WIRELESS STATION ON LORD HOWE ISLAND

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 64, 7 June 1927, Page 8

WIRELESS STATION ON LORD HOWE ISLAND

GOVERNMENT PROPOSAL METEOROLOGICAL DATA (Special to THE SUN.) WELLINGTON, Monday. With the advent of Dr. E. Kidsos to the Meteorological Office at the end of next month, the Government is to consider a proposal for the establishment of a wireless station on Lord Howe Island for the purposes of picking up and re-transmitting weather reports from ships at sea. Under an arrangement with master mariners, the Australian Commonwealth now receives many observations from vessels in the Tasman Sea. and paradoxically enough has often been in a position to give better forecasts of New Zealand weather than were possible on this side, because of the lack of sufficient data. The reason for this is that practically all the storms which strike New Zealand approach the Dominion from a westerly direction. When Dr. Marsden was in Australia some months ago, lie arranged that as many observations as possible should be sent to the New Zealand Meteorological Office but the position cannot be satisfactory until a special station is devoted to the work Thus it is proposed that the New Zealand Government and the Commonwealth authorities should share the cost of constructing a wireless station on Lord Howe Island, which is in an excellent geographical position for the work. It is understood that the cost would not be heavy, and that the operation expenses would be quite low. The more complete data would be of great value to meteorological work in the Dominion.