THE ANGRY SEA.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17944, 25 May 1920, Page 5

THE ANGRY SEA.

RAPID INROADS AT ST. CLAIR. GRAVE PERILS LITTLE HEEDED. ■ The occasional visitor to St. Clair may count on receiving a painful shook when next ho goeß out to take the sea breezes on that once renowned and attractive lx?ach The storm that raged over last week-end has advanced big stago further the process of encroachment and destruction that haa been going staadily forward for more than a year past. Tho beach no longer exists. A shout slofio of jagged rocks, witii hero and there a iittlo sand showing still protects the baso of the esplanade wall* But from the end of the wall towards St. Kilda there is no dry passage along tho foot of the sandhills 'even at low tide. In front of tho bathing 6heds, where the process of denudation ia not so swift as further along, there still remains about 15ft of roading between tho building and the crumbling edge. The track that led along the highest ridge of the sandhills has been firmly barred off opposite tho house occupied by Mr Oxford for Jh& good sufficient reason that great parta of that trade now no longer exist. That is to say, at the point where the maximum sweep of tide appears fo be felt, some 200 yards east of the promenade, the ocean has eaten, away beyond the ridgo of the sandhills, and is nojv steadily working down on the inward slope. Some idea of the extraordinary' character of tho seas that have been running lately can be gained from a visit to tho baths. It will bo remembered that last Friday week the water came right through Mr Paterson's (tho t caretaker) house, and the same thing* happened' again on Saturday night, when the water also invaded the waiting room of tho salt water baths. Such a thing has never been known before either in the experience of Mr Pateraon, who has lived there eight years, or of his predecessor. On Friday week* so violent was tho force of tho waves that five concrete slabs were lifted from the ,platform along tho inner edge Of the baths and deposited m the baths. On Saturday night tho waves tore away part of the concrete and rock forming tho outer wall of tho baths, so as to reduce tho level of the water the batha will hold. On both thesa recent occasions the water has been coming over the little path leading to the baths, and to tho lay observer the well-worn house appears to be in a precarious predicament indeed. Tho damage and danger at the baths, however, is merely a private matter contrasted with the dramatic threat being made further along against the peace and safety of St. Clair. An extraordinary feature of tho situation is the general apathy* of the public in the face of the total.destruction of one of the city's most valuable assets and the threat of the further destruction of an indefinite amount of privato property. Possibly tho statement that the sand would go out when it liked and oome back when it liked has appealed to the popular fancy, an(3 the citjgem as a whole have. bcon quite content that" the official policy of masterly inactivity, of " watchful waiting" for tho sand to como back, should be pursued without interruption. The proper value- of such a policy is now clear to anyone who cares to go and look. No doubt a time .will come when a wave of popular indignation will arise strong enough to compel some of the responsible authorities to act. Tho only question is whether the action will bo taken before or after disastrous loss has been inflicted on private property.