WHITE ISLAND

Waipa Post, Volume 32, Issue 1927, 28 October 1926, Page 8

WHITE ISLAND

THE “HtOIiRIDEST* PLACE- • ON;jEARTH;: o'i ■>; i'---Ji BUT ONE OF THE RICHEST. . ■ ■ u ,jOf '>l. or Tha following inters-sUng ' account is taken from a recent issue of Chambers’ Journal, and while' it conveys a fairly accurate J Idea "of wliat the place, was dike until a year or so ago-, several noteworthy' changes have been made, for a staff of workmen has been busily engaged {draining the iake and quarrying the almost pur© deposits of sulphur iff arid around' Hie lake bed. IRound Lif.-: rim of the; island also are very vailuable tie-, posits of guano, for the island has for ages been a nesting ’place for gannets, several extensive 1 colonies being established there despite the seismic disturbances that occur, from- time to, time. Chambers Journal concludes its article with 'the announcement chat, “a New Zealand firm is now intending to exploit its chemical products.” As a matter of fact the sulphur and guano have been quarried and marketed to some purpose in recent months, ar.tl at Tauranga iairiy well equipped works have been erected (on “Sulphur Point” the site of the old kiln 'and works used by an earlier company velry many years ago) for refining the sulphur and mixing the guano and sulphur waste for agricultural purposes. We quote:—No pleasant island of die Pacific is White Island, which is comparable with no other among the very numerous and very diverse possessions of the British Empire. They who work occasionally there eialll it another name—that applied to die Satanic regions, for such the is■and is to quarry crews. White or Sulphur Island lying some 40 miles of the shore of the Bay of Pletnty, North Island, New Zealand, is neither more nor (less than a vast chemical works of Nature—a place where humjan preiciaritiions yigainst 'sudden death are almost ini possible (says Chambers’ Journal). It is the summit of a submarine mountain, ,and about three miles in /circumferejice,. standing up precipitously from the water to 800 ft or more. Immense deposits of very pure gypsum and sulphur from the interior, and in . the .centre there lies a most remarkable Jake—a lake that is a -gigantic reoeivleir, as it ■were; '.for c|.;s dalrk green paters contain an excessively high.; , percentage of hydrochloric o,nd sulphuric acid's, hissing and Tubbing at ..-but a few degrees below boiling point. Along the side of the 'lake are the blowholes. Clouds -of sulphuric and Other fumes mount incessantly . from ithem, and form overhead a thick cap of white vapour, often rising to 15,000 ft. and giving the island its geographical name. When, however a gale conies down the smell of the .acids can be identified', 70 miles away:. -Only when the winds set in- steadily between November and March, and carry the fumes to leeward, is the. island fit for human beings, and. it-is then the gypsum and sulphur are dug out with some degree of safety to the workers. Yet there is always dangST from the craters. The sea water on the ocean bed forced 1 by the tremendous presfeuib, 'filters (through, the impfsirfect strata, and explosions are caused, the sounds of which aire heard many miles distant. The lake alongside the blow-holes is 60 acres in, extent, 15ft. in average depth, and 12ft above the level of the sea, and is surrounded by irregular cliffs and towering rocks. Dangerous though 'it is, scientists have ventured to launch a small craft specially brought ashore, upon its corrosive water, in order to examine it and the craters thoroughly. One expedition was carried out successfully, notwithstanding the fumes arising from -the hot, seething water. Another party of two attempted a similar undertaking with a skiff. But the craft struck a snag of rock and capsized, and 'the unfortunate occupants did not struggle for more than a few seconds in the vast cauldron of hot acids. White or Sulphur Island is the “toorridest” place oto earth, and one of the richest also. A New Zealand 'firm is now Intending to exploit its chemical products. 'Wf- ;J