WONDERS OF WHITE ISLAND.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 May 1921, Page 5

WONDERS OF WHITE ISLAND.

ITS RUGGED BEAUTY.

THE RECENT BLOWOUT.

Whakatane, Saturday. White Island to-day put up a magnificent display of steam, the volume being very great, and the force considerable. The steam cloud rose to a' height estimated at between 7600 and 8000 feet. A party which visited the island about a week ago found minute jets of steam issuing from the foreshore at the extreme eastern end of the island. Apart from the large masses of steam arising from the interior of the crater, numbers of tiny jets were seen rising, even from among the rocks at the summit of the cliffs bounding the crater. In one place steam rises from your footprints as you walk. It is apparent then that only a thin crust of earth separates the outside world from an inferno below, and it is not surprising to learn that possibly it has broken out in a fresh place. The rugged beauty of the island in general is the first thing that catches the eye. The rocks facing the sea are pale purple. Inside the cfatei the colors vary. At the top the cliffs are pale purple; near the bottom they are a mixture of yellow and white. The steam rising from the many fissures in the crater is of four distinct colors — pale pink, pale blue, pure white, and a dirty yellow. These colors, blending makes a beautiful picture, which keeps one enthralled.

Owing to all bays being qpen to the sea and having a rocky foreshore, several parties had previously been unable to land. The party which visited the island about a week ago were extremely fortunate in having favorable weather, but even with a calm sea landing is difficult. Two huge openings in the wall of the crater make 1 : the crater easily accessible, if one is fortunate enough to land.

The floor of the crater, which once a lake, is yellow with sulphur, and here and there are small streams, with occasional tiny bubbling pools. Tiny jets of steam are encountered everywhere. The further end of the crater is where the most activity is displayed, and is one mass of steam. The first indication one has of the inferno below is a roar, which increases in volume as one approaches. The roar emanates from a crater-like hole about 20 yards in diameter, from which steam rushes. Instances of the immense power of the steam were depicted when a stone rolled into the crater and was blown into the air, burning hot. A stick thrown in was hurled out again, charred and burning. A kerosene tin, containing a little water, thrown into the hole, was, after a few minutes, tossed into the air with steam issuing from it.

Some of the places from whence steam rises are inaccessible or too dangerous to venture near. One place where there are curious formations of sulphur may, however, be easily approached. There are three pillars of sulphur, between five and six feet high, with steam hissing from holes in the top. In other parts there are beds of sulphur, from which dense clouds of steam issue. At the farthest end of the crater is a small lake, bounded by high walls of sulphur on one side and the solid face of a cliff on the other.

A great deal is known of the wonders of Rotorua. Nearly all New Zealanders have been there, but the wonders which exist on White Island cannot be described by mere words. There are no beautiful geysers or weird mud pools, which are characteristic of Rotorua, but there is something more entrancing, more weird, more mysterious, on that wonderful little island.

Old residents in the Bay of Plenty have often predicted an upheaval on the island at some future date, and if this supposed new blow-hole is near the water’s edge, there is a possibility of hastening an eruption if the sea is allowed to flow in.