CUVIER ISLAND

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23046, 25 May 1938, Page 14

CUVIER ISLAND

ERROR IN CHARTING HALF-MILE DISCREPANCY IMPORTANCE TO MARINERS An error of half a mile in the charting of Cuvier Island light has been discovered by the Admiralty surrey ship Endeavour, at present surveying the area from Cape Colville to the Great Barrier. The error has been com. municated to the Marine Department and the attention of mariners to what is one of the most important corrections made in recent years to New Zealand charts hgis been drawn by the usual special notice.

When the Endeavour first began working around the southern end of Cuvier Island it was thought that a correction would be needed, since preliminary calculations seemed to show that the light should be placed half a mile to the. north, or some distance along what has been the charted coastline of the island. This, of course, meant that the island itself must be wrongly charted, but until it had been plotted in relation not only to Cape Colville, but also to the Great Barrier, it was impossible for Captain A. G. N". Wyatt, commander of the Endeavour, to cause mariners to be warned of the alteration. Its position in the track of shipping to Auckland from the American coast has always given Cuvier Island considerable importance. Although thfl knowledge of the approaches to the harbour, which masters have gained from experience, will have made the majority of them aware of a discrepancy between the charted and true position! of the light, the discovery of the Endeavour will be generally welcomed by mariners.