3 
Shortly after sunset on Friday, May 7th, dark, heavy clouds 
rolling up from the south-west gave the first indication at Adelaide 
of the coming gale, which shortly afterwards burst over the city 
“ with much fury,” the barometer abruptly turning and rising. 
During the night the gale came round the coast and made its way 
inland. A vessel passing Cape Otway reported that the winds 
came round from south-south-west at 2*30 a.m. Saturday, 8th, 
at Melbourne, the gale commenced in the early morning,* with 
boisterous, showery weather ; by 9 a.m. the wind and rain had 
reached inland as far as Mount Remarkable, at the head of 
Spencer’s Gulf, South Australia, and to some of the Riverina 
stations. At this time, along the east coast of Australia, the 
wind was north as far as the Richmond River, and south-east 
from Rockhampton northward. By 1 p.m. the gale had reached 
Gabo Island, and at 5*40 w r as reported at Sydney, blowing very 
heavily and with a little rain ; the velocity being, during the 
first hour, at the rate of fifty miles per hour. The gale reached 
Brisbane shortly after midnight, when a strong westerly wind 
sprang up. During Sunday, the 9th, the gale continued with 
unabated force, the subjoined stations reporting as follows : — 
Adelaide — South-west, wet and squally. 
Melbourne — South-west, accompanied with drenching showers of 
rain and hail. 
Sydney — West, strong, with squalls, but sky clear and fine. 
Brisbane — West, strong, but with cold clear weather. 
During Sunday night tie wind increased at Melbourne and 
Sydney, abating somewhat in violence at Melbourne about mid- 
night, and at Sydney during the early morning of Monday, 10th. 
At Brisbane it continued to blow west fresh and boisterously all 
Monday. By Monday night the winds had veered to southerly, 
and on Tuesday, 11th, the weather gradually became fair. Its 
course eastwards can still be traced by the aid of the shipping 
reports in the daily papers. The s.s. “Albion” left the Bluff, 
New Zealand, for Melbourne on the evening of the 7th and met 
south-west gale on the 10th. The “Helena,” Oamaru, N.Z., to 
Melbourne, passed Cape Farewell on 2nd May, and on the 11th 
encountered a gale from south-west which blew with hurricane 
violence and with a heavy sea, moderating on the 13th. The 
experience of the “ John Knox,” from Sydney to Lyttleton, New 
Zealand, was a peculiar one on the 12th — the barometer went 
down, the sky was overcast, a waterspout passed the vessel, and 
a heavy cross-sea arose, but with little or no wind ; the report 
says that the weather had every appearance of a hurricane. 
The reports of many other vessels show that the gale crossed 
from Australia to New Zealand, w T hich it reached on the night 
of the 12th, blowing a gale from south-west at Lyttleton, with 
heavy rain and fierce squalls. 
The fact of a south-west gale having started from Australia 
had not escaped the vigilant observation of the Meteorological 
* The barograph record shows a steady fall during 7th till midnight, when the barometer 
remained steady but low till 8 a.m. 8th. The cessation of the fall shows the arrival of the 
gale. 
