THE ALERT EXPEDITION.
The Alert screw sloop,, which left Portsmouth on Tuesday morning,. Sept. 24, is bound upon an expedition of con-* si durable geographical and commercial importance. Sir George Narcs goes out in his old ship, upon which something like £20,000 has been expended in repairs and refitting since her return from her last famous voyage. The Straits of Magellan and the coasts of Patagonia having been thoroughly sounded, surveyed, and .explored, Sir George Nares’ work will begin in the South Pacific, and the rough, boisterous climate of the Magellan Straits will be changed for one suited to British blood. His energies will be employed for the most part on several isolated islands which have never had their topography
fixed, and with which the low Pacific Archipelago, is generally credited with being studded. In fact, this Archipelago is said to comprise an immense number of coral reefs and islets situate to the eastward of the Society Islands, stretching from 135 to 149 ° . Surveying will commence at Minerva Reef in 13G - 30 ° , and will go on until the whole neighbourhood is surveyed. The changes in the depth of the sea, caused by volcanic agency, towards the Fijis, will also require exploring ; and the hard work of the expedition will come to a practical termination there. The Alert will then go on to Sydney to refit, and should everything proceed prosperously she cannot ai’rive there in less than two years. After refitting she will proceed through Torres Straits to the West Coast of Australia, and soundings will have to bo obtained in Geography Bay, which can scarcely be concluded in less than three years from the present time, even should there be no delay of any kind, seeing that the survey will extend as far south as King George’s Sound, which is one of the principal settlements in Western Australia.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TEML18790308.2.20
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Temuka Leader, Volume 2, Issue 127, 8 March 1879, Page 3
Word count
Tapeke kupu
309THE ALERT EXPEDITION. Temuka Leader, Volume 2, Issue 127, 8 March 1879, Page 3
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.