THE MYSTERIOUS LIGHTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18197, 16 September 1922, Page 10

THE MYSTERIOUS LIGHTS.

SHIP'S FRUITLESS SEARCH.

EXPERIENCE ON PREVIOUS TRIPS,

The mystery surrounding the distress signals reported to have been seen on the ■west coast from* Kaitaia on Saturday night, iu still unsolved. A further search made along the coast by the steamer Ohinemuri revealed nothing. The steamer left Whangape at 2 p.m. on Thursday, for Onehunga, and a good lookout was kept by Captain W. Parker and his crew for any signs of a vessel or wreckage. The trip was a stormy one, a* tie wind was blow.ng hard from the southeast and there was a very rough sea. This necessitated the Ohinemuri keeping closer in to the coast than she would otherwise have done, but this fact allowed the beaches to be watched with glasses. Onehunga was reached at 3 p.m. yesterday. Opinions differ in regard to the nature of the lights seen. * The people who reported seeing them are emphatic that they were distress signals vessel at sea. Seamen, on the other band, are inclined to discount this, believing that observers were under an optical illusion. This theory is supported by the experience of the Ohinemuri, which reports having observed a very deceiving display in the western sky when on her previous trip from Onehunga to Whangape. Off Hokianga two very bright stars were seen together low down near the horizon and were at first mistaken for a steamer's lights. The deception was further enhanced by two meteorß which, seemed to fall near thp lights and had the appearance of ship's rockets. It is further stated thai meteoric displays are often seen on the west coast durin? clear easterly weather. Great credit is due to the master and crew of the Ohinemuri for their promptness in putting to sea to render assistance. A message reporting that signtls of distress had been seen was received *at Whangape at 11 p.m. on Saturday,.and by midnight the Ohinemuri putting to sea, equipped to render any aid necessary. She Fte'nmed for three hours in a westerly d rection toward where the dißtre8 r ed vessel was reported to be, a number of blue lights being burned, to which no answer was received. The vessel then steamed to the north-west, and, as nothing was seen, made toward the 90-Mile Beach. By this time the weather had become hazy and lipH rain began to fall. This made the virility very poor, so a "course was 6et along the coast for Whangape, which was reached at 11 a.m. on Sunday. A report received from Whangape last night stated that the search parties patrolling the beaches had not found any signs of wreckage.