1384
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

THOMAS LOWTHER BARNHILL, Esq.,
of Queenstown, of his appointment as a Justice of
the Peace for the colony.
WM. ROLLESTON.

Resignation of Volunteer Officer.

Defence Office,
Wellington, 28th September, 1880.
HIS Excellency the Administrator of the Govern-
ment has been pleased to accept the resigna-
tion of the commission held by the under-mentioned
officer:-

Urenui Rifle Volunteers.
Lieutenant Albert Richard Langley. Date of resig-
nation, 10th September, 1880.
JOHN HALL.

Letter from Board of Trade on Inquiry into Strand-
ing of "Sophia R. Luhrs."

Marine Department,
Wellington, 27th September, 1880.
THE following letter from the Board of Trade,
together with the enclosure thereto, on the sub-
ject of the inquiry into the stranding of the barque
"Sophia R. Luhrs," is published for general infor-
mation.
H. A. ATKINSON.

Board of Trade (Marine Department),
Whitehall Gardens, S.W., 6th July, 1880.
Inquiries.
SIR,-With reference to the inquiry recently held
at Wellington into the stranding of the barque
"Sophia R. Luhrs" on a rock which the Court found
was not marked on the Admiralty chart, I am
directed by the Board of Trade to state that a
copy of the report of the Court was forwarded to
the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and a
copy of a letter containing their observations thereon
is enclosed herewith.

I have, &c.,
THOMAS GRAY.

The Secretary, Marine Department,
Wellington, New Zealand.

Admiralty, 1st July, 1880.
SIR,-I have laid before my Lords Commissioners of
the Admiralty your letter of the 17th instant, M.
10926, forwarding copies of a report of inquiry held
in New Zealand, and of a casualty return Wr. 1,
relating to the stranding of the "Sophia R. Luhrs"
on a sunken rock not marked on the Admiralty
chart, half a mile S.E. of the reef on the western
point of Lyall Bay, Cook Strait, New Zealand.

2. In reply, I am to acquaint you, for the informa-
   tion of the Board of Trade, that it appears this vessel
   was running for Port Nicholson with a fresh fair
   wind, and was apparently hove-to off Lyall Bay to
   wait for the flood tide to work into the harbour, and,
   while hove-to, drifted on to a rock, the lead not being
   used. The rock is stated in these papers to be half
   a mile S.E. from the end of the reef on the west side
   of Lyall Bay; but from information published by
   the New Zealand Government it is described as
   being but one and a half cables E. by S. from the
   end of that reef.

3. The Court of Inquiry held at Wellington ex-
   onerates the master from blame on the ground that
   the rock was not defined on the chart, but adds that
   he had not acted prudently.

4. It appears to my Lords that the question of
   the chart had little, if anything, to do with the
   casualty in question.

The master was not justified in making so free
with such a reef-bound coast as that westward of

[No. 92

Port Nicholson without using the lead; and if the
directions in "The New Zealand Pilot" had been
more closely followed, the vessel should not have
come within a mile of the point eastward of Sinclair
Head.

5. My Lords will cause the charts to be amended
   accordingly, and a notice to mariners issued.

I have, &c.,
E. N. SWAINSON.

The Assistant Secretary,
Marine Department, Board of Trade.

Notice to Mariners. No. 42 of 1880.

Marine Department,
Wellington, 22nd September, 1880.

THE following Notices to Mariners, received from
the Commissioner of Trade and Customs, Mel-
bourne, and Marine Board, Port Adelaide, are pub-
lished for general information.

JOHN HALL,
(in absence of the Minister having charge
of the Marine Department.)

PORT PHILLIP HEADS.

MARINERS, pilots, and others navigating the South
Channel, Port Phillip Bay, are hereby informed that,
on and after the 1st September next, the colour of
the red light at Point Lonsdale will be deepened to
a darker red than at present shown, between the
bearings of W. by S. and W. by N. The red light
of the Swan Spit Lighthouse will also be deepened
between the bearings of N.W. and S.W. by W.
This deepening of colour is made to prevent the
possibility of mariners navigating the eastern en-
trance of the South Channel mistaking these lights
for the Pile Light in the South Channel.

CHARLES B. PAYNE,
Chief Harbourmaster.
Department of Ports and Harbours,
Melbourne, 25th August, 1880.

GULF OF ST. VINCENT, PORT ADELAIDE.

NOTICE is hereby given that a screw mooring for the
use of ships, having explosives on board, has been
placed in mid-stream, in 20 feet at low water.
Its position is nearly N.W. (mag.) from the entrance
to the North Arm.
Pilots and masters of vessels are hereby requested
to be careful when passing the buoy during the
night.
R. H. FERGUSON,
President, Marine Board.

Marine Board Offices,
Port Adelaide, 26th August, 1880.

Notice to Mariners. No. 43 of 1880.

Marine Department,
Wellington, 28th September, 1880.

THE following Notices to Mariners, received from
the Superintendent, Marine Survey of India,
and Portmaster, Brisbane, are published for general
information.
H. A. ATKINSON.

WESTERN ROUTE BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND CHINA.
CAPTAIN BACHE, of the barque "Queen of Nations,"
reports that when on a voyage from Brisbane to
Manilla, on the 5th June last, lat. at noon being 10°
6' S., and long. 156° 13' 30" E., after sailing four
knots N.N.W., he suddenly saw breakers, rocks, and
sand, bearing from S. by W. to W. by S., distant
about five miles.

H. W. WYBORN,
Acting Portmaster.
Department of Ports and Harbours,
Brisbane, 6th September, 1880.