YESTERDAY'S GALE.-GREAT DAMAGE DONE.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1828, 1 June 1874, Page 3

YESTERDAY'S GALE.-GREAT DAMAGE DONE.

One of the fiercest gales;.whichi has prevailed for some time past at the Thames commenced at about noon yesterday,' the wind then blowing from the north. Gaining strength during the afternoon, it increased .into a -perfect gale.by about 6 o'clock causing serious 'damage.' The wind continued 'to blow'from Vtho north' during the greater, 'portion.of the, ,day„ but during shifted to north-; west and west, gradually veering back to' its old quarter, and lessening considerably in strength when the tide began!to fall. The most seriousdamago-was sus--taiued at Curtis's wharf, through which four vessels made as many breaches. The cutter' Sydney,' broke through the wharf dose to the toll-house, and a short distance outside the' Lady Rath,' cutter,, which had also broken from her moorings: and drifted down on to the wharf and soon made a seoond breach. Mr Hawkes' Tapu outter and another named the' George' also cama foul, of. the.,wharf still further to'sea ward,-and soon J madepassages for themselves, damaging.tho, i wharf to an.;.almost, irreparabl.erextenfc without apparently sustaining much injury themselves. The ' Sydney' drifted' .up! on to the Beaoh-road, near the. Wesleyau Church. Tho' George' and ' Lady' Rath' were drifted up towards Shortland, where they went ashore on the beach, but the, Tapu cutter managed fcoiget holding ground, for''her'anchors near flqldship's wharf. The inshore connection of Holdship's wharf, where there was a heavy strain, had to be cut away to, save the rest of tho structure, and the operation was so far successful, l Messrs Read sustained a heavy loss.,"''a : large quantity of sawn timber having, been, washed away.'i!' The .Tarar'u-Tramway Company are also losers, alarge'sectioa of the tramway between .thogoeds' wharf; and the Marine Hotel being washad sway, mi tto wQQ^Kstwotwiati'iiH

goods'wliarf,.along which the rails, were carried for conveying the coal trucks off the wharf to the main line, was turned completely over. But this does not comprise the.-:whole of the injuries to the line, for seVernl {3ectionsybf.it 1 are "damaged near the Karauui.and Shellback, and' the oost'o/Vepairs,''exclusive of the delay in traffic, will -be .considerable.;j -We have not heard o'f much damage in the town--ships.ibeyond a-few fences li'iwij down.' fararli 'stood -tlie 1 gale for some .time,, -but when the tide rose, and it was required to stand the of: the water as well/'it '.proved ia^iiffioidnt;-'aiid' a'first'br'each;was, made, ~whicn was followed by otliers,' until' in the end there Was' little •■# it-left'' standing except, theJbuter; T, .which, -being * more strongly. Mt than the rest;'stood alone like a ipeck,inr the white waters. It is a pity the 'owners did |not i take waging ; hy the jatejgaiej indimake the'' whole' as' secure 'as the new structure, which appears tobe all * that, .is- '■ required- ; for ; ' bresadth; 'find strength; l ',Tho'gale;wasj^P 5 belie've, the strongest that has been experienced in the .Haurak^.Gulfjfor, ; ,a Jbng'timejpastifllt has at all events, left the Thames without

' wharf : accommodation for passengers or for .-steamer's/except'-" the 'goods.-wharf;' ; which-: can'; \qnly * : be;, reached 1 :' by (light:draught seems a great pity that such a substantial '■(structure as this is should have been erected...whore is.so.little .depth of 'water;- brfafclierVwhVre -towns W liable to be filled up from the debris from the batteries. It is very doubtful if it would _ be "wise" to lengthen thiswhal'f' under the circumstances named, and unless it is lengthened, it is all but useless for -purposes. /In ;nhore,jthe .'damage was not veryJsevere. Numerous fences were blown down in Shortland, and ajportion-.off.the zincpo,ofing\pf-St, blown'off. ■ The latter, it will be expensive and difficult" to replace, but on the whole the damage is not great, although many 'building's m* exposed positions were in ;'grWt' dangdr ,duriuef 'Hhe . keikht'bf. the storm. -•■■-■

[ wire's we'ro''blown down somewhere between.'Mercer and Auckland '.sboHlyVcer'Sip'clpak!. 'when I 'the' ,! tors "were at"' work in' the Grahamstown 'o'fnce'. v ';Commiinicati6ri'with' K Nk{i,ier-w ••i.:j.v.'iJ;,) JM'.i.ifi'Svij!:-!!- 1 ~ ; ;.'!^i"iJ ' i riiit. , carried .on j with ,jpne-.wire,, ( but between jfapiecftiid },we understand, all .'communication was cut off.