JUNE 1.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 1057

Offices opened and closed; Designations changed.

Post and Telegraph Department,
General Post Office, Wellington, 19th May, 1899.

THE following particulars of offices opened and closed, and of designations changed, are published for general information.

W. C. WALKER,
For Postmaster-General and Electric Telegraph Commissioner.

OFFICES.

MONEY-ORDER OFFICE AND POST-OFFICE SAVINGS-BANK OPENED.

Takapuna .. .. .. .. | Auckland .. .. .. .. | 1 May, 1899.

MONEY-ORDER OFFICE AND POST-OFFICE SAVINGS-BANK CLOSED.

Omapere .. .. .. .. | Auckland .. .. .. .. | 20 April, 1899.

MONEY-ORDER OFFICE OPENED.

Millerton .. .. .. .. | Westport .. .. .. .. | 8 May, 1899.

POSTAL-NOTE OFFICE OPENED.

Tongaporutu .. .. .. .. | New Plymouth .. .. .. .. | 16 April, 1899.

TELEPHONE-OFFICE CLOSED.

Closeburn .. .. .. .. | Invercargill .. .. .. .. | 21 April, 1899.

TELEPHONE BUREAUX OPENED.

Manawatu Heads .. .. .. | Wellington .. .. .. .. | 8 April, 1899.
Waikaka Siding (reopened) .. | Invercargill .. .. .. .. | 8 "

Referring to notice of closing of money-order office and savings-bank, Whananaki, in New Zealand Gazette of 27th April, No. 36, add footnote: “Postal-note office remains open.”

DESIGNATIONS CHANGED.

Notice to Mariners, No. 15 of 1899.

CLOUDY BAY, COOK STRAIT.

Marine Department,
Wellington, N.Z., 31st May, 1899.

THE following letter, received from Captain Manning and others with reference to the advantages of Cloudy Bay as a safe anchorage during heavy gales in Cook Strait, is published for the information of mariners.

WM. HALL-JONES.

Wellington, N.Z., 29th May, 1899.

SIR,—With a view of giving information of considerable value to shipmasters who may be navigating the eastern portion of Cook Strait, and with the hope of possibly preventing casualties in the future, we suggest that the following facts, drawn from the long experiences of the undersigned, should be published by the Marine Department, and circulated amongst shipmasters and shipowners throughout the colony.

We are of the opinion that during the last few years many disasters might have been avoided, and much risk and anxiety not been incurred, had there been a more widely diffused knowledge amongst shipmasters of the easy access to, and the complete shelter and safety afforded by, Cloudy Bay. To quote the “New Zealand Pilot,” “Cloudy Bay is a part of the coast between the White Bluff and Port Underwood, a distance of twelve miles; it is a deep indentation, and has a convenient depth of water for anchorage, 12 fathoms across the entrance and 9 fathoms a mile and a half off the beach, decreasing gradually to the shore. There is good shelter at its head, with off-shore winds from north round to south-east, and out of the strength of the tide, with the advantage of Port Underwood being open in case of the wind drawing more to the eastward. The coast-line is a deep shingle-beach.”

We wish to add that the width of the mouth of this bay makes it so easy of access that it may practically be considered as a roadstead and a harbour of refuge on the safe side of Cook Strait. The configuration of the land and the adjacent mountain-ranges give such protection from the wind and sea that the mariner approaching the locality from the northward or eastward finds himself running into light winds, smooth seas, and clearer weather when within twelve or fourteen miles from the anchorage, and will generally find himself in a calm and in smooth water when within five miles. This applies to north-west, south, and south-west winds, when even heavy gales of wind are raging in the centre of the Strait and on the Wellington side. Innumerable instances have occurred where heavy southerly gales have been blowing through the Strait and into Wellington, stopping all traffic, and in Cloudy Bay and Port Underwood the weather has been so fine that small craft which had previously taken refuge there were getting under way with light winds from the north-west.

As Cloudy Bay is of greatest benefit to vessels when southerly gales are blowing, when, through the thick weather which often accompanies these gales, they are unable to pick up Pencarrow Head, or when, through being light and in ballast, they do not care to run down on a lee-shore, we enclose a chart marked with lines indicating the locality of the various strength of the wind and state of the sea during such gales. To the westward of a line drawn on the chart from Cape Campbell to Tory Channel the wind and sea will be moderate as compared with what it is to the eastward of that line; to the westward of a line drawn from Cape Campbell to Rununder Point the wind will be much less and the sea much smoother; to the south-west of a line drawn from Cape Campbell to Port Underwood the wind will be very light, perhaps calm, and the sea quite smooth; and from two miles off the White Bluff to Port Underwood the weather, though it may be thick and dirty outside, is generally perfectly clear.

In making for Cloudy Bay at night the shipmaster has many things to guide him. As he steers his course for it he finds himself getting into better weather every mile he goes,