The areas of the several Australian States, as stated by different authorities, vary considerably. The total area of the Australian Continent is given as 2,944,628 square miles, according to a computation made by the late Surveyor-General of Victoria, Mr. J. A. Skene, from a map of Continental Australia compiled and engraved under his direction; but the following areas are taken from latest official records:—

The size of the Australian States and New Zealand may be better realized by comparison of their areas with those of European countries. The areas of the following countries—Austria-Hungary, Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, Portugal, Spain, Italy (including Sardinia and Sicily), Switzerland, Greece, Roumania, Bulgaria, Servia, Eastern Roumelia, and Turkey in Europe—containing on the whole rather less than 1,600,000 square miles, amount, to little more than half the extent of the Australian Continent. If the area of Russia in Europe be added to those of the other countries the total would be about one-seventh larger than the Australian Continent, and about one-twelfth larger than the Australian States, with New Zealand.

The North Island extends over a little more than seven degrees of latitude, a distance in a direct line from north to south of 430 geographical or 498 statute miles; but, as the northern portion of the Dominion, which covers more than three degrees of latitude, trends to the westward, the oblique distance in a straight line from the North Cape to Cape Palliser, the extreme northerly and southerly points of the island, is about 515 statute miles.

This Island is, as a whole, hilly, and in parts mountainous, in character, but there are large areas of plains or comparatively level country that are, or by clearing can be made, available for farming purposes. Of these the principal are the plains in the Hawke's Bay District, on the east coast; the Wairarapa Plain, in the Wellington District; a strip of country along the west coast, about 250 miles in length, extending from a point about thirty miles from the City of Wellington to a little north of New Plymouth; and the Waikato Plains, extending from the Firth of the Thames to within about fifty miles of Lake Taupo. The largest plain in the North Island, Kaingaroa, extends in a north-easterly direction to the sea-coast in the Bay of Plenty. There are also the pumiceous Waimarino and Murimotu Plains, at the base of the volcanoes, and in other localities several smaller but fertile plains. Though the greater portion of the central plateau is covered with a volcanic ash or sand, now principally bearing a plant growth of tea-tree scrub (manuka), bracken, and tussock, and is now to a large extent waste land, it must not be supposed that these lands are valueless. In many places there are swampy areas even now carrying good crops of flax which, when prices are good, are cut and milled. Between Taupo and Rotorua and the Rangitaiki River there are several sheep-runs. In many places where old Maori kaingas have been, European fruit-trees, such as apples, cherries, peaches, raspberries, &c., are still to be found in healthy condition (though quite unattended to), thus proving that these lands are in many places suitable, as far as soil and climate are concerned, for fruitgrowing; and it is probable that these cheap and neglected lands will before many years have elapsed be utilized for fruit-production. The existence in many places of fine forests proves the suitability of the district for tree-growth, and on this evidence the Government have made very extensive plantations of exotic trees of commercial value, which are all thriving most satisfactorily. The greater part of these plains has in comparatively recent times been covered with valuable forest, but repeated burnings by Maoris have caused its disappearance. The frequent burnings of the scrub and tussock by Maoris and Europeans during the last sixty years have so impoverished the soil of its humus-content that the present state of comparative barrenness is the result. This repeated burning-off of the scrub is also responsible for the lessened fertility of the gum lands. The level or undulating country in this Island fit, or capable of being made fit, for farming has roughly been estimated at 13,000,000 acres. This includes lands now covered with standing forest and swamps that can be drained, also large areas of clay gum-lands and pumice-covered lands. The clay gum-lands are in their natural state cold and uninviting to the farmer, but by proper drainage and cultivation they can be brought into a high state of productiveness. Although the area of bush land is still very great, yet year by year the amount is being reduced, chiefly to meet the demands of settlement, the trees being cut down and burnt, and grass sown on the ground fertilized by their ashes.

Hilly as the country is, yet from the nature of the climate it is especially suited for the growth of English grasses, which will flourish wherever there is any soil, however steep the land may be; once laid down in grass there is very little land too poor to supply food for cattle and sheep. The area of land in the North Island deemed purely pastoral or capable of being made so is estimated at 14,200,000 acres. It is estimated that the area of mountain-tops and barren country at too high an altitude for sheep, and therefore worthless for pastoral purposes, amounts, in the North Island, to 300,000 acres.

The area of land in the North Island still remaining in forest is about 8,500,000 acres, but every year the forested area is fast diminishing as settlement advances. In the Auckland District are found the celebrated kauri forests, which produce perhaps the most valuable of the pine timbers.

The mountains in the North Island are estimated to occupy about one-tenth of the surface, and do not exceed 4,000 ft. in height, excepting a few volcanic cones and the highest peaks of the Kaimanawa, Ruahine, and Tararua Ranges. Of the volcanoes the following are the most important:—

Ruapehu: This mountain lies about twenty-seven miles south-southeast from Lake Taupo. Its highest peak is 9,175 ft., so it rises far above the line of perpetual snow. It is in the solfatara stage, and has on its summit a remarkable crater-lake which is surrounded by walls of ice several hundred feet in height. The waters of this crater-lake are highly charged with sulphuric acid. The water is always warm enough to remain liquid, but there are times when it boils, and is heaved into the air to fall and besmirch the snowy mantle of the surrounding heights. The Wangaehu River has its source in this crater, and its waters are so poisonous to plants that they will not grow on its banks even for miles after the river has reached the plains and received numerous tributaries.

To the north-north-east of Ruapehu lie Ngauruhoe (7,515 ft.) and the several coalesced cones of Tongariro (6,140 ft.). There was a considerable discharge of ashes from Ngauruhoe in 1909, but no loss of life occurred. Molten lava has been seen in the crater, but it has not overflowed since the European occupation of the country. From the crater of Te Mari there was a flow of lava in 1868.

The country around these volcanoes has been created a National Park, and by reason of its varied interests—active craters, blowholes, glaciers, hot medicinal springs, crateral lakes, varied alpine flora, and exhilarating climate—it will be certain later on to attract great numbers of visitors.

Mount Egmont: This is an extinct volcanic cone, rising to a height of 8,260 ft. The upper part is always covered with snow. The mountain is from many directions a nearly perfect cone, and rising as it does from a plain only a few hundred feet above sea-level, it forms a view of imposing beauty. It is called the “sentinel of Taranaki.” Close to its base on the north lies the thriving town of New Plymouth, and the surrounding country is some of the most fertile in New Zealand.

Ruapehu, Tongariro, Taupo, and the thermal vents in the Rotorua district are all on a line of weakness in the earth's crust which reaches its visible terminal at White Island, which is an active volcano in the Bay of Plenty, about thirty-five miles from the main-land.

Without a doubt the hot springs form the most remarkable feature of the North Island. They are found over a large area, extending from Tongariro, south of Lake Taupo, to Ohaeawai, in the extreme north — a distance of some 300 miles; but the principal seat of hydrothermal action appears to be in the neighbourhood of Lake Rotorua, about forty miles north-north-east from Lake Taupo. By the destruction of the famed Pink and White Terraces at Lake Rotomahana during the eruption of Mount Tarawera on the 10th June, 1886, the neighbourhood has been deprived of attractions unique in character and of unrivalled beauty; but the natural features of the country—the numerous lakes, geysers, and hot springs, some of which possess remarkable curative properties in certain complaints—are still very attractive to tourists and invalids. The vast importance of conserving this region as a sanatorium for all time has been recognized by the Government, and it is dedicated by Act of Parliament to that purpose.

The principal lakes in the North Island are Taupo, with an area of 238 square miles, Rotorua, Tarawera, Rotoiti, Waikaremoana, Wairarapa, and several smaller ones. The effluent waters from some of these lakes will in the near future be utilized for the generation of electrical power.

The chief rivers of the North Island are the Waikato (which has its source in the Kaimanawa Range), and is slightly under two hundred miles in length, the Northern Wairoa, the Waihou, the Southern Wairoa, the Manawatu, Rangitikei, Wanganui, and Mokau. All these rivers except the Rangitikei are navigable for small vessels. There are numerous smaller rivers in this well-watered Island, and many of these are capable of being used for the production of electrical power.

For its great length of irregular coast-line the North Island has few harbours that will admit the largest modern liners. There are, however, two (Auckland and Wellington) that will do so, and these are so situated that they form the most convenient receiving and distributing centres. There are several on the west coast—Hokianga. Kaipara, Manukau, and Kawhia—and on the east coast—the Bay of Islands, Whangaroa, Whangarei. Thames, Mercury Bay, and Tauranga—that are already or can be made available for vessels of 2,000 tons. There are also the artificial harbours of Gisborne, Napier, and New Plymouth, which can accommodate liners in their bays or coastal vessels behind their moles. There is a magnificent harbour at the Great Barrier Island, which, though of little commercial value, would give certain shelter to the largest modern fleet.

The chief capes are Cape Maria van Diemen, North Cape, Cape Brett. Cape Colville, East Cape, Table Cape, Cape Palliser, Cape Terawhiti, and Cape Egmont.

The chief peninsulas are Cape Colville Peninsula (where the celebrated Waihi Gold-mine is situated) and the Mahia Peninsula.

There are numerous islands scattered along the coast, and the chief of these are the Three Kings, a cluster of islets lying thirty-eight miles west-north-west of Cape Maria van Diemen. They were discovered in 1643 by Tasman, and named in honour of the day of discovery, is being the feast of the Epiphany. Owing to these islets being incorrectly charted, the steamer “Elingamite” was wrecked here some years ago, and many valuable lives lost. Since this, however, their correct position has been found. Other islands are Great Barrier, Little Barrier, Waiheke, Great Mercury, Mayor, and Kapiti. The last-named was the home and stronghold of the famous Maori warrior Ruaparaha; it is now mostly a public reserve and sanctuary for native flora and fauna.

Cook Strait separates the North from the South Island. It is some sixteen miles across at its narrowest point, but in the widest about ninety. The strait is invaluable for the purpose of traffic between the east and west coasts of the Dominion.

The extreme length of the South Island, from Jackson's Head, in Cook Strait, to Puysegur Point, at the extreme south-west, is about 525 statute miles; the greatest distance across at any point is in Otago (the southernmost), District, about 180 miles.

The South Island is intersected along almost its entire length by a range of mountains known as the Southern Alps. Some of the summits reach a height of from 10,000 ft. to 12,000 ft., Mount Cook, the highest peak, rising to 12,349 ft.

In the south, in the neighbourhood of the sounds and Lake Te Anau, there are many magnificent peaks, which, though not of great height, are, owing to their latitude, nearly all crowned with perpetual ice and snow. Further north the mountains increase in height—Mount Earnslaw, at Lake Wakatipu; and Mount Aspiring, which has been aptly termed the New Zealand Matterhorn, 9,949 ft. in height, at Lake Wanaka. Northward of this again are Mount Cook (or Aorangi), Mount Sefton, and other grand peaks.

For beauty and grandeur of scenery the Southern Alps of New Zealand may worthily compare with, while in point of variety they are said actually to surpass, the Alps of Switzerland. Until recently few of the mountains in New Zealand had been scaled; many of the peaks and glaciers are as yet unnamed; and there is still, in parts of the South Island, a field for exploration and discovery—geographical, geological, and botanical. The wonders of the Southern Alps are only beginning to be known; but the more they are known the more they are appreciated. The snow-line in New Zealand being so much lower than in Switzerland, the scenery, though the mountains are not quite so high, is of surpassing grandeur.

There are extensive glaciers on both sides of the range, those on the west being of exceptional beauty, as, from the greater abruptness of the mountain-slopes on that side, they descend to within about 700 ft. of the sea-level, and into the midst of the evergreen forest. The largest glaciers on either side of the range are easily accessible.

The following gives the sizes of some of the glaciers on the eastern slope:—

The Alletsch Glacier in Switzerland, according to Ball, in the “Alpine Guide,” has an average width of one mile. It is in length and width inferior to the Tasman Glacier.

Numerous sounds or fiords penetrate the south-western coast. They are long, narrow, and deep (the depth of water at the upper part of Milford Sound is 1,270 ft., although at the entrance only 130 ft.), surrounded by giant mountains clothed with foliage to the snow-line, with waterfalls, glaciers, and snowfields at every turn. Some of the mountains rise almost precipitously from the water's edge to 5,000 ft. and 6,000 ft. above the sea. Near Milford; the finest of these sounds, is the great Sutherland Waterfall, 1,904 ft. high.

There are several small hot springs in Canterbury and Westland, but they fade into insignificance when compared with those in the North Island.

The general surface of the northern portion of the South Island, comprising the Provincial Districts of Nelson and Marlborough, is mountainous, but the greater part is suitable for grazing purposes. There are some fine valleys and small plains suitable for agriculture, of which the Wairau Valley or Plain is the largest. Deep sounds, extending for many miles, break the coast-line abutting on Cook Strait. The City of Nelson is situated at the head of Blind Bay, which has a depth inwards from Cook Strait of about forty statute miles.

The Provincial District of Canterbury lies to the south of the Marlborough District and to the eastern side of the Island. Towards the north the land is hilly and undulating; followed by a stretch of plain one hundred miles long by thirty miles broad, rising at the rate of about 30 ft. to the mile from the sea to the hills, after which the coastal land is part flat and part undulating to the boundary of the Otago Provincial District. To the west of the above-mentioned plain the country is, generally speaking, hilly and mountainous.

Large rivers rising in the snow-clad ranges find their way through wide valleys and across the plain to the sea.

Many lakes and high plateaux of considerable size lie within the mountainous area. The most notable of the plateaux is the Mackenzie Plain, with its glacial lakes Tekapo, Pukaki, and Ohau. Many of the lakes may some day be utilized for generating electric power. At the present time an electric plant is being installed at Lake Coleridge, which will supply power for the city of Christchurch. To the east of the main plain the volcanic hills of Banks Peninsula jut out into the sea and form several good harbours, the principal being Port Cooper, on the north, whereon is situated Lyttelton, the chief port of the district; and the harbour of Akaroa, one of the finest in the Dominion, on the south.

There are no other natural harbours in Canterbury, but a good artificial one has been made at Timaru, in the south of the Province.

The Provincial District of Otago, under which denomination is also included the old Province of Southland, is an extensive one, and its physical features are much diversified.

The Southern Alps Range, which forms a distinct backbone throughout the northern part of the Island, is more divided into separate mountain chains in the north-west and west of Otago, though it still remains the watershed from which short rapid rivers reach the Tasman Sea on the west, and long and more slowly flowing ones empty themselves into the Pacific Ocean on the east and south, after passing through much hilly country and many fertile plains.

On the whole the province may be described as hilly with parts mountainous, though there is much flat alluvial land in the extreme south, and many good plains and cultivable downs throughout it. Originally there were extensive forests in the south, many of which are only partially cut out, and the west coast is still densely forest-clad, but by far the larger area of the province is open tussock and grass land suitable for grazing sheep, &c.

The whole province is auriferous, and there are goldfields of considerable extent in the interior.

The inland lakes are very remarkable features. Lake Wakatipu extends over fifty-four miles in length, but its greatest width is not more than four miles and its area only 114 square miles. It is 1,070 ft. above sea-level, and has a depth varying from 1,170 ft. to 1,296 ft. Lake Te Anau is somewhat larger, having an area of 132 square miles.

These lakes are bounded on the west by broken mountainous and wooded country, extending to the Tasman Sea, and deeply indented with numerous fiords or sounds.

There are also many other lakes, notably Hawea, Wanaka, Manapouri, and Hauroto, some of these being of considerable size.

The chief harbours in Otago are Otago Harbour, at the head of which the city of Dunedin is situated, and Bluff Harbour at the extreme south, the port of the town of Invercargill, and the old Provincial District of Southland.

The district of Westland, extending along the west coast of the South Island, abreast of Canterbury, embraces all the land lying between the tops of the Southern Alps and the Tasman Sea.

It is a narrow forest-clad strip of steep mountainous country fringed along the sea by alluvial flats or easier slopes. It is auriferous throughout, and has produced much gold. It also contains the chief coal-deposits of the Dominion.

Westland has many interesting lakes and glaciers, the latter of which have been referred to above.

The rivers in the South Island are for the most part mountain-torrents, fed by glaciers in the principal mountain-ranges. When the snow melts they rise in flood, forming, where not confined by rocky walls, beds of considerable width, generally covered by enormous deposits of shingle. The largest river in the Dominion as regards volume of water is the Clutha or Molyneux. It is 154 miles in length, but is navigable only for boats or small river-steamers and for about thirty miles. The Rivers Buller, Grey, and Hokitika, on the west coast, are navigable for a short distance from their mouths. They form the only ports in the Nelson south-west and Westland Districts. It their unimproved state they admitted, owing to the bars at their mouths, none but vessels of small draught; but, in consequence of the importance of the Grey and Buller Rivers as the sole ports available for the coal-export trade, large harbour-works have been undertaken, resulting in the deepening of the beds of these rivers, and giving a depth up to 26 ft. of water on the bars.

The area of level or undulating land in the South Island available for agriculture is estimated at about 15,000,000 acres. About 13,000,000 are suitable for pastoral purposes only, or may become so when cleared of forest and sown with grass-seed The area of barren land and mountain-tops is estimated at about 9,000,000 acres.

Foveaux Strait separates the South from Stewart Island. This last island has an area of only 423,735 acres.

Stewart Island is a great tourist resort during the summer months, and is easily reached by steamer from the Bluff, distant about 25 miles.

The principal peak is Mount Anglem, 3,200 ft. above sea-level. Most of the island is rugged and forest-clad; the climate is mild; and the soil, when cleared of bush, is fertile.

The chief attractions are the numerous bays and fiords. Paterson Inlet is a magnificent sheet of water, about ten miles by four miles, situated close to Half-moon Bay, the principal port, where over two hundred people live. Horseshoe Bay and Port William are within easy reach of Half-moon Bay. Port Pegasus, a land-locked sheet of water about eight miles by a mile and a half, is a very fine harbour. At “The Neck” (Paterson Inlet) there is a settlement of Maoris and half-castes. The bush is generally very dense, with thick undergrowth. Rata, black-pine, white-pine, miro, and totara are the principal timber trees. Fish are to be had in great abundance and variety; oysters form an important industry. Wild pigeons, ducks, and mutton-birds are plentiful.

The outlying group of the Chatham Islands, lying between the parallels of 43° 30' and 44° 30' south latitude, and the meridians of 175° 40' and 177° 15' west longitude, 480 statute miles east-south-east from Wellington, and 536 miles eastward of Lyttelton, consists of two principal islands and several unimportant islets. They were discovered by Lieutenant Broughton and named by him in honour of the Earl of Chatham. The largest island (Chatham Island) contains about 222,490 acres, of which an irregularly-shaped lake or lagoon absorbs 45,960 acres. About one-quarter of the surface of the land is covered with forest, the rest with fern or grass. The hills nowhere rise to a great height. Pitt Island is the next in size; the area is 15,330 acres. The greater portion of both islands is used for grazing sheep.

The Kermadec Croup of islands is situated between 29° 10' and 31° 30' south latitude, and between 177° 45' and 179° west longitude. They are named the Raoul or Sunday Island, Macaulay Island, Curtis Islands, and L'Espérance or French Rock. The principal Island, Sunday, is 600 miles distant from Auckland, and lies a little more than half-way to Tonga, but 100 miles to the eastward of the direct steam route to that place. It is 300 miles eastward of the steam route to Fiji, and 150 miles westward of the steam route from Auckland to Rarotonga. Macaulay Island (named after the father of Lord Macaulay) and Curtis Islands were discovered in May, 1788, by Lieutenant Watts, in the “Penrhyn,” a transport ship. The remainder of the group was discovered in 1793, by Admiral Bruni d'Entrecasteaux. The Admiral gave the name of “Kermadec” to the whole group of islands, after the captain of his consort ship “L'Espérance,” and the name of the Admiral's ship “La Recherche” was given to the largest island. The name so given was not continued, but that of “Raoul” has taken its place, which would appear to have been given after the sailing-master of the “La Recherche,” whose name was Joseph Raoul. The name of “Sunday” may also have become attached to the island from the fact that it was discovered on a Sunday. The islands are volcanic, and in two of them signs of activity are still to be seen. The rainfall is plentiful, but not excessive. The climate is mild and equable, and slightly warmer than the north of New Zealand. The following are the areas of the islands and islets of the group: Sunday Island, 7,200 acres; Herald group of islets, 85 acres; Macaulay Island, 764 acres; Curtis Islands, 128 acres and 19 acres; L'Espérance, 12 acres: total, 8,208 acres. Sunday Island is twenty miles in circumference, roughly triangular in shape, and at the highest point 1,723 ft. above the sea-level. It is rugged and broken over a very large extent of its surface, and, except in a few places, covered with forest. The soil everywhere on the island is very rich, being formed by the decomposition of a dark-coloured pumiceous tuff and a black andesitic lava, with which is closely mixed a fine vegetable mould. The great luxuriance and richness of the vegetation bear witness to the excellence of the soil, which is everywhere—except where destroyed by eruptions, and on the steep cliffs—the same rich loam. Want of water is one of the drawbacks. Three of the four lakes on the island are fresh, but so difficult of approach as to be practically useless.

The Auckland Islands were discovered during a whaling voyage on 18th August, 1806, by Captain Abraham Bristow, in the ship “Ocean.” The discoverer named the group after Lord Auckland, again visited the islands in 1807 and then took formal possession of them. They lie about 290 miles south of Bluff Harbour, their accepted position being given as latitude 50° 32' S., and longitude 166° 13' E. They have several good harbours. Port Ross, at the north end of the principal island, was described by the eminent French commander D'Urville as one of the best harbours of refuge in the known world. At the southern end of the island there is a through passage extending from the east to the west coast. It has been variously named Adams Strait and Carnley Harbour, and forms a splendid sheet of water. The largest of the islands is about 27 miles long by about 15 miles broad, and is very mountainous, the highest part being about 2,000 ft. above the sea. The west coast is bold and precipitous, but the east coast has several inlets. The wood on the island is, owing to the strong prevailing wind, scrubby in character. The New Zealand Government maintains at this island a depot of provisions and clothing for the use of shipwrecked mariners.

The Antipodes, an isolated group, consisting of several detached rocky islands lying nearly north and south over a space of four to five miles; accepted position, 49° 41' 15” south, and longitude 178° 43' east.

The Bounty Islands, a little cluster of islets, thirteen in number and without verdure, discovered in 1788 by Captain Bligh, R.N., of H.M.S. “Bounty.” Position verified by observation, 47° 43' south, longitude 179° 01/2' east.

Campbell Island was discovered in 1810 by Frederick Hazelburgh, master of the brig “Perseverance,” owned by Mr. Robert Campbell, of Sydney. It is mountainous, and of a circumference of about thirty miles. There are several good harbours.

The Cook Islands, with others now included within the extended boundaries of the Dominion, are as under:*—

Rarotonga: A magnificent island, rising to a height of 3,000 ft., clothed to the tops of the mountains with splendid vegetation. It has abundant streams, considerable tracts of sloping land, and rich alluvial valleys. The two harbours are poor.

Mangaia, the south-easternmost of the Cook Group, is of volcanic origin, and about thirty miles in circumference. The productions, which are numerous and cheap, are obtained by assiduous labour.

Atiu resembles Mangaia in appearance and extent. It is a mere bank of coral, 10 ft. or 12 ft. high, steep and rugged, except where there are small sandy beaches and some clefts, when the ascent is gradual.

Aitutaki presents a most fruitful appearance, its shores being bordered by flat land, on which are innumerable coconut and other trees, the higher ground being beautifully interspersed with lawns. It is eighteen miles in circuit.

* See article “New Zealand's Extended Boundaries” in a later portion of this book.

Mauke or Parry Island is a low-lying island; it is about two miles in diameter; well wooded, and inhabited.

Mitiaro is a low-lying island, from three to four miles long and one mile wide.

Hervey Islands: This group consists of two islands, surrounded by a reef, which may be 101/2 miles in circumference.

Niue, or Savage Island, lying east of the Friendly Islands, is a coral island, thirty-six miles in circumference, rising to a height of 200 ft. It has the usual tropical productions.

Palmerston Island, lying about 500 miles east of Niue and about 220 from the nearest island of the Cook Group (Aitutaki), is remarkable as the “San Pablo” of Magellan, the first island discovered in the South Sea. It has no harbour. The soil is fairly fertile, and there is some good hardwood timber.

Penrhyn Island (Tongareva) lies about 300 miles north-east of Manahiki. It is one of the most famous pearl islands in the Pacific, and there is a splendid harbour, a lagoon with two entrances, fit for ships of any size.

Manahiki, lying about 400 miles eastward of Danger Island, is an atoll, about thirty miles in circumference, valuable from the extent of the coconut groves. The interior lagoon contains a vast deposit of pearl-shell.

Rakaanga is an atoll, three miles in length and of equal breadth.

Danger Island (Pukapuka): Next to the 10th parallel, but rather north of the latitude of the Navigators, and east of them are a number of small atolls. Of these, the nearest to the Samoan Group—about 500 miles—is Danger Island, bearing north-west of Suwarrow about 250 miles.

Suwarrow Island has one of the best harbours in the Pacific. It lies about 500 miles east of Apia, the capital of the Samoan Group. It is a coral atoll, of a triangular form, fifty miles in circumference, the reef having an average width of half a mile across, enclosing a land-locked lagoon twelve miles by eight, which forms an excellent harbour. The entrance is half a mile wide, and the accommodation permits of ships riding in safety in all weathers, with depths of from three to thirty fathoms. It is out of the track of hurricanes, uninhabited, but capable by its fertility of supporting a small population. As a depot for the collection of trade from the various islands it ought to be very valuable.

The oldest rocks in New Zealand appear to be those of western Otago, where over a large area is exposed a complex of gneisses and schists, intruded by granite and other igneous rocks. The gneisses in the main are altered granites and diorites, but some of the schists, at any rate, are of sedimentary origin. A pre-Cambrian age was assigned to these rocks by Professor F. W. Hutton, but Professor James Park considers them to be probably of Cambrian age, and includes them in his Maniototo Series.

Perhaps next in age to the western Otago gneisses and schists are the mica, chlorite, and quartz schists of Central Otago. In the absence of fossils, however, the age of these rocks is uncertain. Professor Hutton regarded them as pre-Cambrian, Professor Park assigns a Cambrian age, whilst Dr. P. Marshall considers them to be little, if at all, older than the Triassic. Some schistose rocks in north, central, and western Nelson may be as old as, or even older than, the Otago mica-schists. The gneisses and schists on the western side of the Southern Alps may for the present be classed with the Nelson schists.

The oldest known fossiliferous rocks in New Zealand are the Ordovician argillites (“slates”), greywackes, and quartzites occurring near Collingwood (Nelson), and Preservation Inlet in south-west Otago. Ultimately these rocks may be found to have a considerable development in various parts of Nelson and Westland.

Rocks containing Silurian fossils occur in the Mount Arthur district, Nelson. They are principally altered limestone (practically marble), calcareous shale or argillite, sandstone, and quartzite.

At Reefton a small area exhibits quartzite, limestone, and slaty shale containing fossils believed to be of Devonian age. Elsewhere considerable areas have been assigned to the same period by Mr. Alexander McKay, but owing to the non-discovery of recognizable fossils definite proof of age is wanting. For a similar reason the age of most of the rocks placed in the Carboniferous period (“Maitai Series”) by McKay is uncertain. At Reefton the supposed Carboniferous rocks, which here contain many auriferous quartz veins, may quite possibly be of Ordovician age. In the typical locality near Nelson the fossils found in the Maitai rocks indicate a Trias-Jura age, though possibly older rocks may be present also.

So far Permian rocks have not been satisfactorily identified in New Zealand. Park, however, considers his Aorangi and Kaihiku Series to be of Permian age.

During some of the Palæozoic periods it is conjectured that New Zealand formed part of or was the foreland of a large land-mass that extended far to the west. This land-mass possibly persisted to late Palæozoic times, and may have been the now-dismembered and all-but-lost continent known to geologists as Gondwana-land.

As yet the early and middle Mesozoic rocks of New Zealand have not been clearly separated by means of unconformities or fossil evidence. What may be called a Trias-Jura system is extensively developed in both the North and South Islands. The most fossiliferous localities are Hokonui Hills (Southland), near Nugget Point (Otago), Wairoa Valley, near the City of Nelson, Kawhia Harbour, and Waikato Heads, the two latter localities both on the west coast of Auckland. A broad belt of Trias-Jura or, according to Park, of Permo-Jurassic rocks extends through western Canterbury and Marlborough, and is continued as a somewhat narrower belt on the north side of Cook Strait from Wellington to near East Cape. Rocks of much the same age occur in the Mokau River watershed, in the Lower Waikato Valley, in the Coromandel Peninsula, and in North Auckland.

The supposed Jurassic rocks of Kawhia Harbour and Waikato Heads, mentioned above, may possibly be of Lower Cretaceous age. Admittedly Cretaceous rocks extend in a not-quite-continuous belt from Cape Campbell in Marlborough to the neighbourhood of Waipara in North Canterbury. At Amuri Bluff they are richly fossiliferous. Here and in several other localities the fossils include saurian remains. To the Cretaceous may also be assigned a somewhat extensive belt of rocks near the east coast of Wellington and southern Hawke's Bay. A continuation of this belt extends from somewhere to the north-west of Gisborne to the East Cape district.

The oldest known workable coal-seams in New Zealand probably occur in Cretaceous rocks. Much controversy, however, concerning the age of our coalfields has arisen. The late Sir James Hector, and with him Mr. Alexander McKay, considered that the coal-measures belonged to a Cretaceo-Tertiary system that extended from the Upper Cretaceous to the Middle Tertiary. For many years Mr. McKay was practically the sole exponent of this theory, but quite recently Dr. Marshall has advocated a very similar if not identical view. The truth, however, seems to be that the coal-measures concerning which there is a dispute are of two different ages. The Shag Point, Malvern Hills, and North Auckland coalfields are probably of Upper Cretaceous age. To these Park would add the Milton-Kaitangata coalfield and a small portion of the Green Island coalfield. The other coalfields, as mentioned below, are Tertiary.

Although there is certainly a palæontological break between the Upper Cretaceous (Waipara Series) and the Early Tertiary, the existence of an unconformity, as may be inferred from the previous paragraph, is a matter of doubt. The subdivision of the Tertiary strata, which are well represented in New Zealand, is still more or less tentative. To the Eocene may be assigned the bituminous coal-measures of the Grey, Buller, and Collingwood districts, and probably also some of the coal-bearing patches of central Nelson. Elsewhere Eocene rocks are not recognized.

During the Early Eocene it is believed that New Zealand was again part of a continental area that extended far to the north, and was joined, or all but joined, to New Guinea and northern Australia. This continent may have included much of the area in the Pacific now studded with coral islands. Its former existence is inferred mainly from various features in our plant and animal life. According to Mr. T. F. Cheeseman no less than 366 New Zealand plants are found also in Australia. More significant, perhaps, is the occurrence of many closely related species and genera in the two regions, for comparatively few of the 366 species are likely to have persisted since the Eocene. Many of our birds show marked affinities to Australian and Malayan species. In this connection an interesting line of support for a Tertiary extension of New Zealand to the north is afforded by the annual migrations of the New Zealand cuckoos and of the godwit.

During the Miocene period New Zealand subsided until little of the present land-surface was above water. Consequently, notwithstanding extensive denudation in later periods, Miocene strata are well represented in almost all parts of the country. They are typically developed in the Oamaru district (north-east Otago), and hence Hutton's name of “Oamaru Series” is generally applied to the Miocene strata of New Zealand. Miocene rocks are well represented in North Westland, an area in which a decided unconformity separates them from the Eocene coal-measures. They form much of the surface of the North Island, where the name “papa” is commonly applied to the calcareous claystones and argillaceous sandstones which there form a great proportion of the Miocene rocks. In many places the Oamaru Series is characterized by the development of a fairly thick, soft, fossiliferous limestone about the middle horizon. This marks the time of greatest subsidence, or rather the time when the Miocene sea was deepest. Owing to their calcareous nature, the Miocene rocks give rise to some of the richest agricultural districts in New Zealand. In places they contain, in their lowest horizon, seams of good brown coal. There are also brown coals of late Miocene age.

In many localities the Miocene rocks pass without unconformity into strata considered to be of Pliocene age. In the Hawke's Bay and Wanganui districts these are marine and highly fossiliferous. They give rise to much good agricultural and more especially pastoral land adapted to sheep-farming or dairying. In Nelson and North Westland the Pliocene strata are largely composed of river-transported material, and are known as the Moutere Gravels. These in places are of a poorly auriferous character. In Nelson the Moutere Gravels form a poor pastoral soil, but one well adapted for apple-culture.

Towards the close of the Miocene and during the whole of the Pliocene period many parts of New Zealand, more particularly in the South Island, were undergoing elevation. As a result the North and South Islands (then quite different in outline from their present configuration), together with most of the outlying islands now in existence, such as the Chathams, Auckland Islands, &c., must have formed one large land-mass, which probably was united to an Antarctic continent. Since many New Zealand plants* are identical with, or closely allied to, South American forms, and there are also some striking resemblances in bird and other forms of animal life, it is thought that this Antarctic continent formed a bridge, probably at no time quite complete, between New Zealand and South America. By this route, in all likelihood, came the now extinct moas or their ancestral forms. At the time of this continental extension the Southern Alps rose far above their present heights, and were covered with one vast snowfield, that fed immense glaciers spreading far and wide over the lowlands to the east and the west. According to Park, during the Pleistocene there was one great sheet of ice over the whole of the present South Island, and over part of the North Island. Moreover, this ice-sheet was joined to the Antarctic ice. The extreme views of Professor Park are not shared by other New Zealand geologists, who, however, unanimously agree that a large area in the South Island was glaciated. The great ice-streams of Pleistocene times gave rise to rivers that carried enormous quantities of gravel and finer material derived from the mountains beyond the ice-front, and in great measure built up the lowlands of Canterbury and Westland. In the latter district the gravels sorted by these streams are in many places richly auriferous, but a greater and more permanent source of wealth is furnished by the fertile soil of the Canterbury Plains.

In many parts of Otago, Canterbury, Westland, and Nelson evidences of past glacial action are afforded by huge moraines, perched blocks, ice-worn surfaces (roches moutonnées), rock-benches, rock-basins, and other tokens of glaciation. To ice-action, it may here be mentioned, we owe some of the most magnificent features of the western Otago sounds.

At or before the end of the Pleistocene period the mountains lessened in height, both through denudation and a well-marked subsidence of the land. The climate grew milder, and the lowland ice melted away. The mighty glaciers rapidly retreated, geologically speaking, and are to-day represented only by the comparatively modest valley and mountain glaciers of north-west Otago, Canterbury, and Westland, with which may be included the small but permanent snowfield and glacier on Mount Ruapehu. While the glaciers were retreating the rivers of Canterbury and Westland, swollen by the melting ice, were unusually active in transporting débris to the lowlands and the sea-coast. At this time, too, as well as at somewhat earlier periods, the volcanoes of the North Island furnished an abundant supply of fragmentary material, much of which was transported by the streams, and used in building plains and river-flats. Many of these are fertile, but in those districts where pumice abounded, a more or less barren soil, difficult of utilization, has resulted. Thus the land gradually became much as we see it now. In Recent times geological changes, such as the lowering of heights by denudation, the filling of lakes by sediment, the outward growth of coastal plains in some places, and the wearing away of the shores in other places, have slowly proceeded, and are to-day, of course, still going on. Slow movements of the land are probably in progress, but these have not been certainly detected. In 1855, however, as the result of a violent earthquake, the northern shore of Cook Strait, near Wellington Harbour, was raised on the average at least 5 ft., whilst the southern shore near Tory Channel and towards the mouth of the Wairau River was almost correspondingly depressed.

* According to T. F. Cheeseman's “Manual of the New Zealand Flora” (preface, p. ix), 108 New Zealand plants extend to South America.

In the preceding paragraphs little notice has been given to igneous rocks or to volcanic action. The oldest igneous rocks of New Zealand are probably represented by the gneisses of western Otago, which, as previously stated, are mainly metamorphosed granites and diorites. Plutonic rocks intrude many of the Palæozoic and Mesozoic strata, and some of the formations also show evidence of contemporaneous volcanic action. Of the more ancient plutonic rocks granite is the most prominent. It occurs in many localities in Stewart Island, western Otago, Westland, and Nelson. It has, however, not been found in situ in the North Island, though in at least four localities boulders of granite, probably derived in all cases from ancient conglomerates, have been discovered. Ultra-basic igneous rocks, now largely altered to serpentine, occur in north-west Otago, Westland, and Nelson.

Throughout the greater part of the Tertiary periods volcanic action in New Zealand has probably been more intense than in any former age. During the Late Eocene or Early Miocene period eruptions, at first principally of andesitic rocks and later of rhyolite, began in the Coromandel Peninsula, and with little intermission continued throughout Miocene and Pliocene times. These volcanic rocks contain the gold-silver veins which have yielded rich bonanzas at Thames and Coromandel, and are now being worked at the Waihi, Talisman, and other mines.

There are many areas of Miocene volcanic rocks in North Auckland, and near the City of Auckland numerous small volcanoes were in action during the Pleistocene. Some of these—for example, Mount Rangitoto—have probably been active within the last two or three thousand years. In Taranaki the beautiful cone of Mount Egmont was built up during Pliocene and Pleistocene times It is in the central part of the North Island, however, that the most intense volcanic activity has been displayed. Volcanic rocks, and more especially the pumice ejected during the Pliocene and Early Pleistocene, cover large areas. Vulcanism has not yet ceased, for minor eruptions of fragmentary material still take place from Ngauruhoe, a typical volcanic cone near Ruapehu. The most striking evidence of volcanic action, however, is afforded by the numerous steam-vents, hot springs, and geysers found in a belt extending from Ruapehu to White island (in the Bay of Plenty), itself a volcano in the solfataric stage. It is more than a coincidence that this belt is in line with the Southern Alps. Solfataric action is generally regarded as a sign of dying vulcanism, but that the subterranean forces are still capable of mischief was shown by the eruption of Tarawera, an apparently extinct volcano, on the 10th June, 1886. On this occasion over a hundred lives were lost.

In the South Island vulcanism is apparently quite dead, for the hot springs of Hanmer Plains and the western side of the Alps are due to other causes. During the Miocene, however, volcanic outbursts took place in many localities, in some on a grand scale. Banks Peninsula is formed mainly of basaltic and andesitic rocks. Lyttelton and Akaroa harbours are believed to represent ancient craters or centres of eruption. In the neighbourhood of Dunedin occurs a very interesting series of alkaline volcanic rocks. These were first described by the late Professor G. H. F. Ulrich, and in later years Dr. Marshall has given them exhaustive study.

In the course of a short article it is impossible to give any adequate idea of what has been accomplished by geological workers in New Zealand, or what remains yet to be done before even the foundation for future work shall be securely laid. The important branches of geology in its application to agriculture and mining have hardly been mentioned, but elsewhere in this volume will be found references to the agricultural and mineral resources. For detailed information the reader is referred to the bulletins of the New Zealand Geological Survey, which are now appearing at the rate of two or three every year; to Professor Park's “Geology of New Zealand,” which contains an excellent bibliography; and to the treatise on “New Zealand Geology,” by Dr. Marshall, as well as to many other publications too numerous to be here named. Finally, it may be mentioned that in each of the University Colleges excellent instruction in geology is being given by capable and enthusiastic teachers, so that in the near future we may expect increased progress in solving the many knotty problems of New Zealand geology.

The latitudes in which the chief cities of New Zealand lie in the Southern Hemisphere correspond with the cities in the North from which the possible amount of sunshine may be gauged. Auckland's latitude corresponds to that of Cape Passaro in the south of Sicily; Wellington to Naples; and Dunedin to Venice. The following table gives the period during which the sun is above the true horizon on the days of midsummer and midwinter:—

The actual hours of bright sunshine recorded in Wellington average nearly six hours per day throughout the year, and few indeed are the days when a brilliant sun does not at some time or other score a definite trace upon the recording-chart. Other districts much more protected from cloud-formation, as Nelson, in the Tasman Gulf; Napier, on the east coast of the North Island; and Lincoln, near Christchurch, on the east coast of the South Island, have higher records. Some of the west coast districts, on the other hand, record less bright sunshine; but Wellington, the capital city, is in the middle position, and affords a good mean both for the sunshine and the rainfall of the whole Dominion. Wellington is also in a critical position with regard to atmospheric disturbances, Cook Strait being usually the dividing-line between the cyclonic storms and westerly lows, generally partaking of the changes due to both. The actual results are as follows:—

These results bear comparison with some of the most favoured regions of the world, where, in order to produce the best results, sunshine and shower hold sway in turn. For instance, over the northern parts of the British Isles the annual average of bright sunshine is 1,200 hours, or 27 per cent, of the possible; and in the south it is 1,600 hours, or 36 per cent.; while Italy has averages from 2,000 to 2,400 hours, or from 45 to 54 per cent, of the possible.

Latitude, isolation, proximity of the ocean, and the height of a locality are the determining factors with regard to temperature. The oceanic influences are recognized as the dominant feature with regard to both summer heat and winter cold, upon both of which they exercise a moderating effect. The west coast of the South Island especially is open to the prevailing westerly winds, and is more humid and equable than the eastern coastal districts, which at times present an almost continental type with considerable range of temperature. In the cities of Auckland and Wellington frosts on the grass are of rare occurrence, though further south and inland they are often experienced. As showing the influence of the ocean in moderating temperature, we may contrast the records of a continental city with the capital city of Wellington.

The meteorological seasons are regarded as later than the solar or astronomical seasons. Thus, in the Southern Hemisphere July is usually the coldest and wettest month of the year, while January is the driest and warmest. The seasons are thus roughly divided:—

The following table gives seasonal and annual means computed from several stations in the various “provinces” into which the Dominion was once politically as well as naturally divided:—

Mean temperatures of definite places are usually employed in climatic comparisons, and the following annual means, as well as the means of the extreme months of the summer and winter, afford the reader useful data. The Australian temperatures are from the Official Year-book of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the others are chiefly from Hofrath, Dr. J. Hann's great work upon the climatology of the world.

The rainfall map of New Zealand which appeared in the Yearbook for 1911 presents striking conformation to its physical configuration, and records gathered throughout the country during a period of sixty years present a certain regularity which brings out the dominating influence of the mountain ranges over the rainfall. The lofty Southern Alps, rising to heights of from ten to twelve thousand feet on the western side of the South Island, lie broadside to the prevailing westerly winds, and on their windward slopes are condensed the vapours which have been swept by the breezes over vast stretches of ocean-wave. On the plains at the margin near the foot of the ranges and on their mugged and precipitous slopes the rainfall averages from one to two hundred inches per annum, while on the lee side of this formidable chain the climate is comparatively very dry, and in parts the rainfall is only about one-tenth of what is recorded on the other side. The manner in which the sea-breezes are robbed of their moisture is occasionally manifested when a strong and steady westerly wind blows along parallel with the southern latitudes. Heavy and continuous then is the rain on the west coast, and the clouds and mist may rise to the summit, but no further. There the winds are forced onwards and rush downwards to the greatest plains in New Zealand which have been built up of the detritus of the mountains. Here, however, the characteristics of this westerly wind have been entirely changed, for it is now hot by compression, and dry because it gave off its moisture when it rose above sea-level away back among the hills. Instead of parting with superfluous humidity, it is now capable of sustaining the vapour of water, and nature seeks to restore the balance of its relative humidity by evaporating what moisture it can from stream and lake, vegetation or animal life in its path. These hot and dry “nor'-westers” of the Canterbury Plains are similar in character to the well-known Foehn winds such as are experienced in Austria, Switzerland, and Italy, but they illustrate and account for much of the comparative shortage of rainfall on the eastern side of the South Island which is manifest in the map.

While the South Island isohyets or rain-bands of equal rainfall stretch north and south, the North Island tracings are more irregular in form, but show that the rainfall itself is more regular over the country and less extreme in comparison between different districts. Here, again, however, the control of the mountains and plains over precipitation is apparent. The contours of the rainfall areas are found to coincide more or less with the configuration of the country—dark-tinted spots showing heavier rainfalls are found in proximity to Mount Egmont, the Tongariro, Tararua, Raukumara, and other ranges.

The mean annual rainfall of New Zealand, derived from means of representative stations in various parts of the whole country, is about 50 in., but the seasonal falls are different in various districts. The season of greatest fall in the North Island, which is mostly under the influence of subtropical conditions, is winter, and the month of July shows not only the lowest mean temperature but the mean maximum rainfall, and is regarded as the midwinter month in the Southern Hemisphere. In the South Island late autumn, winter, and early spring are frequently dry, while the summer sometimes suffers from too frequent showers. This is the case on the east coast and southernmost portions of the South Island, but at this time the west coast occasionally is even in want of rain; in fact, the west and east coasts of the South Island are so different that if the east coast has more than the average rainfall the west coast has less, and vice versa. The average monthly rainfall of the year is remarkably even in the South Island, but the midwinter month's mean in the North Island is nearly double the mean of the midsummer month (February).

The averages from the climatological tables are—

Annual mean totals.—Auckland, 180·4; New Plymouth, 189·7; Gisborne, 153·8; Wellington, 167·7; Christchurch, 119·4; Hokitika, 179·2; Dunedin, 163·3

The seasons usually differ considerably in several characteristics from year to year, and the annual rainfalls are found to range considerably above and below the means in all parts of the Dominion. From month to month also, and by comparing the records of months of the same name in different years are seen surprising contrasts and periodic changes which evade general laws, and the approximately true mean rainfalls are only ascertained through averages derived from returns extending over many years.

The abundance and frequency of the rainfall are, however, the leading features in the climate of New Zealand as a whole. The positions of the Islands, with vast oceans on every side, and the proximity of every part of the country to the sea, combined with frequent atmospheric changes, usually cause all parts of the Dominion to be favoured with beneficent rains, and very rarely indeed does the rainfall report from any station in the Dominion make the return of “nil.” Nine out of ten of the stations throughout the country have never recorded months of such absolute drought, and on the other hand very few are the records showing rainfall every day during any month of their registrations. Sunshine and rain alternate fairly well throughout the year, with much greater predominance of the former. The rainfall is usually more intense and frequent at night than in the hours when the sun exercises its influence over air and earth and sea, for then “Maui is drawing water.”

Snow falls in the winter-time on the higher levels in the South Island and occasionally on the central plateau of the North Island, but, except on the mountain-tops, usually does not lie for long. Snow is seldom seen on the lowlands even in the southernmost districts of the South Island, and in many parts of New Zealand snow has never been known to fall; but, on the other hand, cyclonic areas in summer will bring some snow on the higher levels of the South Island.

Thunderstorms are also comparatively rare in the coastal districts, but are more frequent and prolonged in the mountainous parts. In summer the thunderstorms usually occur in the afternoon, and in the winter, with low-pressure systems, at night.

Hail occasionally accompanies coastal thunderstorms, but rarely causes much damage to property, fruit, or crops in New Zealand, and is more frequently experienced in winter.

The winds of the temperate zone are usually fairly constant and fresh, and the Dominion of New Zealand—set as it is in the widest ocean in the world—is open to all its influence. The sea-breezes sweep uninterruptedly over thousands of miles of ocean-wave, not only bringing freshness, ozone, and moisture, but at times, it must be confessed, causing annoyance on account of their force and persistency. This may be regarded as a defect of their qualities, for in those parts of the earth that experience little wind the people usually lack energy, and the same regions are mostly subject to occasional storms that are terribly destructive to life and property. No country in the world, however, presents greater diversity in respect to wind than New Zealand, chiefly on account of its length and mountain-chains. The uneven surface of the land, the proximity of the straits, &c., are seen to exercise the most marked influence not only upon the force, but also upon the direction of the winds—reducing or increasing their velocity, diverting, and even entirely changing their course. For example, westerly winds blowing across the ocean towards the west coast are partially inverted—while the upper part will cross the mountains to become occasionally a hot, dry westerly wind on the Canterbury Plains, the lower part curls round and is actually experienced as an easterly wind in the towns on the coast at the foot of the mountains.

The average velocity as given herewith is from records of the Robinson anemometer, in miles per day:—

The velocity of the winds, it may be noted, is higher on the average in summer than in winter, and the winds are usually also stronger by day than by night.

The following “wind-roses” show the percentage of wind-directions from annual means for forty-eight years' unbroken records for each place.

The prevailing winds are thus seen to be planetary anti-trade winds—westerlies which go round the world and are used by mariners to take them eastward towards England as far as Cape Horn, and on their return they pick them up again off the Cape of Good Hope. In summer, however, to the north of Auckland the easterly trade winds often blow with much regularity for weeks together.

The development of the Maori race is a striking testimony to the suitability of the climate to humanity, and European families under New Zealand skies have generally developed in physique. Imported stock has in most cases thriven marvellously in the fields, where throughout summer and winter they usually find all the nourishment needed, and hardly ever require more than natural protection.

The fertility of the soil gives remarkable testimony to the genial climate of New Zealand, for, though labour is not nearly plentiful enough to obtain the best results from agriculture, yet, as shown in the returns published annually, the actual average yields in bushels per acre for the whole Dominion for the past sixteen seasons here given compare more than favourably with the yields for other countries.

These results are typical of the harvests of other cereals, vegetables, and fruits, which grow in abundance.

Lastly, the vital statistics show that for a long period New Zealand has had the lowest death-rate in the world, and this is undoubtedly owing very much to the salubrity of its climate. The vital statistics show to advantage not only in the earlier years of life, but it is after the age of thirty-two that the extraordinary longevity of New Zealand is apparent. The judgment of travellers and those best qualified to give an opinion is that the country is one of the healthiest in the world. The abundant vitality of the people is apparent not only in the homes and thoroughfares throughout the Dominion, but is manifested in thriving industries and the high place attained by New Zealanders in the world of sport. New Zealand, in a word, is a country where from youth to old age man can keep in vigorous health and enjoy life to its fullest extent.

The weather is full of vagaries in the temperate zones of both hemispheres, and New Zealand is not the only country which occasionally experiences a touch of winter in summer, but there is also very much summerlike weather in the winter-time. Occasionally winter storms account for temporary high winds and heavy rainfalls, but the monthly averages show that less wind is experienced in the season of winter, particularly in the south.

The chief atmospheric changes are associated with barometric pressures, above the normal being known as “high” pressure, and below it as “low.” For weather charts and forecast purposes the isobar, or line of equal pressure of 30 in., is regarded as normal in New Zealand, though the true normal lies between 29·90 in. and 30·00 in. The winds flow nearly parallel to the isobars in both high and low pressure systems, and all atmospheric systems in New Zealand move from west to east.

High-pressure systems or anti-cyclones are usually associated with fair weather by day and cold nights, when the earth radiates the heat of its surface into space. The central isobar will occasionally enclose an area in which all the barometers reduced to sea-level and to 32° Fahr. will read as high as 30·60. Around this centre the winds revolve or back contrary to the direction of the hands of a watch in the Southern Hemisphere; thus, if the barometer is 30·40 in. at Wellington, and the readings are 30·00 in. or thereabouts at both Russell and the Bluff, the winds will be easterly over the North Island and westerly over the South, southerly off the east coast and northerly off the west coast. The winds thus form vast circles hundreds of miles in diameter. These anticyclones often last for eight or nine days.

Low-pressure systems are mostly of two kinds, and around their centres of lowest pressure the winds are seen to revolve clockwise on the weather-chart; thus, if the centre of a cyclone should be in Cook Strait the winds will be westerly at Auckland, easterly at Christchurch, northerly off the east coast, and southerly off the west coast. If the lowest pressure on the chart were in Foveaux Strait the prevailing winds northward would be generally westerly, at least as far north as New Plymouth and Napier, and sometimes extend even to the North Cape, changing from north by the west to southwest.

Cyclones are circular or oval-shaped disturbances with closed isobars; they come from the tropics, and chiefly affect the North Island, bringing first warmth and humidity, then high winds and heavy rain. They usually last from two to five days, and are more frequent in winter than in summer, though they are often intense at the latter period.

The term “cyclone” does not always mean a storm of great intensity such as is experienced in tropical regions, for when the disturbance leaves the tropics it usually expands and covers a wider area, over which its forces are distributed. The frequency of cyclones during the past nine years shows the following average: Spring, 2; summer, 1·8; autumn, 3·3; winter, 5·3. These figures will be surprising to some who believe that ex-tropical cyclones are found only in spring or early in summer, while others assert that they come only in midwinter.

Westerly or antarctic lows of A-shaped isobars, with lowest pressure southward of New Zealand, chiefly affect the South Island, but, like the cyclones, frequently extend their influences over the whole Dominion. These lows usually move along the parallels of latitude known to sailors as the “roaring forties.” Their duration is from twelve hours to as many days, and in some seasons they are much more frequent and persistent than in others. They come at all times of the year, but with greater frequency in springtime: Spring, 6·3; summer, 4·3; autumn, 5·2; winter, 4·7

The total rainfall for the year 1912 was less than the normal in the Auckland, Gisborne, and Hawke's Bay districts, but in the southern portion of the North Island and over the whole of the South Island, with the exception of the Nelson District, the aggregate was in excess of the average. The coastal stations of Canterbury, as was the case in 1911, again show the greatest difference, the excess ranging from 12 to as much as 70 per cent.

The following table shows the difference, above or below the mean, for each month in the year:—

South Island Rainfall, 1912.

Jan.	Feb.	Mar.	April.	May.	June.	July.	Aug.	Sept.	Oct.	Dec.
+	3·41		4·36		5·21	5·13		4·69	4·55	3·38
Av. 3·88	2·30	4·07	3·37	3·42	4·56	4·15	3·50	4·36	4·25	3·25	4·30
- 3·22		3·74		2·22		2·36				1·86

Mean Number of Days with Rain, compared with the Averages for Seven Years.

Jan.	Feb.	Mar.	April.	May.	June.	July.	Aug.	Sept.	Oct.	Dec.
+ Above the average. - Below the average.
+ 13·6	11·5	13·5			16·5	15·0		17·1		17·0
Av. 12·3	7·2	11·9	12·5	11·5	13·7	13·7	13·4	15·3	13·3	14·3
-			12·0	10·7			10·4		14·1		9·0

January was not subject to an excessive range of barometric pressure, but minor fluctuations were somewhat frequent, causing weather of a changeable nature with frequent showers, more especially over the South Island. The whole of the North Island had less rainfall than the normal for this month, but the South nearly everywhere recorded a small excess, chiefly owing to a westerly depression which ruled between the 15th and 21st. During this period the western districts especially recorded some copious downpours, which on the 20th resulted in flooded rivers in this portion of the Dominion. Electrical disturbances were also frequent at this time, and Canterbury experienced a severe thunderstorm on the 18th.

Towards the close of the month an anticyclone overspread the country, and the month of February was ushered in with fair weather-conditions, which prevailed generally during the first week. Two westerly areas of low pressure influenced weather-conditions. The first, between the 13th and 17th, although only of moderate intensity, was the cause of a heavy rainfall in the vicinity of Cook Strait on the 15th. The second one was of longer duration, lasting from the 17th to the 24th, and was apparently triple-centred, its lowest pressure passing in the south on the 19th, 20th, and 22nd respectively. The only other disturbance was a monsoonal depression to the northward of New Zealand, which on the 27th and 28th accounted for much rain in the northern districts, and warm, humid, and misty conditions generally. The aggregate precipitation for the month differed but slightly from the normal.

March generally showed a high rainfall, particularly over the North Island, some of the northernmost districts recording more than double the average. The weather during the greater part of the month was extremely unsettled, and temperatures were much below the average. In the beginning of the month a monsoonal low in the north impinged on an extensive high-pressure system passing further south. There consequently followed a remarkable steepening of the barometric gradient, and the mingling of the warm air-currents of the low-pressure system and the cold currents in front of the anticyclone resulted in considerable rainfall. On the 7th an extensive cyclone passed over the country, in conjunction with which was a westerly low pressure, the trough of which passed on the night of the 8th. Other causes of rainfall in March were three small westerly “lows,” and an ex-tropical cyclone whose centre passed to the northward of New Zealand. The latter was of considerable intensity, but owing to a “high” at this time being centred over the South Island it was not able to exert so unfavourable an influence as it would have done had the distribution of pressure made it possible for its centre to pass within these latitudes. On the last day of the month a well-defined anticyclone invested the country.

In April nearly the whole of the North Island and the east coast districts of the South had an excessive rainfall, a condition which was brought about chiefly by two cyclonic disturbances, one which passed off East Cape on the 15th, and the other an intense and extensive one whose centre crossed in the vicinity of Cook Strait on the 24th. From the latter date to the end of the month continuous westerly low pressure ruled, with very unsettled and at times stormy conditions.

May was remarkably free from disturbances of any extent, the controlling pressures being nearly all anticyclonic. Consequently fair weather was the characteristic feature of the month. Precipitation was everywhere considerably lower than the mean.

In contrast to the previous month, June was unsettled and wintry, and most districts experienced a large rainfall with the number of wet days greatly in excess of the average. Three extensive westerly low-pressure areas prevailed —viz, between the 1st and 10th, the 15th and 23rd, and from the 27th to the 30th; and a cyclone apparently passed eastward of East Cape on the 24th and 25th. The barometric range was excessive during the month, the highest pressure being 30·48 in. at the Bluff on the 10th, and the lowest 29·05 in. at Wellington on the 1 st.

The midwinter month, July, was remarkable for a persistence of easterly winds which accompanied three prolonged disturbances passing in the north, while the southern districts were under the influence of higher pressure. The southern and west coast districts in consequence experienced a considerable amount of fair weather. The only districts having a larger rainfall than the average were portions of the east coast of the North Island and the whole of the east coast of the South Island, and this, as before mentioned, owing to the remarkable prevalence of vapour-laden easterly winds. On several occasions a particularly high barometer reading was recorded, the maximum, 30·70 in., taking place at Oamaru on the 23rd.

Anticyclones chiefly dominated weather-conditions during August, between the 10th and the 27th the country hardly being free from them. Previous to the 10th, however, and again towards the close of the month, low-pressure systems were much in evidence. No particularly heavy rainfalls were recorded, and the total was generally below the average. Cold nights with frosts were numerous, the most severe occurring on the night of the 12th.

During the month of September the weather was dominated by an unusual number of low-pressure systems, anticyclones of a well-developed character being entirely absent, or else centred too far north to cause settled weather for an appreciable period. Westerly areas of low pressure were frequent and of an extensive and intense type, resulting in a predominance of high westerly winds, in consequence of which districts with a westerly aspect suffered a remarkably excessive rainfall, many stations recording more than double their average for the month. The eastern districts, on the other hand, particularly Canterbury and Hawke's Bay, recorded less than the usual amount. Between the 2nd and the 6th an ex-tropical cyclone passing in the north accounted for heavy rain at times in the northern and east coast districts, and misty and wet conditions generally. On the nights of the 14th and 16th, in conjunction with an extensive westerly “low” depressions of a secondary type caused severe thunderstorms in the vicinity of Auckland and Wellington respectively. Electrical disturbances were also experienced on several occasions during the middle of the month in Westland. Generally the month was one of squally and showery weather, most districts having, besides a larger rainfall, a greater number of rainy days than the average.

Again in October the type of pressure - distribution was such as to cause weather of an unsettled character, the longest period of fair weather generally being experienced between the 27th and the 30th, when the centre of an anticyclone passed over the northern half of the North Island. Between the 1st and the 16th the barometer was very unsteady and continually below normal in the South, accounting for a prevalence of northerly and westerly winds and changeable weather, particularly in the western districts. Of the depressions which passed near enough to unfavourably affect the weather-conditions of the Dominion the following were the most notable: (1.) A small but intense westerly “low” which passed over the South Island on the 15th and 16th, and caused heavy rain and floods in Westland and Southland. (2.) In the rear of the above a shallow cyclone made its appearance, the centre of which moved across the northern portion of the South Island on the 19th. Much mist and fog was experienced about this time, and heavy rain fell on the east coast districts as the trough passed to the east. (3.) A depression off East Cape on the 23rd and 24th. Very heavy rain fell in Hawke's Bay, and low-lying country in parts became flooded. (4.) On the 25th and 26th a steep V-shaped depression in its passage caused strong south-westerly gales in many parts of the country, accompanied by hail and heavy showers, with snow on the higher levels. This depression was the most striking one during the month, but its effect was of short duration, and the advance of an anticyclone brought a favourable change in weather-conditions. The total month's rainfall was excessive in all the east coast districts southward of East Cape and in the southern half of the South Island, but elsewhere less than the average amount was recorded. Several thunderstorms were experienced, especially in the Canterbury districts on the 1st, 2nd, and 31st.

The weather in November was a continuation of that experienced in October. On not one occasion was the atmospheric distribution such as to favour settled conditions. The nearest approach to such was between the 19th and 23rd, when a high-pressure system was in evidence, but although fair conditions ruled at this time cloudy skies were frequent and widespread. Precipitation was considerably above the average in the Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, and Wellington districts in the North Island, and slightly above in the east coast and southern districts of the South. Auckland and Westland generally recorded under the mean monthly fall. Heavy falls of rain were experienced over wide areas on the 4th, 23rd, and 26th. But generally the falls were not excessive, although the total number of wet days was above the average. The country was not for long free from the influence of depressions both of the westerly low and cyclonic type, although they were not at any time of great intensity.

December, the first summer month, was warm and fine, with an extremely small rainfall. A small cyclone passed in the neighbourhood of Cook Strait on the night of the 3rd, and westerly low pressure ruled between the 15th and 21st, the main trough passing in the south on the 19th, when a barometer reading of 28·85 in. was recorded at the Bluff. At this time heavy westerly winds were experienced.

The following shows the rainfall-stations that recorded the extreme maximum and minimum falls during the year, in a single month, and the maximum fall during a single day:—