THE MOKOHINAU LIGHT.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 168, 18 July 1910, Page 4

THE MOKOHINAU LIGHT.

A protest, signed by 2G master mariners, has just been forwarded to the Minister for Marine, setting forth reasons against the proposed removal of the Mokohinau light to one of the Chickens Islands. Apparently this is a matter that has not yet attracted any large amount of public attention, but as it seems to us to involve questions of serious importance to our seafaring population, and to Auckland's commerce, we think it advisable to put the case before our readers in some detail. The Mokoliinau light, as everybody familiar with the north-east coast of New Zealand knows, has been for considerably over twenty years the guiding light to the northern entrance of the Hauraki Gulf, its radius of twenty-six miles extends westward to Bream Head, just north of Whangarei, while eastward it covers the dangerous northern and north-west coast of the Great Barrier. Vessels coming down from the North Cape having once picked up the Cape Brett light, ltavc their path cleared all the way down to the Hauraki Gulf by the Mokoliinau light, which has been for a long time the recognised guiding light for ocean' steamers Hearing Auckland from the north and east. When a light has once 'been recognised in this way .by sea-going men for many years, and has, so to speak, earned its rank on the Admiralty charts, nothing but urgent necessity or arguments of an absolutely conclusive kind should be accepted as a reason for removing it; and so far neither Mr Millar nor the unknown advisers who have urged him to take this stop have made out any case in its favour worth considering. The ostensible cause for removing the Mokohinau light to a point nearly twenty miles westward is the alleged need for a light to guide coastal traders into Whangarei Harbour. Now we are far from desiring to ignore the importance of Auckland's coastal traffic, and if, in tile opinion of those best qualified to judge, a light is needed there, we advise the Marine Department to put : it there without delay. But why is it necessary to move the Mokohinau light, with its 20 miles radius, so close inshore, when a smaller and cheaper light would do all that is wanted for Whangarei Harbour without wasting its radiance over the rural districts ten or twelve miles inland? To put the Mokohinau light on the Chickens would be sheer waste of a valuable and expensive light; but it would also, in our opinion, involve serious positive danger to navigation in another direction. At present the Mokoliinau light under favourable conditions covers in ibs radius the whole of the broken north-west coast of the Great Barrier from the Needles southward. If removed to the Chickens, ! the radius of the light would fall short •of the Great Barrier by many miles; I and, remembering the terrible disaster I that befell the Wairnrapa on this rugged I and dangerous coastline, we can hardly helievo that .Mr.. Millar had grasped all I the facts of the position when he decided Ito leave navigators to take their chance j there without the Mokohinau light to j guido them.

We may remark in passing that the suggestion that the Mokoliinau light would be more useful further north — say, on the l'oor Knights, or even the Cavalles lislands —seems to us quite groundless; for the northern coast is already, generally speaking, well lighted down to the point where the Mokohinau light comes into view. But the most inexplicable feature of the case is Mr. Miliars apparent willingness to leave this main northern entrance into the Gulf unlighted, because, as he stated in an interview last week, the San Francisco service has been abandoned. We may suggest to Mr. Millar, in the first place, that it is quite possible that the San Francisco liners may some day lie running again to Auckland; that all the ocean liners coming down to Auckland on the northern route need eorue leading light for the fairway into the Gulf; that all the Pacific traders find ■their way down into the Gulf by the aid of the Mokohinau light; and that even the coastal traffic, about which Air. Millar is rightly solicitous, has to depend largely on the Mokohinau light to avoid the many dangers hidden in these waters. To suggest that vessels coming in from the Pacific should go forty or fifty miles north to pick up Cape Brett or run far outside the Great Barrier to pick up Cuvier light before risking the approach to the Gulf is surely to reduce the whole question to absurdity. The object of erecting lighthouses is to enable sea-borne traffic to find its way along a coast-line with safety in the shortest practicable time; and the removal of the Mokohinau light would mean, without any doubt, greatly increased risks and del-ays to a very important part of our marine trade. Allowing for all this, we certainly think that Mr. Millar has been very ill-advised. Apparently the Shipmasters' Guild, a small and by no means representative body, located at Wellington, lias suggested this step. But we believe that the great majority of master mariner's and seafaring men in and about Auckland arc strongly opposed to it; and we hope that they will 'be able to make their voices heard effectively. We suggest that it would be well for the Chamber of Commerco to take up this question and promptly convene a. public meeting, at which evidence for and against the proposal could he discussed. There is no time to lose, and on the evidence submitted to us it seems that the Marine Department is on the verge of making a mistake which may have serious and, indeed, disastrous conseojuences to A-ucklajid's oversea trade.