THE WEEK-END GALE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16283, 17 July 1916, Page 7

THE WEEK-END GALE.

HEAVY SEA IN HARBOUR.

STORM-TOSSED FERRY BOATS.

SMALL CRAFT ADRIFT.

le A gale of unusual severity blew over the ie citv on Saturday and during the early :s hours of yesterday morning. The winder gauge in Albert Park recorded -*oO miles i; during the 24 hours ending 9 a.m. on if Saturday, and 420 miles during the folX, lowing 24 hours. The Government meteoro--5 logical observer states that in recent years .3 the highest reading for one day has been I d 560 miles. [ Is A sharp fall in the barometer on Wednesday afforded warning of severe weather conditions, and the high wind of Friday fc developed into an easterly gale, which y continued until the early hours of yesterday morning. Heavy showers of rain fell during Saturday afternoon and evening. f _ Shortly before midnight rain again fell in torrential volume, and the downpour con--0 turned until nearly daybreak. The rain- ,. gauge in Albert Park showed a total of , r I.Blm for the 24 hours ending at 9a m yesterday. The Herald rain-gauge showed ). a total of 1.87 in for the 48 hours ended y at-midnight last nirht. By daybreak the gale had exhausted itself, and yesterday the sky was clear, with a moderate breeze. t Ihe cessation of the gale enabled delayed shipping to proceed, and the Te d Anau from the East Coast and the Chelms- } ford from Marsden Point, due at Auck- ,, land yesterday morning, reached port in n the evening. North Share Residents' Troubles. ■ *^l day f SaW heavy seas in th * harbour, ' wffii d?ffi ?J sekeS . were maintained ™ difficulty. Especially rough trips I u? le Ti- v the e between Auckland and Bayswater, some of the , trips talcing much longer to accomplish , , than is usual. Rough ferry passages were also experienced from Auckland to Devonport via Stanley Bay. The boats rolled alarmingly, and a heavy roll during the 5 trip of the 10.30 p.m. boat from luck-, : } land sent everybody from their seats -V number of women were affected, and" two faulted. On arrival at Stanley Bay not . a. few passengers for Devonport left the terry boat, preferring to complete their journey by land. The 11.15 p.m. boat > from the city, during one roll, caused a double seat holding eight passengers, to | move from one side of the vessel to the > other. Fortunately, no one was injured. A woman on this trip fainted. Vessels Break From Moorings. The Defence Department's launch broke from its moorings off North Head, and drifted to the Devonport Wharf on Saturday night, where members of the Per- » manent Artillery secured it. Another ' small launch, which broke adrift on Friday night, went ashore on Saturday at Devonport, apparently little damaged. . The same day the steamer Kestrel towed ! home the launch Wolverine, which was found drifting near the Victoria Wharf. Another vessel which parted from her moorings on Saturday was the wooden schooner. Saucy Kate, which was moored , in Mechanics' Bay, by two anchors. Driven by the wind, she became jammed between a pier and the breastwork to the , east of the King's Wharf. She was rescued from this position by the tug : _ Young Bungaree, winch towed her to a berth at the Nelson Street Wharf, where , it was found that about 4ft, of the bul- ' warks near the bow of the vessel had been • damaged. Discomforts of the Wharves. ; In addition to the discomfort of the ! - actual passages across the harbour on Saturday, ferry passengers to Devonport - , and Stanley Bay suffered inconvenience when landing. Passengers to Stanley Bay, J when walking along the wharf, were kept on the alert trying to avoid a series of b miniature waterspouts which, owing to*'! the high tide, afung up between the joints of the decking. At Devonport, \ passengers had to leave by that part of ' the wharf which is reserved far vehicular > traffic, arid obtain what shelter from the . seas as was afforded by walking close to : , the wall. Passengers to Devonport and i Auckland direct, omitting the Stanley Bay call, had much better trips than , those on the round journey. During the gale, pontoons containing . suction-pipes were capsized in Mechanics' Bay. A punt belonging to Mr. Fletcher, and containing about 50 tons of sand, was capsized on the Onehunga Beach on Saturday afternoon, as a result of the gale. The ' punt had to be towed out into deep water by a motor-launch to get it righted. The sand was washed into the harbour. ORTH AUCKLAND FLOODS EXCITING TRAIN JOURNEY. 5 '. LINE SUBMERGED FOR MILES. ' [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] i ? DARGAVILLE, Sunday. j Torrential rains fell throughout yesterday in the Kaihu Valley and caused exten- " give floods. Passengers by the train which left Kaihu last evening at 6.30 had an exciting experience. For miles the line was submeiged to a depth of from two to four feet, and frequently the water covered the Buffers and spurted through the floor apertures in the smoking compartments. The rush of water across the line was very rapid, heavy logs and cumbersome snags being whirled against the train, which frequently had to be stopped. Maori passengers, "with timber jacks and crowbars, J i assisted the officials in removing impedi- i " I ments, and the train reached Dargaville '* ' nearly two hours behind time. The pas- i f | sencers, amongst whom were members of . I the Aliens Commission, subscribed liberal a I funds, which were distributed amongst the I volunteer workers, without whose assistI ance the journey could not have been com- • j pleted. - I Heavy floods are reported throughout i j tne district, and exceptionally high tides i have backed up the storm water in the : i Kaihu Valley. Four thousand logs are • afloat, and are being poled to tidal water. DAMAGE AT TE AROHA. HOUSES UNROOFED. [BT TELEGRAPH.OWN CORRESPONDENT.! TE AROHA. Saturday. An exceptionally heavy gale raged in , Te Aroha. last night. Much damage was '• ! done, buildings being blown down, wind ! dows broken, wires brought down, fences v ; flattened, and trees uprooted. In taker s j Street the verandahs of many business 1 premises were blown down. At-Herries-i"' ville considerable damage was done. The I roofs of many houses were removed in frag- >- I ments to adjoining land. The telegraphic ■. ! and telephone services were completely . dislocated. Serious damage in the country districts is reported. d ======