SENTINEL SHATTERED.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 244, 15 October 1929, Page 10

SENTINEL SHATTERED.

WATER HURLED SKYWARD,

BY SUBMARINE i EXPLOSION.

KOCK. .IN;;FAIRWAY • BLASTED.

MENACE, TO' SEAPLANES REMOLD.

Plain can behave .-.as, impjresswe'lycaS; prpduct, when .4Mb -'of igelignite ;is exploded Sunderit.; Also, it .is m'ore' profitable, ,for: a:snhmarine explosion" throws, up not only;a geyser of wondrous beauty, but a .free banquet-of fresh fish such as would make a gourmand of the most dyspeptic creature . alive. ; These r facts, among - others, Lieut.-Colonel 'J. E. 'Duiga'h : , learned incidentally in the course of blowing up Sentinel Rock yesterday afternoon. iy f \ To give such seaplanes as may some day-be stationed at Hobsqnville a clear approach by water, the military, authorities "have 'decided that. Sentinel must be removed. It lies off the end,of Beachhaven wharf, fairly in ..the- centre of -ttie\'channel .that runs. upcast, the aerodrome," a long, narrow canoe-shaped reef, lying fore-and-aft; with the stream: At: low water :it shows .a. -few -inches; above the surface at : its highest point, where a wooden beacon has been'erected to.warn mariners to. keep, clear. .; The? reef itself, and. the .beacon no less, would: be a peril to planes'landing on. the watery and so must go. . ; ...-■; " '•■' ; . > .;'./■ Charge in Crevice. . \ ■] *£ .The first 6hot in what promises, to be a. long and difficult job.was: fired, at ?. 3 0 P-.m. yesterday, the' moment of high tide being.' chosen because the pressure, of .""-'^er.above it.would increase the effectiveness .Of the.charge. No boringor dnllih«;was required. The sounding-rod located, a crevice in the top of /the- rock; the:.'end. furthest?.frbm thebeacbn, and ttoe t. charge,; swathed; . in i"' waterproofed lowered.at the an £*££^JT e - pulled/away, Sv.3i ' lD . m ?^>- landing in. the,-stern * PW out the . wire until about "■' fifty Tunjtbrough his seized tbe banditS^S exploder started. , . TVith a muffled roar:iike the SPof -a giant taken violently iti, a smut' \t . water leapt fully a "hundred fcfet- iut6 the alrl. At the summit it.b'roke-intoVwhitc pinnacles, of foam;

the whole mighty column in scintillating spray.:; : Long ' streamers of fine mist floated but to leeward as the mass hung poised for a moment in the air. Then, morb,suddenly cyen.' than :it.had risen, the monster coliapsedi Tbe water beneath 1 opened to - receive it, and as it sank rushed together again over the spot sending''upa second smaller spout from the violence of. the ■ meeting. ■'-' What .made""the sight .more spectacular was the:;comparativesilence. Where the onlookers' had,'expected.a 'terrific explo-' siori, 'tlii.efe' ,w'as* only,; a muffled thud, followed;by;th'e?'!who-o-sh" of the leaping :■ w:ater. They spray" pattered on the. surface of. the Sea "no louder than a showerrofiaini"and; when the column, of water : dro"p§M,' vit/landed with only a l'sibstiy" : was quite inaudible la'short distance away. But the majestic effect'pf;the'towering column was made thereby: all the more impressive. There seemed tO'be-something most uncanny in the silence .of this swift upheaval, and something: exasperating in the iraperturb-able.-way ih'whrch the sea took back its own/ without a scar remaining. " - 'Haul of Fish. , : ' ;Bobbing, through the big smooth waves Sthat- spread, rapidly in concentric circles from the,; vpoiht .', of disturbance, the dinghies,returned to examine the effects of the. .shot: Patches of froth floated I on the* surface, .white on'topi but brown at the. edges, by reason of the ancient mud .'which had been stirred up from the: seabed,- and which, in contact with the,;air,\ liberated a most foul, stench. Bunches' of-'seaweed' drifted up to the top,, and. then:came the fish, stunned.;, by the ..concussion/ They were mostly ;puhor.i, whiqh are also, known, eaten and appreciated, under the" title of butterfish. the,! crevices ' of, the rock, quite a large' shoal of . butterfish had

been'. 1 sheltering; a very, prosperous, community,';; they. had "' been, too, judging' . ; by ; : .,;the well - nourished rotundity -'of the corpses; Although quite = helpless;, iparalysed by the 'awfuf 'shOTkiiSomelof the fish - were still alive, and Abated upright, standing, as.it were, taih?)' with their gaping, mouths jiist out ■.of; the'.water. Seeing them,the seagiillsr-which had fled in alarm from the'explosion a few minutes before, and ..returned at top speed' to | fcompefe with, the .boatmen in: reaphig lan easy ' harvest: Butterfish . are good eating "for 'both birds .and men, and few

recovered- consciousness untif they were .w.ell.qn the way to becoming a meal for Either, one or the other. f . While there.were fish to be gathered, serious business of .."the day

;^M-%gbtten.; Tfcwo dinghies mamied.i.y i pulling-boat rafid:-an

outboard-motor, boat from the,aerodrome, and-a- launch; carrying sightseers from Auckland darted to and fro, often escapi ing collision only" by a hairbreadth as they all raced; for the :ohe - The officers from the-aerodrpme,"wise in previous experience, had brought long-, handled nets) but the, passengers :in the ; launch, not so well equipped, iinpfovised novel fishing gear. ' One leaned but; and swept the surface of. the. sea. with a; hard broam, while a cpmparii6ri.'c;ollectedthe sweepings in a bucket. Thei.ctacklp. i proved quite satisfactory, and; the-fish '•■.-. ing broom now bears -the/legend,; .''Patent : applied for."- .':::Vjs'{_':.[ .'v.; ,'"":.;"'" , _ £ong Job Ahead. •;.'':■*' .' ■ . Even -Colonel took part ; in.ttjtuv • sport, but he soon returned to' : ness in hand; which/was;,(thouglft|y^ry ; ' . one had appai'ently forgbtten : - ! ifc) ;'thp. ; blowing up of Sentinel Rock. Although; he himself is not usually a very explosive .gentleman, Colonel Duiganiis a . recognised authority on all thosejunpleai sant compositions that go off .with, a bang. -Be had judged the charge 'nicely 1 to do just what he wished; namely, to. shatter, the top, of the -rock..\ This first. ■ shot, he explained, was largelyaii/eyperi--1 mental one,: and, as the sounding-rod 1 showed,' the experiment was highly satis-,, 1 factory. The :other~ end of "''■. the rock;; ' where the beacon stands, was not 1 ] 1 attacked. •■-This will be done',later. ; , : By!! : successive charges of explosive, .the. topi of the rock.,will be broken down until it' '■ no longer bhs'tru'ets ..the. fairway.' 1 Thitf • will take "several weeks, during which 1 time''the ; inhabitant's of, the adjacent ' shores. >:111 be/frequently , treated to geyser with ColbneivDuigan, in 1 the, role,.of Guide ,Bangi,' ;doihg the • honours ;of. his new Botorua.-,' ,