408 Transactions. 



Art. XXXIX. — The Post-glacial Climate of Canterbin-j/. 



By R. Speight, M.Sc, F.G.S. 



[Read before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 5th October, 1910.] 



The question of post-glacial changes in climate has attracted so much atten- 

 tion in Europe, and especially in Scandinavia, that it may not be out of 

 place to consider certain indications which point to similar changes occurring 

 in this part of New Zealand. It must be admitted at the outset that the 

 evidence at present available is not strong, and that it is suggestive rather 

 than conclusive ; but the author hopes that this paper may serve to attract 

 attention to the importance of the question, and to the desirability of doing 

 our utmost here to make more complete observations in order to see if the 

 same sequence of events followed the recession of our glaciers here as occurred 

 in the British Isles and on the mainland of Europe. In the absence of un- 

 doubted evidence, the conclusions herein advanced are tentative in nature, 

 and may have to be modified subsequently, but in disposing of them — 

 if, indeed, that does happen — our knowledge of an important question 

 will certainly be increased. When it is considered that in spite of the large 

 immbers of skilled workers who are studying the question in Europe the 

 differences on major points are very marked, and the conclusions arrived 

 at on smaller ones are often diametrically opposed, the great difficulty 

 of coming to any satisfactory conclusion on the matter in this country in 

 the present state of our knowledge will be readily recognized. The gene- 

 rally accepted opinion as to late Quaternary climates in Europe is that 

 after the recession of the ice, or partly contemporaneously with it, northern 

 Europe enjoyed a climate much milder than at present, and that climate 

 increased subseqviently in severity. A school of physiographers, following 

 the lead of James Geikie in Scotland and A. Blytt in Sweden, have urged 

 the occurrence of a succession of maxima and minima of cold, an idea which 

 has been supported by the work of Lewis in. Scotland, and specially by that 

 of the Geer-Senander school in Scandinavia, but their conclusions have 

 received strong opposition from Gunnar Andersen and his followers. Seeing 

 this great diversity of opinion among the leaders of thought ori the .matter, 

 I may perhaps be excused if my own conclusions meet with criticism when 

 the evidence is so much more scanty. I hope, however, that some of the 

 peat-bogs of Southland, Central Otago, and Canterbury may be examined 

 according to the Swedish methods, and an attempt be made to correlate, 

 if possible, the events which followed the recession of the glaciers in this 

 country with those that occurred in Europe. If this can be done our 

 knowledge of the sequence of the general climate of the globe may be 

 much increased. 



The question of change of climate in Canterbury was first brought 

 strongly under my notice on the occasion of a recent visit wdth Dr. L. 

 Cockayne to the head-waters of the Rakaia River, and I am indebted to him 

 throughout this paper for advice and kindly criticism which have been 

 invaluable to me. I owe to him and to others who have helped me with 

 iiiformation my sincere thanks for their assistance. 



The idea that the climate of New Zealand has undergone marked changes 

 .since the retreat of the glaciers is by no means a new one. Captain Hutton 



