OUR UNSAFE COASTS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1024, 13 January 1911, Page 6

OUR UNSAFE COASTS.

; GENERAL RE-SURVEY URGED. (Bjr Telegraph— Special Correspondent.) •- . . Auckland, • January 12. The"'ahnbuncpincnti that/the Threa Kings Islands are wrongly' placed ori the'-Admiralty chart was received with considerable surprise in-shipping circles yesterday'.' 'Hitherto the Admiralty chart, of. the North Auckland coast, which is'used on all vessels and which hasbeen corrected up to June, 1307-,, has always been regarded as thoroughly... reliable. "'During the inquiry, into the Eliiigamitp"disaster, which occurred at' thc^Threo'.Kings, the question : of .tho' accuracy of tho chart never cropped up. The announcement made yesterday, however, following on the mishap to tho. Kaipara. in Rangitoto Channel,™'..only . a year' ago, hasrudcly shaken tho;c(in-. fide'iice in the correctness of .the charts,.' ahd' : it : nbw'-sesms probable that . the Government" will be -strongly "'urged to ■ get the Admiralty (in addition to the.re--survey of Auckland Harbour) to make a thorough survey... of-the whole of tho New Zealand coast.

Shipping men here seem to.regard it as important that the charting of the Three Kings should be seal to at ouce, and naturally they are pleased-at the action of the Admiralty in sending H.M.'S. Cambrian to the, scene at once. They point out that, in fair weather, the passage between the Throe Kings and Cape...Maria is sufficiently wide— the, actual distance is 16 miles—to allow a navigator'to steer his vessel -safely.;, through without even the use of-a chart* TJiidef foggy.conditions, however, tho. duty of the 'master, is to steer further south'to pick vtp 'Cape .Marialight, and, in the event of failure-to-, .do so,; to heave to. .'.'. , -■. ■ --■■ • ■■-. ■ • Sir. T. Henderson, a member of tho committee of the New -Zealand_ Shipowners' Federation, intends to bring the matter' of urging the Government' to have the whole, of the -Now Zealand coast resurveyed before the next meet-; ing of that body. "U is," "ho . says," "a." well-known"• fact that .there ..are. numerous inaccuracies in iiio coastal survey, and the' recent discovery in con-: nectioii with the position of-tho Three Kings leads olio to believe that other, inaccuracies exist. In view, ofl the. magnitude of . the - intercolonial and. coastal trade,"it is essential that, every precaution should be taken."