Harbor Office,
Port Chalmers, 20th March, 1862.

To the Provincial Secretary.

Sir,—I do myself the honor to reply to the queries in Admiral Washington’s communication of 29th December last, to his Honor the Superintendent, relative to the loss of the barque Genevieve, at the entrance of Otago Harbor, on the 17th of January, 1862, and the North Channel of the Admiralty Chart of Otago, No. 2411.

Query 1.—If the Harbor Master, or any one connected with the Port, can mark on a plan of the entrance the exact spot where the barque was wrecked?

Answer.—The accompanying tracing shows the position of the wreck as she now lies, and within the circle her position on the morning after the wreck (in the hurry and confusion to save the cargo, no bearings were taken), which position I have no hesitation in saying is not more than two cables’ length in shore of where the vessel would first strike.

Query 2.—Whether it is true, as the Pilot is reported to have said, that no such channel as the North Channel of that chart existed?

Answer.—The Pilot did not report that no such channel as the North Channel existed; but said that there was not a channel where he boarded the Genevieve, and that it was not desirable for any vessel to take the North Channel, as in steering through it the seas might a-beam, and calculated to sag the vessel on to the sand-spit; neither is it necessary, there being not less than nineteen feet at low water spring tides, on any part of the Bar beyond one and a half cables’ length from Tairoa’s Head, a sufficient depth for the largest merchant vessel, making a straight course across the Bar, on the last quarter flood. [I hereby certify that the above is correct.
John Louden,
Chief Pilot.]

Query 3.—Whether there is any reason to believe that the North Channel has shoaled up materially since the date of the survey?

Answer.—The soundings on the accompanying tracing, as taken by Mr. J. Louden, Chief Pilot, and myself, show a little shallowing on the sand-spit, but a deepening in the channel.

Query 4.—Whether vessels, in fine weather, make use of this channel, or if any wrecks have occurred before in it?

Answer.—It is only used by the Pilots when beating a vessel into or out of the Harbor, and no wreck ever occurred in the channel.

In the matter of wrecks, only three have occurred at Otago Heads since the first of the settlement in 1848. The first of these was the barque “Revival,” in March, 1859. Steered on shore during the night; cause, unfitness of the Master to command, and mutinous state of the crew. At this date there was only one Pilot, Mr. Driver, who, on the night in question, was at Port Chalmers with a vessel.

The second was the barque “Genevieve,” on January, 1862; cause, the Master not being able to determine his true position, and not waiting for the services of a Pilot, steered his vessel on shore during the night, supposing that the course steered would lead him through the North Channel. If the Master of this vessel consulted his New Zealand Pilot, which shows that Otago Harbor is only safe to enter when the Red Flag is hoisted at the Flagstaff, he must have been taking an undue risk with the property under his charge, as the Red Flag is never hoisted at night.

In the Master of this vessel’s statement to the Mauritius Marine Board, he says that on the day after the wreck the North Channel was covered with breakers from side to side. Had such been the case, no boat could have gone alongside; and as the vessel was bilged, and the water rising in the hold as the tide made, to the level of the main deck, every package of the cargo would have been damaged. On the day in question the North Channel was perfectly smooth, and very little break on the sand-spit, which enabled small boats (not suitable for a surf) to go safely alongside, and discharge the ’tween decks cargo before high water, and without damage.

Owing to the large amount of unexpected arrivals of shipping (consequent upon the gold discovery) on the day of the wreck, the Pilots were all engaged. The Chief Pilot on seeing the lights, which were only shown after the vessel was in the danger, made all possible haste to the scene, leaving the ship “Commodore Perry,” of 2000 tons, not safely moored in the Lower Anchorage; but too late to prevent the disaster. The Pilot staff has since been augmented, and a Pilot Schooner cruising outside of the Heads.

The third wreck was the schooner “Tamar,” in November, 1862; cause, vessel missing stays, the Master persisting in beating his vessel into the Harbor on the ebb, and during a heavy south-westerly gale, when the Pilot could not board in safety; at same time a signal was shown from the Pilot Schooner to anchor outside of the Bar, a very safe anchorage during south-westerly gales.