THE LATE STORM AND THE BEACHES.

Timaru Herald, Volume LX, Issue 2397, 18 May 1897, Page 3

THE LATE STORM AND THE BEACHES.

- The southerly seas of last week. 'threw, back the Waimataitai beach somewhat m the middle, and drifted' some fine stuff into the northern angle, at the same time making an addition of coarser, stuff at the south end at the expense pf the middle of the spit, the latter probably

through the action of the backwash from the stretch 6fr>>cka on the north aide of the new bay, A little frefch thinglehas been thrown up at the foot of -Dashing Rocks at both ends of the .face, which were clean, or nearly so. before, none showing along the middle. As on former occasions when shingle appeared at the foot of the rocks, same of ltjlmK.been thrown op on top of tire bare roqksat the iidrth..t»nd, and this la.rgt» " sample " IB exactly like the previous one, coarse riverahiugle, much decayed, notatall like beach shingle. An addition has been made to the beach opposite the freezing works spur, partly at least at the expense of the beach further Bouth, at the old, drain, the bank being cat back there. Further on; the outlet of the lagoon is banked across with shingle, and beyond that a good deal of alteration has been made. The " whaleback " which was thrown up by a north-east sea last year (or earlier), has disappeared. The surf seems to have overtopped the hump and spread it out landwards, and then a largequunty of rough shingle was dug up and east ashore, and deposited m front of "where the whaleback had been. This new stuff is practically all of the rough material sampled bu Dashing Rocks, with a email proportion of beach worn pebbles, and bits of granite,, flint, bricks, concrete chips, etc., from the dredge-spoil heaps One foreign piece noticed was a block, something ike a paying block, of . concrete, 10x10x4 inches, which must have come from Waste ballast, for it wbb not made m Timaru. A' number of small pieces of rusty dole.fi te have been thrown up at the north end of the rt>efs, indicating that the eeas worked into a loose. bit of the reef that they had not reached before. The sands m Caroline Bay have lately been freer from shingle and •♦ grit" than they formerly were, aud ; now scarcely * pebble is to be seen except Boirie drifted from tlie shingle bank at the north end. The' south beach has advanced alongside the breakwater. At low tide this morning the' Bbingle face crossed the bbttorn of the monolith at 1160 ft, and the shingle was bared by the drawback at 1200 ft. A little Shingle was thrown on to the breakwatery and ' men were employed this morning shovelling it off. The shingle drifted up to the breakwater was; iq part at. lea^t carried by the Beas frbi^a the bank opposite Mill and Oo.'s stove, where the face has been worked back a good many feet. The seas had gone down very much by Saturday. jjYeaterday, however, the swell was again stronger from about the same quarter, and iai high water last evening, the breakwater was subjected to a good sluicing.