THE SOUTHERN ISLANDS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5428, 2 December 1895, Page 2

THE SOUTHERN ISLANDS.

♦ THE PROPOSED SNABES LIGHTHOUSE. A cablegram from Melbourne pnblished this morning, and announcing that the Chamber of Commerce in that city deßires to know what stepß thiß colony has taken towarda the erection of a lighthonae on the Snareß, re* minds us again of the dangers thatbeßet shipping in the great waste of water lying to the couth of New Zealand. The recent catastrophe at the Anokland Islands has probably reawakened the commercial conscience of our neighbours, and it is tq be>hoped that our own Government will seize the opportunity to provide some protection to vessels sailing from the Australian colonies round Cape Horn. The island groups —in come cases little more than collections of rocks — over which this colony has jurisdiction are the Campbell, Bounty, Auckland, Snares and Antipodes. Besides these there is Macquarie Island, which is, however, farther south, and has been " annexed" by Tasmania. All the islands over which this colony has control have for some time been provided with Btore depots, containing food and clothing and other necessaries likely to be of use to castaway sailors, but unfortunately the same cannot be said of Macquarie Island. The.stater colony has not so far followed the very commendable example eet by New Zealand, and only a I year or two ago, when our Marine Deparfc- | ment proposed to establish a dep6t there, -' I bur neighbours inferentially told tra to • ' mind our own business. This dog-in-the-j manger policy should not bo allowed to ; continue,, and publio opinion should | demand that depots similar to those on i the other islands shall be placed on the I Macquaries. The largest of the islands i are those that comprise the Auckland group, and these were at ono time inhabited. Our first knowledge of them is due to the v commercial enterprise of British merohants, for they were discovered by Captain Abraham Bristow, about 1806; in the ship OceaU, during a whaling voyage for Samuel Enderby. | About the year 1850 the Auckland < group was granted by the' British ] Government to Messrs Eaderby Bros., ■in recognition of the " eminent seri vices rendered to geographical science, I and to further those commercial | enterprises in whioh the Messrs Enderby for several generations have |so largely engaged," A " great i southern whale fishery" scheme was | formulated, and in the year 1850 Mr | Charles Enderby, with a large staff of assistants, landed on the principal island. Some seventy or eighty "New Zealandera," who had arrived frOm the Chatham Islands, were found to be living on the islands at that time, and they soon, became auxiliaries to the infant colony. In less than two i j yeatsi however, the fishery soheme fell [ through, and the business details became : the eoufce of infinite legal difficulties. 1-! In - ' 1864 the first Bhipwrecfc known to,' hive "** : | occurred there took place; and shipwrecks \ and. their accompanying miseries cOnsti[jtute its history JFrom that time to the ! present day. The Grafton in 1864, the ; inveroauld-in 1865, the Glenoral Grant in 1 1866, the Denry Caatle in 1887, the j pompadre in 1891, and the Daphne, of i which little is known, all came to grief on i these islands, while the Minerva and Spirit of the Dawn were wrecked on other ! islands in the vicinity. To this list must . •be added the vessel whose remains 1 hare just been discovered,' and which may- be either the Stoneleigh or the Maria Alice} while wreckage has I from time to time been found and not identified with any vessel. The total number of wrecks for whioh these. islands are responsible will not be known till" the sea giveß up its dead," and with the sad reoord ever before us, it is no wonder the people are asking: " What | steps can be taken to prevent casualties of 1 a Bimilar nature t" The answer comes in I the well-nigh unanimously expieesed ! opinion of the necessity for the erection pf a lighthouse on one of the outlying islands. Some yeais ago the New Zealand Government became impressed with thiß idea, and the sister: colonies were invited ;to contribute towards the erection and maintenance of Buoh a guide to navigators. After some trouble the preliminaries were arranged, and the colonies all agreed to contribute on a population basis. The Snares, lying to the southward of Stewart Island, were selected for the site of the proposed light. The Government steamer Hinemoa ponTeyed commissioners representing the leading colonies to the place, and the spot on which the light was to stand was selected. This colony was to undertake the work of erection and maintenance, but when the heoessary material . was just about to be ordered, Viotoria \ revoked her portion of the agreement. The reason alleged for this strange step was that as the rocks were perpetually enveloped in fug, it was useless incurring the expense of a" light,. It'waßsaid, too,\ that the altitude was too high, but / that argument has -been... effectively ':■''■ answered since by the erection of a splendid/ light on Stephen's Island at a much greater' distance above the sea level. The Snareß are even more directly in the track of homeward-bound vessels from Australia than the Auckland Islands, but the very name assigned to the former is Buffioient to induce a shipmaster to give them the widest possible berth. In doing this he runs a great danger of meeting the Aucklands, and if the meeting chances to be in a dense fog or in darkness, nothing oan save his ship. On the other hand, were the Snares provided with a light, vessels passing to the southward of New Zealand could proceed in safety, and would, of course, make a point of sighting it, and so verifying their position. Notwithstanding the apathy displayed by some of the other colonies who are, as a matter of fact, more concerned in this matter than New Zealand, it iB to be hoped that the Government will now make another' effort to carry out the plan which a few years ago approached so nearly to execution, and thus provide a warning to shipmasters of the dangers that lie in their traok. Many valuable lives might thus be spared, to say nothing of the property in the shape of ships and their cargoes.