During the last six months the sea has gradually encroached upon the
lighthouse and cottages at this station, quite 150 feet of the bank in
front of the lighthouse having disappeared. The sea, on three occasions,
washed some of the piles from under the superintendent's house. With
high spring tides the water touches the base of the lighthouse on the
north-west side; and as the spit to the south-east is now moving away,
it would appear more than probable that if any further encroachment
takes place the buildings will be surrounded with water, when their
position will be most critical. There was nothing abnormal in the state
of the tide when the greatest encroachment took place, and the
disappearance of the bank which formerly protected the buildings can
only be accounted for by the soft and yielding nature of the sand which
underlies an apparently hard and compact surface. I visited Cape Bowling
Green twice within a month, and the changes wrought during the interval
of my visits were remarkable. On the first occasion a bank of sand 6
feet high, with a row of cocoanut trees about eight years old, extended
some 150 feet in front of the buildings. On my last visit the whole of
this bank, together with the cocoanut trees, had disappeared, and the
sea at high water was washing under the superintendent's house and
within a few feet of the lighthouse. I consulted on the spot with the
Harbour Master (Mr. Hughes), the Inspector (Mr. Pethebridge), and the
Superintendent (Mr. Cole), all of whom have been acquainted with the
place for the last seventeen or eighteen years, with the object of
selecting a new and more eligible site. Such, however, does not appear
to exist. The lighthouse and apparatus are in good order, and the
cottages, with the exception of that occupied by the superintendent, are
in fair condition.