The Eclipse.

Hokitika Guardian, 6 October 1922, Page 1

The Eclipse.

WONDERFUL SCENE. DESCRI BHD BY PROFESSOR DAVID. (Sydney Paper). “Words fail to picture the wonders and the beauty of the scene witnessed; at Wallailgarra,” ■slid Prof. Sir hilge-i worth David upon bis return from the, northern border town. "It was the; sight of a lifetime.” The day of the eebpse, Profess.,., David went on to say, was the »«■ reallv fine, clear day for. 11 "hob month. Towards noon anxiety "as caused hv the drifting up ot « u " fleccv clouds from the north-west ami the ' south, but fortunately as Uie time of the eclipse approached the ski it, the direction of the sin. was ot purest blue and perfectly clotii > The belies tat from the geology dep.it tment of the Sydney University bad been set up on a solid granite rock b> Professor A. L. Cotton, and cameras with telephoto lenses were trained <m it There was a good muster ol tin . country folk to natch tho eclipse. “Non r to tho time predicted for the beginning of the eclipse,” Professor David continued, “a tiny strip of black made its appearance in tho position ot 5 o’clock of a watch on the sun s disc, , IIU I i, was a weird and wonderful sight 'to trace the black disc creeping on until at last only a narrow crescent ot sunlight remained. As totality approached the light from the crescent turned to a glowing yellow umbering rather than gilding the. landscape ant the onlookers. The thrilling moment of totality was now close. Suddenly there was a stir of gusty wind; the air grew chill ; a faint rainbiw-like halo circled the sun, distant about twice the sun’s diameter from tlio sun’s orb; tlnm for a few seconds the famous shadow bands rippled the grey surfaces of ,-oads and rocks travelling swiftly eastwards. Then a mighty black shadow, over IHO miles wide, rushed upon us with twice the speed of a rifle bullet. It was stupendous, awe-insipring, almost terrifying recalling Shakespeare s ‘And ere a* man bath power to say “Behold!” the jaws of darkness to devour it up.’ lit the twinkling of all eye the yellow laudsvapc, ns far as the eye could reach, was blotted out. But then to onr sunward gaze there dashed in all its glory the splendour of the solar corona, a sight never to he forgotten. The corona showed as ‘an aureole traced in the tenderest beams,’ and far beyond it beautiful streamers of light radiated, chiefly from its uppci and lower portions in such a diroptior that lines joining them sloped away slightly from the vertical diameter ot the sun obliquely downwards from left j to right and right to left, making a | quadrangular patient. I “So spellbound were we that we al- | most forgot to expose our photographic j plates. Nevertheless a sort of photoI graphic hurley hurley followed. Meanj while, during totality. birds were [greatly perturbed, uttering sharp erics |of distress; fowls went to roost ; the | postmaster's horse whinnied either loi its evening, meal or for human sym ■: patli.v. and at Tenterfield the cows J 'cam.- lmnie.’ Suddenly, after nil in I larval of .‘1 minutes 13 seconds, wliici •j seemed less than a minute, the ret roe. t- ’ ing edge of the black shadow nished by. foil nwnl by the* rippling Mijkldw : hands, and thou n hurst of glorious I light from henonth tho lower odgo oi j tho moon’s disc* chased tho darkness. , Tola lit v was over, and hut for tho par- ! tin I oolipsc* phenomena which imine- ! finitely followed. so was the groat event, tin* like of which will not take I place, again in Australia for ot years.”