WATER-SPOUTS ON THE COAST OF N. S, WALES. 149 



distant one mile to south-east, and travelling slowly towards the 

 Signal Station ; when within one quarter of a mile it disappeared 

 suddenly. It was narrow, not more than eight or ten feet in 

 diameter, but of a great length from cloud to water. It was the 

 same size throughout, and it seemed to be taking up water in 

 great quantities ; soon after it disappeared a very heavy shower 

 of rain fell {Plate 5). In Nos. 1 and 2 the water-spout was the 

 same size about eight to ten feet in diameter throughout its length, 

 towards the end it got thinner at the top, but its length was 

 maintained until it broke. 



May 16, 1898. — Mr. Pilot Newton at Eden saw the first water- 

 spout at about 11 a.m., it was very long and dark and seemed to 

 be quite perpendicular [Plate 3); when first seen it was eight miles 

 off the land bearing east-north-east, it travelled rapidly to west- 

 south-west until it got within three or four miles of the land and 

 then disappeared. There were in all between fifteen and twenty 

 water-spouts, after the first one they were much smaller, lighter in 

 colour and not so straight. Some of them were very much curved 

 towards the south and not one lasted for more than ten minutes. 

 I estimated the length of the first one as a mile or thirty times the 

 height of a clipper ship. I saw one break at the water and retreat 

 to the clouds, another broke in the middle, the top rose up to the 

 clouds and the lower half did not make any disturbance in the 

 water when it fell. 



June 30, 1898. — Captain Campbell Hepworth, Master of the 

 R.M.S. Aorangi was on this date approaching Sydney at 8 a.m., 

 when at a distance of eight miles east of Sydney Heads a water- 

 spout was seen within one mile from the ship on the south side, 

 the wind was light and fitful, shifting round the compass, at times 

 blowing hard and then very light, weather thick with drizzling 

 rain and occasionally short tropical showers. The water-spout 

 travelled from south to north quite a short distance from the ship, 

 and the splash made by the descending volume of water appeared 

 like the effect produced by a continuous explosion as it struck 

 the sea. 



