THE WEATHER.

Thames Star, Volume VI, Issue 1791, 29 September 1874, Page 2

THE WEATHER.

There was a good deal of weather about last night—rather too much, in fact, to be pleasant. In nautical phraseology, it was "a nasty night." The wind, which had been blowing freshly all day, in a north-westerly direction, rapidly increased in power after the sun had sunk to rest, and at about eight o'clock, or half an hour before the tide was at its full, periodical gusts of the;momentary force of a gale occurred, and caused the sea to run very high and back up on shore much more than it otherwise would liave done. The tide was an exceptionally, high one: never, perhaps, since the time of the great tide on the Thames has it reached so far—not even on the few occasions wlien a strong gale has been blowing directly on to the shore. A number of popple trusted themselves out solely with the purpose of seeing the effects of the tide, which was expected to, be of unusual height, and those who entertained any expectations were not dis^r appointed. All the open culverts in G-niJP hamstown were flooded, and the water encroached on the footpath, which materially impeded agreeable peregrination. But this was trifling—Davy-street was covered with sea water, and presented the appearance of a dirty London canal between two rows of dingy buildings. All that part of the flat in the vicinity of the mouth of Karaka Creek was inundated; Queen-street at the point of the bridge that crosses, the culvert was totally imI passable, and lower down on each side of the Courthouse Hotel the sea assumed its dominion'; while the footpath* along Albert-street were not traversable. Pedestrians had to confine themselves in most instances to the centre of the road to insure dry feefc. The water rose high on the beach from the -Grahamstown wharf to Shortland, and did considerable damage to carefully attended garden ibeds and delicately nurtured plants, in one or two instances rendering itself objectionable by intruding into the dwelling houses in most exposed, situations. Many person?, in anticipations of the" high tide which was to come had taken a precaution by banking up their garden fences with earth, but this proved to .afford little resistance to what, Dominie Dobbs calls the watery element. The sea presented a grand sight when breaking over the embankment along the line of Tararu tramway, rushing wildly along before the force of the north-west wind in one continuous roar—rolling over and hissing through the woodwork and stones, and spending itself on the street. The shipping, as it luckily l happened, suffered no damage. A num- i ber of vessels secured at Tararu in pre- i ference to nearing the Goods Wharf, and rode safely. Doubts were felt as to the < safety. of the cutters Whau and Tarn I, O'Shanter, which were moored inside the ' Goods Wharf some distance; but the masters of the boats had secured them- L selves with lines and anchors in anticipation of what was to come, and they held fast to their moorings till the tide receded and they greunded. The beach footpath from the, corner of Willoughby-street, recently formed atithe joint expense of the inhabitants and Borough Council, has been considerably undermined, and it will now entail a further outlay to fill it again. The timber was badly placed in the construction of this pathway, being placed almost upright, whereas, to allow of the water breaking on it, it should have been made to slope, ihe pathway further down, the line, from the Grahamstown side of the Karaka bridge is very much destroyed, the timber being actually torn away, which leaves the water piping exposed. This will need immediate repair. A considerable extent of ■( the Grahamstown and,Tararu tramroad is damaged, in many places the woodwork embankment being shifted from its place. Men were' engaged at an early hour this morning repairing those portions needing >ik A portion of the Tararu Wharf was damaged, but it will not entail a large outlay to repair it, or cause any lengthened delay to traffic.