TRIP OF THE HINEMOA TO WAKAPUAKA AND NELSON.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5392, 9 July 1878, Page 2

TRIP OF THE HINEMOA TO WAKAPUAKA AND NELSON.

(prom our special reporter.) The Hinemoa left the Wellington wharf at half-past 7 o’clock on Saturday evening for Wakapuaka and Nelson, having oh board the Hon. Mr. Burns (Postmaster-General of New

South Wales), the Hon. Mr. Fisher, Col. Glover (managing director of the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company), Col. Reader, Messrs. Cooper, Fisher, jnu., Wakefield, Shapley, Ma- ; ling (Telegraph Department), and two representatives of the Press. The weather was re-, markably fine throughout the trip, and on Sunday morning most of the passengers rose early and went on deck to view the splendid scenery of the French Pass, which has been frequently described, and is familiar no doubt to many of our readers. But several of those on board viewed it for the first time, and were, as anyone must be who has the slightest appreciation of the beauties of nature, highly delighted with it. New Zealand can boast of much grand and beautiful scenery, so painted by Nature's hand as to be next to impossible to reproduce by pen or pencil in such a way as to give any adequate idea of it, and in tins ' category may be placed the French Pass,’ which at sunrise on a fine morning like that of Sunday last presents one of the most charming scenes that can well be imagined. It was expected at starting that a call would have been made at Durville Island, and a visit ot inspection paid to the copper mines there; but as the time of some of the Government officials was limited, they having to return to Wellington as early on Monday morning as possible, no stoppage was made, and the Hinemoa, which had been going under easy steam during the night) proceeded on her way to Wakapuaka, which was reached shortly before 10 o’clock a.m. (Sunday). Wakapuaka was chosen as the site for the New Zealand terminus ot the submarine telegraph which connects ns with Australia, after a most careful examination of the coast. The spot seems to have been remarkably well selected for the purpose. A small bay with . sandy bottom, with deep water to the shore, and out of the line of the usual anchorage ot vessels, there is no possibility of the cable being injured by chafing on rocks or shells, or , ot being “hooked” by the anchor of some coaster. Sere the Government have secured from the native owners about ten acres, very prettily situated on a small piece of fiat land almost surrounded by hills. The telegraph office, the residence of the superintendent of the station, Mr. Shapley, and the quarters of the officials of the Government and of the Eastern Extension Telegraph • Company, are all commodius and substantial dwellings, very superior • indeed to what a stranger would expect to find in snob a locality, and although as a residence Wakapuaka must be rather dal), its inhabitants, numbering about a score all told, appear , to ’be surrounded with all the necessaries and many of the luxuries of civilised life. The visitors were most hospitably received by the officers of the Telegraph Department, who seemed to vie with each other as to which could do the most for the party brought down by the Hinemoa, who after having partaken of an excellent breakfast on board that vessel, were cordially invited, and even pressed, to have a second one of as substantial a character as the first Afterwards an adjournment was made to the Telegraph Office, where some private messages were received, but none other were either received or sent daring the tune the party remained on the station. Everything was found in most excellent order, scrupulous care evidently having been taken with the instruments, and the whole station and its surroundings being kept as a sailor would say thoroughly “ shipshape.” , . To a stranger visiting Wakapuaka for the first time it seemed difficult to realise at Jurat that in this out of the way place, almost in its primitive state of bush, for with the exception of the station and its surroundings there are no other habitations to be seen, one was in close contact with the whole of the civilised world by means of the telegraph, and that, some et the. most wonderful of the “fairy talesofscience and the long results of time” were here unfolded. The messages sent through by cable are read by flashes of light reflected on a mirror, by means of qu ; instrument known as Thomson’s mirror galva- , nometer, which can be used Loth as a sender

and-n receiver. : Another instrument for recording messages—Thomsou’ssiphon recorder—is so wonderful and beautiful a piece of mechanism that the following description of it may not be out of place,, although it is a little technical. It is taken from a paper by Mr. J. A. Ewing in the “Journal of the Society of Telegraphic Engineers”:—Thomson's siphon recorder, so named after its inventor. Sir William Thomson, is an instrument for recording on a moving ribbon the right and left movements of a pointer acted upon by the successive positive and negative currents which go to make up telegraphic signals. Its extreme sensitiveness makes it especially suitable for recording the signals received through long submarine lines. A coil of fine insulated wire is delicately suspended between the two poles as a powerful electro-magnet, so as to be capable of moving round a vertical axis, and this current from the cable is made to pass through this coil When a current is passing through the coil it tends to take up a certain position relatively to the poles of the magnet, namely, the position in which the plane of the coil is perpendicular to the line joining the two poles of the magnet. But the coil is suspended so as to , hang (when no current is passing) in a position at right angles. Hence when a current passes the coil tends to run ronnd a vertical axis. If the current is positive the con turns round (say) in the direction of the hands of a watch; but if the current is negative, the coil turns round in the reverse direction. Hanging from the coil are two weights, which resist the tendency to turn round caused by the passing of a current through the coil, and which serves to bring back the coil to its original position when the current ceases. By means of a system of silk fibres the motion of the coil is communicated to a pointer, which consists of a very , fine glass siphon,'one end of .which dips into an.inkholder, whilst the other vibrates across a paper ribbon in obedience to the movements of the suspended Coil. The paper ribbon is made to. move, past the end of the siphon at a uniform rate. In order to make the ink run through the siphon, the ink is electrified and the paper ribbon is connected to the earth through the framework of the instrument. 'The ink and paper consequently attract each other, and the ink is spurted out of the ends of the siphon on to the paper in a succession of very fine ' drops. These drops form a continuous straight line . along * the centre of the paper so long as no current passes through the coil, hut when the coil is deflected by the passage of the current, the end of the siphon is deflected with it, and traces a wavy line on the paper, showing the successive deflections to the right or left of the central position. The electrification of the ink is effected by means of an electrost itic-induptlon machine called a mouse-mill, which can be driven either by clockwork or electro-magnetism. ■The same driving power serves to draw the paper ribbon along past the end of the siphon. The visitors remained about two hours at Wakapuako, during which time some of them visited the Maori Pa, which was a novelty to those who had not before seen the Maori in his native home. Mr. Fisher and Colonel Glover stayed, a short time longer at the station (the latter gentleman taking several rough sketches of the locality), and then proceeded overland to Kelson. The rest of the parly returned to the Hinemoa, which lay at anchor in the bay close to the cable,—indeed, right over it, and it was at one time thought that the anchor had got hold of it, which however was fortunately not the case. All speed was then made toward Nelson, about 9 miles distant by sea and 15 by road, which was reached shortly after one o'clock. _ . Nelson is certainly one of the prettiest places in New Zealand, hut at no time is it from all accounts very lively, and on a Sunday, especially in winter, it undoubtedly a sleepy look. In summer, with its sparkling water, green hills, and wealth of flowers and fruit it must be a most attractive spot. At two o'clock am. on. Monday a start was made for "Wellington, which was reached at half-past ten o'clock the same morning. All on board seemed to have greatly enjoyed the the trip, the excellent accommodation of the vessel contributing not a little to make things pleasant daring the voyage.