Art. XLVII.—Note on the Fog in Wellington on the Morning of the 19th June, 1900.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 33, 1900, Page 380

Art. XLVII.—Note on the Fog in Wellington on the Morning of the 19th June, 1900. By H. N. McLeod. [Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 28th August, 1900] At 8 a.m., on looking northward from the vicinity of Fort Gordon, near the entrance to Wellington Harbour, there appeared to be a dense fog in the Hutt Valley, which stretched thence along the line of railway into town in a comparatively narrow bank. The fog did not extend as far as Soames Island, and the slight breeze from the north carried the bank into Wellington, where it became mingled with the smoke of the city. The whole of Miramar Peninsula was quite clear and sunny; and I am informed that the same was the case at Karori, and that at Wadestown there was but little fog. From the Worser Bay hill, where the road crosses the saddle,

nothing could be seen of Kilbirnie or Newtown, the highest hilltop near Karori only being visible from this spot. The fog itself was met with halfway across the isthmus at the head of Evans Bay, being so dense near Kilbirnie that my cycling companion was not visible at thirty paces distance. In New town there was a considerable proportion of smoke in addition, and the vehicular traffic in this part was impeded, and in one or two instances cycle-lamps were lit as a precaution against collision. The whole mist appeared to me to have been formed in the Hutt Valley overnight and wafted seawards during the morning, much as if it were a river, and gives one an idea of the reason for the winds in Wellington always appearing to blow from north or south points of the compass. I should like to record here the appearance of a cloud formation closely conforming to the shape of the harbour, at a low altitude above it, on a calm night shortly previous to the fog above mentioned. Travelling as I did from Wellington to the Heads, there was a very good opportunity for noticing the shape. Above the land all the way was a starlit sky, but over the waters of the harbour was this cloud, stretching from shore to shore, with starlight clearly showing on the hills at the far side of Day's Bay. I should also like to record the observing of a phenomenon which can best be described as having the appearance of an aurora australis, but without the colouring of one. It was noticed twice by me on clear starlit nights, and on both occasions in a place surrounded by hills. The radiations were, as far as could be judged, of a dun-coloured hue, and converged towards the south, a clear view to the southern horizon being cut off by the hills. There were no clouds visible. I observed a similar phenomenon from the Napier Breakwater in 1896, in which instance the radiations appeared to spring from the east. The time then, however, was 4 p.m., and the effect was caused by shadows of small clouds which were in the path of the sun's rays. At the time of the occurrence under notice there were no clouds, no moon, and nothing which I could think of as a cause. The locality was Miramar, and time 9 p.m.