A PHENOMENON.

Hokitika Guardian, 13 February 1918, Page 4

A PHENOMENON.

SYDNEY. Jan. SOtli

A remarkable phenomenon is reported from Bourke, which recalls similar occurrences mentioned in the reports " ot early Australian explorers. The manager of'a sheep and cattle'station near llourke, together with his family, was at dinner about Christmas time, when all wore startled by a loud explosion, 'flic report seemed s® close that it was thought that a net>’nl tank used Tor generating gas for tlie premises had hurst. A prompt examination however, showed that tlio tnhk wn R intact, A further examination around tlie homestead failed to explain the cause of the explosion,' nor could any sign of destruction be detected. It was subsequently ascertained that a settler living 9 miles away from tlie station, that also beard the explosion, which therefore must have been a heavy one. The country, in thq> vicinity is quite open. It is interesting to recall that Stu-' notes in the account of his explorations when he, was trying to penetrate the centre of Australia, that lie heard two mysterious explosions on successive days, seemingly near his camp. Tlie first startled him at 9 o’clock one morn ing, and the second occurred the follow ing day at about the same time. . He could not discover the scene of them, anl attributed the reports to gaseous outbursts of some kind. The two explosions .occurred in the early twenties, and lie reports that lie heard another when on tlio Darling River in the forties.

As it is believed that there is nothing in the geological formation of the Bourke country to give rise to violent outbursts of gas, the theory is’held that the recent explosion was caused by a falling meteor. Meteors, if of any size, falling millions of miles out of space, must strike the earth, or atmosphere surrounding it, with unimaginable force, and perhaps cause these puzzling explosions.