4 
Department at Wellington, New Zealand, and forty-eight hours 
before its arrival the ports had been warned by the officers of 
the Department. Dor two days the gale blew on the New 
Zealand coast, and then probably either lost itself in the vast 
area of the South Pacific or dashed itself in fury on and around 
the Horn some days afterwards. 
I have mentioned the circumstance of the wind blowing from 
the north along the east coast of Australia on Saturday morning, 
8th. If the report of the s.s. “ Southern Cross” can be accepted, 
a north-west wind was prevalent along the east coast of Tas- 
mania all that day and until Sunday morning, 9th, although 
in the meantime a south-west gale had passed through Bass’ 
Straits and reached Brisbane. 
Queensland weather reports show that this gale teas not 
felt anywhere W. or N. of a line drawn through Roma , Tarnbo , 
and Cape Capricorn. 
From these reports we may legitimately conclude that the 
westerly winds experienced here on Sunday and Monday, 9th 
and 10th May, did not come to us from the region of “ the setting 
sun,” but was the polar wind which, striking the south coast of 
Australia on the night of the 7th, reached successively Cape 
Otway and the Victorian coast on the morning of the 8th, and 
Gabo Island and the New South Wales coast on the afternoon 
and evening of the same day. 
The question as to whether all our westerly winds are polar 
or not is in nowise settled by this example. We shall in all 
probability have many more of them this winter, when, if their 
characteristics are carefully noticed and the weather noted over 
as large an area as possible, we may be able to speak more defi- 
nitely. In this instance, however, we may conclude that although 
a westerly wind was blowing at Brisbane it was in reality a polar 
current ; and for these reasons : — All stations in Queensland to 
north-west and west of the line alluded to above reported calm 
or wind south-east ; the coldness of the wind indicated that it 
was the same current which caused the hail at Ballarat on Satur- 
day, the 8th, and covered Mount Wellington and the Australian 
Alps with snow on Sunday and Monday, the 9th and 10th ; its 
dryness being doubtless due to the general deposition of moisture 
on the south coasts of Australia and on inland districts to the 
south-west of us. 
That it is possible to foretell the arrival here of these winds 
is plain, as previous to their arrival the barometer falls, and, 
coincidently with their arrival, stops its downward course, turns, 
and rises. 
A weather chart of Australia, if published and distributed 
(which might be done daily by 2 p.m.), would, in this instance, 
have enabled us in Brisbane to presage the approach of this 
strong westerly wind nearly twelve hours before its arrival. 
(See plate 2.) 
By Authority : James C. Beal, Government Printer, William street, Brisbane. 
