THE WAIRAU BAR.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1404, 26 January 1899, Page 25

THE WAIRAU BAR.

FORMATION OF A NEW ENTRANCE Some time ago the idea was mooted that if a channel were cut just at the last bend of the River Wairau before it reaches the sea. in a straight line with the each immediately higher up, a new and straighter channel would be formed, which, in all probability, would prove of immense advantage to the maritine trade of Blenheim, particularly so as the channel through the old bar was becoming so bad as to be in certain weather almost unworkable. The work was taken in hand by Mr Hardham, a farmer residing in the locality, and on Friday last the final protecting wall was demolished, and the water began to trickle through.' The current of the river finding vent in a straighter direction than it has formerly run, soon took advantage thereof, and the trickle soon became a stream, the stream a torrent, and the torrent a river—in point of fact the mouth of the Wairau. The rush of water has carried thousands of tons of shingle to sea, leaving a channel, safely navigable, 200 yards wide with a uniform depth of 10 feet. Only those who understand what this actually means to the navigation of the river will appreciate the benefit this new channel will be to shipmasters and the river trade. In conversation with Captain Fisk, of the Pania, he expressed himself highly pleased with the improvement formed by the new channel, and says that in addition to the benefits gained by the increased breadth and depth thereof it lessens the distance between the outlet and Blenheim by two miles. The Pania, leaving on Saturday morning, was the first vessel to navigate the channel.