ICE IN LYTTELTON HARBOUR.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20302, 30 July 1931, Page 13

ICE IN LYTTELTON HARBOUR.

TO ran EIlITon OF THE IT.ESS. Si l '.—The letter under the above lieading by your correspondent, "C.F.N.,'' interests me, for 1 well remember a certain frosty morning during tho winter of 1805. As to the date, I know only that it was a Saturday. At Kaiapoi, and doubtless elsewhere, the ice 011 the broad storm water ponds that abounded at the time was several times as thick as any ] have seen in the same district since. As a mere youth I had no difficulty in believing the report as to ice in the harbour (but J had doubted since) for men and boys swarmed upon the frozen ponds with impunity and oar old schoolmaster regretted that he could not dig up a pair of skates. I remember tnat we told each other the ice was two and a half inches thick; anyhow it bore many of us together. Now with what is regarded as a really hard frost on the lower parts of North Canterbury, ice on ponds may be half an inch thick.

Hall an inch io<? would support n / heuj but not a great deal more, so that

tlie 1895 frost would appear to have bp en an extraordinary one. Oil that occasion bos lliora and ' tree lucerne" were affected as never since. The former was killed to the ground level flvaiapoi nnc] Papauui), while the latter was killed totally. I think it w.as 011 that occasion ihat the gum trees between Christclmrcli and Ashbnrton wore seriously affected !>.v frost. Yours, etc., J.B.J].. Hillsborough. July 26th, 1931.