANA TIAKIWAI
to be an Assessor for the purposes of "The Resident
Magistrates Act, 1867;" "The Native Circuit
Courts Act, 1858;" and "The Native Circuit Courts
Act Amendment Act, 1862," within the District of
Wairoa. This appointment dates from 1st January,
1876.
H. A. ATKINSON,
(in the absence of the Native Minister).

Assessor appointed.

Native Office,
Wellington, 4th February, 1876.
HIS Excellency the Governor has been pleased to
appoint
TAMIHANA TE KAKANO
to be an Assessor for the purposes of "The Resident
Magistrates Act, 1867;" "The Native Circuit
Courts Act, 1858;" and "The Native Circuit Courts
Act Amendment Act, 1862," within the District of
Waiapu. This appointment dates from the 1st day
of July, 1875.
H. A. ATKINSON,
(in the absence of the Native Minister).

Deputy Commissioners of Stamps appointed.

Head Office, Stamp Department,
Wellington, 2nd February, 1876.
HIS Excellency the Governor has been pleased to
appoint the under-mentioned gentlemen to be
Deputy Commissioners of Stamps for the districts
set opposite their names respectively :-
F. J. CAREY, Marlborough, from 1st February,
1876, vice T. F. Winstanley, Esq.;
F. R. SMITH, Otago, from 1st February, 1876, vice
E. ff. Ward, Esq.; and
J. B. FIELDER, Hawke's Bay, from 15th February,
1876, vice H. Turton, Esq.
CHARLES C. BOWEN.

NOTICES TO MARINERS.
No. 3 of 1876.

Customs Department (Marine Branch),
Wellington, 7th February, 1876.
THE following notices to Mariners, relative to new
lights on Sugar-Loaf Point, New South Wales,
and to dangers in Torres Straits, are published for
general information.
WILLIAM H. REYNOLDS.

NEW LIGHTS, SUGAR-LOAF POINT.
"All Bearings are Magnetic."

ADVERTING to the notice issued from this office on the
11th August last, it is hereby notified that the range
of the green or danger light on Sugar-Loaf Point
extends from south to S. 62° E. (or S.E. by E. E.
nearly), to a distance of about three miles, includ-
ing the Seal Rocks and adjacent dangers, with the
exception of the Edith Breaker, which is considered
out of the fairway, and from which the green light
cannot be seen.
Ships standing towards or rounding Sugar-Loaf
Point are therefore cautioned against getting into
the range of the green light.
FRANCIS HIXSON,
President.

Office of the Marine Board of New South Wales,
Sydney, 12th January, 1876.

TORRES STRAITS.

THE following information respecting dangers in
Torres Straits and the Inner Route was obtained
during the recent expedition to New Guinea, and is
supplied by Captain Edwards, of the "Chevert":-
A Shoal was found to the southwards of Poll Islet,
with apparently 2 or 3 fathoms water over it. From
its western edge
Poll Islet bore N. by E. E.
Sand Bank, S.E. E.
A Coral Reef, with Sand Bank upon it awash at or
near low water, and nearly a mile in length N.N.W.
and S.S.E., lies W.N.W. 2 miles from the north
end of Warrior Island.
The Reef to the northwards of Warrior Island
does not exist as shown on the charts. A narrow
Reef lies in the position of its eastern edge N. by E.
and S. by W., 2 miles long.

A Small Rock, nearly awash, was found in the
following position, viz. :-
Lat. 9° 40′ 20″ S.
Long. 142° 56′ 40″ E.
Also another Rock, nearly awash, in
Lat. 9° 38′ 15″ S.
Long. 142° 57′ 35″ E.

A Rocky Shoal, upon which the "Chevert" touched
while drawing 15 feet, extends some two miles south-
westwards from the Sand Bank marked on the
chart in
Lat. 9° 15′ 40″ S.
Long. 143° 3′ 30″ E.
A series of Coral Reefs, dry at low-water springs,
and Sunken Banks, with channels between them,
was found between this Sand Bank and the coast of
New Guinea.
Casts of 7 and 4 fathoms were obtained upon a
Rocky Shoal, the centre being N.E. N. from the
Dry Sand Bank to the north-eastward of Darnley
Island, and lying in
Lat. 9° 24′ 40″ S.
Long. 143° 55′ 20″ E.
This foul ground extends for some two miles N.W.
by N. and S.E. by S., but is less than a quarter of a
mile in width.

To vessels entering the Straits from the eastward
and making Bramble Cay late in the day, Captain
Edwards recommends the anchorage under the Cay,
in preference to standing on in the dark to anchor
under Stephens Island, where the water is deeper
and the bottom not so good.
Melanie Rock, eastward of the Pipon Islands, is
about half a mile in extent, and half-moon shaped.
A good mark for clearing this danger when working
down, is to keep the Peak of North Bay Point to the
eastward, or outside of the Peak near Cape Bowen,
and marked on the chart as 1,662 feet in height.
G. P. HEATH, Commander R.N., Portmaster.

Departments of Ports and Harbours,
Brisbane, 11th January, 1876.

Alteration of Name of Township, Province of
Wellington.

Secretary for Crown Lands' Office,
Wellington, 7th February, 1876.
IT is hereby notified for public information that
the name of the Township in Okotuku District,
Province of Wellington, formerly called "Wairoa,"