CAPE FOULWIND LIGHTHOUSE.

Westport Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1211, 15 September 1874, Page 2

CAPE FOULWIND LIGHTHOUSE.

From the ninth report of the Marine Department, laid before the Houses of General Assembly during the past session is extracted the foliowing paragraphs referring to the projected lighthouse erection at Cape Foul wind": " The Luna then proceeded to Farewell Spit Lighthouse with stoves, and thence to Westport, the distance from which place to Cape Foul wind is only about six miles. The road from Westport to Charleston passes about a mile ami a quarter inland of the extremity of the capo. The cape is everywhere covered with dense bush, so that a track had to be cut from the road to reach the coast at a point where it is proposed to erect the lighthouse, as the spot, could not be approached from Westport by the beach, and a landing could not be effected from the sea, owing to the heavy swell and the rocky nature of the c ast. On arriving at the end of the cape, an excellent site was fixed upon ; but it wis found tliat it would be necessary to have a.-i extensive glearirjg made This was required also to provide for the light bei ig seen up and down the coast. Arrangements were therefore made with Mr Dobson, the .District Engineer, to set a number of men to work on this

clearing ; and on the return of tlio Luna, by way of the West Coast, from the trip she made after wards to Foveaux strait, Captain Johnson found the clearing completed, and was enabled to take accurately all necessary bearings." The Secretary of Customs further says : " The order for the apparatus was sent home in December; and I expect very shortly to receive from Messrs Stevenson a drawing showing the exact size of the lantern, when the construction of the tower will at once be proceeded with, so that it may, if possible, be ready to receive the lantern and apparatus immediately they reach the colony. I venture to trouble you with this detailed account of the steps which [had, to be taken in connection with the Capo Foulwind light, because similar steps will have to be taken before the erection of many of the projected lights can be proceeded with, and because I believe that a very common opinion with regard to lighthouses 13, that all that is to be done is to send to England for a complete iigjtuou3e "i'r«""«-i wit ""O moss approved and modern design, in order to get out exactly what is wanted ; but a very short experience shows how entirely erroneous this opinion is. Lighthouses so ordered would, as a rule, be unnecessarily expensive, and would rarely be suited for the localities they were intended for." Captain It. Johnston in his report to the lion. Commissioner of Customs details the result of his recent visit to the site of the proposed Lighthouse. He reports thii3 " I found that the bush had been cleared sufficiently to enable me to select the best position for a light. This was done, and the exact position is marked by a large tree, marked with a crow's nest, and bears iS r . dOdegs. distant about 6 chains from the original rata tree marked by Mr Biackett and myself on a former visit. This site is on a small schist granite ridge about 15 feet high and 15 feet broad on the top , at an elevation of 190 feet above sea , level. To clear the surrounding cliff both north and south, a tower, 36 feet in height will be needed', when an arc extending from S round by [ N. 6Sde»s, E., will be illuminated. Before the light is erected, a road will have to be made from the Charleston road, and the present track formed by the bush-clears seems a capital direction for it to run. In tho neighborhood of the site, and in tho direction of the highest; land to tho north and south, more bush will have to be cleared to avoid intercepting the light. The exact places where this will bo required were pointed out to Mr Rome, the foreman in charge of the clearing party. Before concluding this report, I wish to call attention to the necessity of a better survey of the locality between the Steeple Rocks and the Buller River. When the Cape Foulwind light is erected, probably many vessels will run for shelter under tho cape in south-west gaies. The charts indicate neither soundings nor foul ground in this neighborhood ; and the " New Zealand Pilot" states that under Cape Foulwind vessels may find shelter in southerly winds. I however observed from the " Luna's" deck, broken water far off the shore, audi therefore conclude that the shelter a vessel would find under Cape Foulwind is not altogether free from danger,"