WIRELESS & WEATHER.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1841, 29 August 1913, Page 5

WIRELESS & WEATHER.

—. —« MACQUARIE ISLAND STATION. ITS METEOROLOGICAL VALUE. It appeared from a 'report of an interview a Domjn'iox representative had with the head of the Macquarie Island section of the Mawson expedition that .the messages from tho island regarding the weather were perhaps not appreciated by the New Zealand Meteorological Office. ■ ■the Hon. F. M. B. Fisher, Minister in charge of the Meteorological Department, informed a Dominion reporter that the impression conveyed by the statement was quite erroneous. The Government Meteorologist (Mr. D. C. bates) had reported to him that ho attached great importance and much value to the daily messages from Macquarie Island. Also a special committee had been, set up by the Australasian Association for the Advancement of science to urge upon tho New Zealand Government the importance of'maintaining the wireless station at Macquario Island. This committee had approached him and set forth the following reasons in favour of this request-:—(1) In tlie matter of meteorological forecasts and warnings to shipping,' the station has already proved its value; (2) important general results are to bo obtained by the scientific study of the weather conditions of the far south, as, those conditions are related to those in temperate regions; (3). the island supports, in spite of want of protection in the past, and even at present, most valuable and interesting fauna, \and tho existence of the station would- enable the Common-, wealth Government to enforce any. measures for protection that it may be decided to take; (4) it- is quite probable that future Antarctic expeditions will use wireless apparatus, and the existence of the station at tho island would bo necessary to enable through communication to be transmitted to Australia; (5) shipwrecks .on Macquario Island have been very numerous, and prompt advico of these is of the utmost importance, seeing that no food depot is maintained on the island. "With all this in my mind," said the Minister, "I interviewed the Prime Minister of tho Commonwealth on the subject, and obtained from him a promise that tho station at Macquario Island would not bd dismantled without the New Zealand Government being first consulted. It is quite evident from the report of Mr. Bates that from a meteorological point of view the station is of great value, fit is of tho more importance to us in that I have recently interviewed the representative of the Majconi Company with a view of instituting in New Zealand not only daily reports from shipmasters, but also return forecasts from tho Department to each shipmaster who sends in.s report. If messages are transmitted from land to sea they should bo of the greatest value to shipping, and there can ho no question that the forecasts of weather conditions that have come from Macquario Island are of the greatest assistance to tho Government Meteorologist in framing correct forecasts of weather in New Zealand and round our coasts."