Anniversary Address. xxvii. 



required for the defence of these harbours, and, with this object, the 

 services of an Imperial officer — Major Cautley, R.E. — have been 

 placed at the disposal of the Government. 



The question of the defence of New Zealand has been ably 

 reported upon by Major-General Scratchley, but, his visit to the 

 colony being necessarily brief, he was unable to undertake the super- 

 vision of the designs of works necessary for the object, and no 

 sufficient idea of the probable cost of them was at the time enter- 

 tained. 



Of all parts of Australasia, New Zealand, owing to her extensive 

 seaboard and numerous harbours, is most in need of local naval 

 protection. The principle on which the defence of the colony must 

 be based is, that whilst the general protection of its commerce and 

 seaboard is provided for by naval means, the chief cities and ports 

 should be rendered secure in themselves by land batteries, submarine 

 mines, and other local defences. By fortifying these places, the chief 

 centres of wealth are absolutely protected, whilst each becomes a focus 

 of refuge or action for the general naval defence. 



The main general plan should therefore be to fortify Auckland 

 Harbour, Port Nicholson, Port Lyttelton, Port Chalmers, and the 

 Bluff Harbour ; thus setting free the Imperial cruizers and any local 

 naval force we may possess, and thereby greatly strengthening our 

 power of general maritime defence. In fact, the fortification of these 

 five ports is part and parcel of the naval defence of the colony. 



It is obviously impossible, however, to fortify all the harbours of 

 New Zealand. There are in this colony what I may call clusters of 

 ports, at the north, the centre, and the south, which are capable of 

 sheltering large ships, but at which there is only a small, in some cases 

 no, population. In the north, besides Auckland, there are other fine 

 harbours in Hauraki Gulf, viz., Kawau Harbour, Tamaki Strait, Coro- 

 mandel Harbour ; and, in the Great Barrier Island, Port Fitzroy and 

 Port Abercromby. Again, to the northward of these, are Whangarei 

 Harbour and the Bay of Islands (in both of which there are coal mines) , 

 Whangaroa Harbour, and Doubtless Bay. In the centre, besides 

 Wellington, are Queen Charlotte's Sound, Nelson, Picton, and other 

 ports and anchorages. To the southward of the Bluff Harbour there 

 are, in Stewart Island, the grand harbours of Patterson's Inlet and 

 Port Pegasus. At this part of the colony, moreover, to the south-west 

 of the Middle Island, there are the numerous harbours at the Sounds. 



The protection of all these, as also that of Napier, New Ply- 

 mouth, Timaru, Oamaru, Hokitika, Greymouth, Westport, and other 

 comparatively minor places, must be provided for by local naval forces 

 acting as auxiliaries to Her Majesty's cruisers, and combined as far 



