THE MOORHOUSE'TUNNEL

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 11, Issue 855, 2 July 1867, Page 3

THE MOORHOUSE'TUNNEL-

(Prom the " Lyttelton Times.") June 10, being Whit-Monday, the holiday makers of Christchurch were invited to a promenade through the tunnel, free of charge, .and, the day being extremely fine, nearly two thousand persons availed themselves of the opportunity of inspecting this work of skill and labour, so creditable to the province of Canterbury. Messrs. Holmes and Co. ran a train of nine carriages on the railway between Christchurch and Heathcote every hour, and about noon a stream of pedestrians was to be seen threading the pleasant valley, far greater than has ever been witnessed since the first living freights of the Canterbury Association, for want of such a road as this tunnel, scrambled up the face of the hill and descended from Cooper's Knob into the plains below. On that occasion the pioneers of the settlement encountered nothing but the rugged grandeur of nature, the face of which they had come to soften and subdue by the resources of art. But how changed was the scene on Monday ! The human tide was turned. Men's eyes were again directed to the hills, and they traversed a good road, with many signs of cultivation on both sides ; they passed a church and schoolhouse, and a multitude of neat cottages ; and they saw a work which may have suggested itself to some of the more enterprising, but which few could have hoped to see executed. On descending from the road towards the Heathcote drive, we encountered at its opening, a couple of stalls, and the omnipresent round-about, which has almost become one of the institutions of Christchurch. This revolving engine was in full play, and the sole musician was grinding from its box-baud, vigorous strains of "Cheer Boys Cheer," "There's a Good Time Coming," and the Revolutionary " Marseillaise Hymn," which was probably intended to be a musical type of the revolution which awaits Canterbury consequent on the opening of the tunnel. Here the visitor read a large placard admonishing him to " keep between the rails," a caution which was found to be worth bearing in mind in the tunnel itself, but was sometimes discreetly overlooked in the cutting through which he approached it. We had been told that the floor of the tunnel was quite dry ; and on entering it, we were struck with the literal truth of this statement. It was quite dry there, and the lining of brick which had shut out the rock,' gave the entrance a vory comfortable aspect. But soon the brick facing came to an end and the dark rocky walls in all the ruggedness of. au extremely rough hewn surface presented themselves and tho ground began to grow moist, On looking straight beftrre us nothing could be seen but an immense multitude of murky reddish lights, placed apparently with as little attention to arrangement as to us appear the stars in the firmament. But presently, .as tho daylight faded behind us, we came up with the rear of these lights, which were now to guide our stumbling steps, and then chaos disappeared. The lights were tallow candles in tin sconces, ranged along the "dingy walls of rock, and in some eases suspended on candelabra from the roof. Of these caudles there were about six thousand burning at one and the same time. These shed a lurid haze through tau place, and were reflected by the water which lay in the side channels, dimly revealing the continuous walls of dark volcanic rock aud the mud which now bespattered our boots. About a quarter of a mile before reaching the point at which the Heathcote and Lyttelton miners met, and somewhere near the mid region of the tunnel, the mud on the floor gave place to water, but here the contractors had. kindly interposed between the promenaders and wet feet by laying down a platform of timber, along which we walked dryshod ; and having got a few chains onwards heard sounds like the mutterings of distant thunder, and which appeared to issue from the bowels of the lulls. These noises were occasioned by persons walking over the platform we have just mentioned, the original sounds of their footsteps being echoed and re-echoed by the rocky cavities, until they produced the effect described. The point of junction betAveen the headings is marked by a fall in the road of about two feet, aud a gusli of water down the slope from under tho loose shingle, which at this point forms the footway, and by a heap of loose stones which appeared to be the last fragments of the wall of partition which finally separated the two headings. At this point the visitor was refreshed by the apparition of a comely visage, drawn upon paper and coloured, which saluted him with " How de ye Dew ? Yer Welcome to Port." A little further on there was a brattice, of which several are yet, in the tunnel, and above this the letters M. T., formed with candles ; and just beyond were two- wooden benolies- one on eaeli side of -fch.^ y<?flsl} thought fully placed there to rest the limbs of the weak or weary. By this time the visitor began tofeel the effects of the close air and lighted candles, and was in a.state conducive to repose. Travelling onwards we came to another brattice on which A. C. shone forth in gigantic letters, and beneath the letters there was an angular luminous archway, at tho apex of which was the red danger light in use on railways. On consulting au official we were informed that A. C. meant " Advance Canterbury ;" but there seemed a little incongruity in inviting people to advance in the very face of the danger signal. However we passed on unscathed, as we trust Canterbury will advance through the tunnel, in more senses than one, and equally without harm. A little further on we came to the region of the caves, of which there' are three ; a placard being placed at the mouth of each to denote its presence, but the caves were not visible ; the entrances being filled up with laosc slabs of stone. About midway between these caves and a cotton half-mile '• stone," which informed the visitor that he was half a mile from the port end of the tunnel, a faint glimmer of light was seen which contrasted strangely with that murky luminosity, with which the eye had now "become quite familiar. This new dim light was slightly blue, and #of continually varying-shape and size, owing to tho intervention between it and the eye of the observer of various shifting bodies hardly discernible. These bodies were those of the pedestrians in advance, and this light was the light of the outer world, entering by the port end of the tunnel. Above it there appeared a confusedmass of the ordinary tunnel lights, made by the contrast more gloomy than ever ; but we soon found that these latter

nghts were a considerable distance from ~\- i -"ho end of the tunnel aud -formed the letters " M T" again. (Moorhouso Tuiinel). - Tlic blueish light at tho extremity of our vision quickly, increased in- brilliancy' aud volume and became, "brighter md brighter uiito the perfect .day," which soon dazzled and gladdened our eyes with - a view of the ' beautiful harbour and the , p£niasn}» MDs heyoncl. There is still much .labour required upon the Heathcote side of the tunnel, which has to be reduced to. its proper level; and there are many irregularities in both its width and height. It is a gratifying tar- - cumstance that a mail has already TJeen carried through the tunnel. It left Christchurch on Monday by train at i1.5" a.m., and reached Lyttelton by 12 o'clock, just in time to be put on board the Tararua.