Entrance to the Gipps Land Lakes. 89 



ance, which in the particular case in question, would most 

 decidedly be upwards ; consequently the scouring power, if it 

 acted at all, would be first employed in scooping out the foun- 

 dations in front of the gate, and then rise to the surface and flow 

 away, as a surface current, over the denser waters of the ocean, 

 until their force was lost. In addition to ignoring known 

 laws, the estimated cost was very small (£4,000 to £5,000), 

 for it is well-known to engineers that foundations for such a 

 work on a sandy beach are expensive, and in some cases 

 virtually impracticable. I have before shewn on what 

 grounds I believe the isthmus (which would have to form 

 one of the retaining banks for the impounded water) to be 

 porous, and I cannot learn that any attempt has ever been 

 made, by boring or other means, to ascertain the depth of 

 the porous materials, without which data it is mere empiri- 

 cism to attempt giving an estimate of the cost. 



23. From what I have seen of the locality, I believe that 

 nothing but dredging will be effectual to any extent for 

 deepening and removing the bar, and that to be efficient it 

 would require to be constant, for upon a cessation of work 

 the causes in operation, which formed the first bar, not being 

 removed, would speedily re-form it under similar conditions. 



24. To protect the entrance with a breakwater would 

 simply extend the evil of the bar a little further out to sea, 

 without giving any increased security to the entrance, 

 although I believe that it would give permanence for such 

 time as the breakwater itself could withstand the sweep of 

 sea falling on such a coast. 



25. In the absence of all data on which to base an estimate, 

 I feel that it would be futile in me to put forward such, but at 

 the same time, I venture to state, that, supposing all other 

 difficulties were disposed of satisfactorily, it would be quite 

 useless to commence any work at the entrance with a view 

 to improvement or permanence, with a less sum than £20,000 

 to begin with, of which at least from £400 to £500 would 

 require to be spent by the engineer in preliminary surveys 

 and works. 



26. In conclusion, I can only regret the great imperfection 

 of this report in not being more fully based on positive data, 

 and I deeply regret the mischance which prevents my pro- 

 ceeding to the entrance to obtain such, so that, if possible, 

 the problem of the lake entrance might be solved on grounds 

 that would be indisputable. 



27. I estimate the cost of such an examination as I should 



