OPERATIONS AT FORT BRITOMART.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 19, Issue 1282, 25 March 1872, Page 2

OPERATIONS AT FORT BRITOMART.

[evening star, march 9.]

For several weeks past, the railway works at this point have been carried on by Mr Owen Jones with his usual energy. The fort has been completely dismantled, —those buildings which occupy the ground appropriated for railway purposes, in great pare taken down, —and a considerable portion of of the cliff hurled into the sea to form a station for the future railway. All this was done quietly and unostenca tiously; but this morning an event occurred which made considerably mere noise. In order to hasten on the demolishment of the cliff, it had been determined to use gunpowdei on a large scale; and consequently a drive of about sixty-two feet long was worked in at the level of the breakwater, and immediately opposite to it. At the extremity a cross-drive of a few feet in length was cut, and in the end of this fifteen hundredweight of blasting powder, in bags, was deposited. The ends of two thin copper wires were inserted into the powder and carried out along the face of the cliff for about 150 yards, where they lay in readiness for connection with, a galvanic battery of ten cells. But to make all sure, two lengths of Hancock's fuze were also connected with the powder. The drive was then again plugged up, and all was ready for action. It was proposed to explode the blast immediately after daylight this morning, as being the time when the fewest people were likely to be near the spot; and for the same reason the public generally were kept in ignorance of the time. This was a wise precaution, for gunpowder is rather uncertain its effects, and a slight miscalculation of the quantity re quired to lift a weight of mixed material like that of Fort Britomart, might en danger the safety of those people always to be found in crowds, who persist in standing at the point of danger. A few only who had been specially invited by the contractor were present,—among them, of course, the Government engineering staff. Up to three o'clock this morning, the wires vvoie in perfect working order, as was -ascertained hv the u*e of a small test battery and apparatus ; hut as the critical moment approached, it was found that something was wrong. Either the battery was not sufficiently powerful, or the continuity of the wires not complete. At all events up to six o'clock,, the contact of the poles failed in producing the requisite spark, and it was then resolved to tire the charge in the oldfashioned manner. The fuse was (hrveiore ignited ;. and in exactly a quarter O.f an. hour, something like an earth-

quake was felt, instantaneously followed by a moderately loud explosion. Simultaneously with this the ground at the summit of the cliff (about fifty feet above the charge), for perhaps a hundred feet back, heaved up A quantity of huge stones wore jerked up, and the face of the cliff for a considerable distance toppled over and formed a breach up which the spectators soon rushed and carried the fort. On examirauoih. it was found that not only had many hundreds of tons of shale and clay been thrown down, but the cliff shaken and split from top to bottom as far from the centre of action as a hundred feet. ; . The blast has been successful beyond all anticipation, and it is to be hoped that the quiet and harmless result of the explosion of so great a weight of powder,, will allay the fears of those timid persons who prognosticated something like the bombardment of the city with stones. It is true that the concussion was felt for a long distance round; but it was nothing like so great as would have been occasioned by the broadsiue of a corvette at a mile distant. Mr Jones deserves congratulation on the success which has attended this, the largest mining operation ever attempted, in, or near Auckland.