George Leslie Adkin diary entry Wednesday 30 July 1919

Wed. July. 30

Weather dull + [threatening?]. Trammed from Winder’s Corner to Lyall Bay. Left [terminus?] at 9.30. Walked along beach towards east – it consists of sand with rounded scattered pebbles, + patches of pebbles with little sand. From

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NE [north-east] corner of bay struck inland passing through a narrow [belt?] of low dunes partly fixed with vegetation on to a broad sand flat somewhat undulating, the undulations trending north + south. Small patches of drifting sand dot the sand flat + in one small wind-cut channel were masses of burned stones with shells, evidently an old Maori oven. Crossed golf links to the projecting hill-spur on their eastern side. From its crest took a ¼ pl[ate] photo (1) of Miramar flat showing the former site of Burnham Water (now the site of Miramar gasworks) + the valley above same. A belt of low dunes of blown sand extends across the south-eastern part of the flat from the spur on which I stood to that near the tram-line, WNW [west-north-west] of the Seatoun tunnel. This sand-ridge has obstructed the drainage from Beacon Hill + the ridge running SW [south-west] from same?. Scots College is situated just east of the end of the spur on which I was standing. Followed the spur to the main hill-ridge overlooking Chaffers Passage + Dorset Point. This part of the coast is fringed by a raised shore-platform of rock + on it lies a raised beach (the 5ft beach of 1855) of gravel. This beach follows the windings of the shore. At one place I noted an inner line of gravel forming with the outer one, a loop

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round an extensive rock-skerry (now raised above tide). Inside the raised beach are the former sea-cliffs now well out of reach of the sea. A series of interesting slack-rocks of conical shape extend seawards from the extremity of Dorset Point. Took a ¼ pl photo (2) + (3) of the coastline showed the raised shore-platform + beach + Dorset Point + slacks, looking east. Followed the ridge + passed Beacon Hill Signal St[atio]n at 10.30. Descended a spur to the flat alongside tram-line near tunnel. This flat is a drained swamp + has a very dark soil capped by a layer of peat – it is the site of extensive Chinamen’s market gardens + I was informed that the peat has to be burned off before vegetables can be grown as it is too dry. The colour of the soil therefore appears to be due both to humus of the old swamp + to the burning of the peat. Trammed to the boundary of Miramar borough. At this point the tram-line runs past the end of a long tapering spur pointing south. About 5 chains south of the end of the spur there is an isolated hillock of greywacke + slate strata, now being quarried. Round the conical central part of this hill is a flat platform of country rock showing that sea once occupied the site of the

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flat + isthmus of Miramar. This took place when the Miramar hills were an island. The strata in the isolated hill are tilted to high angles, about 80° + also undulate a little. They consist of alternations of greywacke + slate, the former weathered to a yellow colour + the latter is but a little altered. The whole appears to be intersected by wide-spaced joints or perhaps minor faults. Followed a road up the tapering spur. A pond impounded by blown sand used to lie in the hollow between this spur + the one ending in Hemp Point, but there is no trace of it now. It’s [sic] former site is intersected by a street (in which there is a slight dip) + is completely built over. The blown sand also extends up on to the spur ending in Kemp P[oin]t. The shore of Lyell [sic] Bay was the source of the blown sand, whence it was blow on to Miramar flat and isthmus by the southerly wind. Some of the sand was drifted back again by the north-westers as shown by accumulations at the foot of the hills on the west side of Lyell [sic] Bay + also by two tongues of sand (which extend to the divide in one place) on the spur due south of the golf links.