CURRENT PAPERS. 251 



crossing the Australian Bight it was found by Captain Blackmore 

 of the Scottish Dales, who noticed that the float was held together 

 by copper bands, and he was thereby induced to lower a boat and 

 pick it up. Barnacles were growing over the float, and a lead 

 weight underneath was covered with large shells : it was Captain 

 Blackmore's opinion that in another month it must have sunk 

 owing to the weight of the things growing on it. 



It will be useful to give here some reports of the rate and 

 direction of the currents on our coast made by ships coming into 

 Sydney harbour : — 



Extract of log of the barque John Knox, from Lyttleton to 

 Sydney, 1873:— "Feb. 26, arrived off Sydney Heads in the 

 evening in thick rainy weather. Rain ceased 11 p.m., wind 

 veered to west very light, at midnight got a glimpse of Sydney 

 light bearing S.W. five miles. Feb. 27, still very thick, ship 

 heading N.W., and going about one and a half knots all night ; 

 daylight calm with thick fog, 7 a.m. fog cleared, and found the 

 ship off Botany, fourteen and a half miles south of Sydney Heads 5 

 we are drifting to south at the rate of about four miles an hour; 

 10 a.m. a fresh breeze from N., stood off/until 4 p.m. then tacked 

 towards the land ; made the land at 10 p.m. off Wollongong forty 

 miles south of Sydney, again tacked to eastward, became calm at 

 midnight, Feb. 28, 4 a.m. light northerly wind, ship heading 

 E.N.E. and going about six knots, tacked ship occasionally 

 throughout the day ; at 6 p.m. saw Point Perpendicular bearing 

 west twenty-five miles, eighty-four miles south of Sydney. 

 March 1st, 10 a.m. a fresh southerly wind sprung up and ship got 

 into Sydney Heads 7 a.m. March 2nd." 



Deer. 31, 1888. — During the past three or four weeks every 

 ship boarded by the Herald 's shipping reporter mentioned a very 

 strong southerly current off the coast. One fine iron ship from 

 Melbourne to Sydney was abreast of the heads on Dec. 30, and 

 on January 1st, found herself twenty miles south of the heads, 

 although tacking with a N.E. wind all the time, the wind being 

 strong during the day. 



