Book Title: Indian Antiquary Vol 58
Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications
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JULY, 1929) REMARKS ON THE ANDAMAN ISLANDERS AND THEIR COUNTRY
The scenery of the islands is everywhere strikingly beautiful and varied, and the coral beds of the more secluded bays in its harbours are conspicuous for their exquisite assortment of colour. The scenery of the harbours has been compared to that of Killarney by Professor V. Ball, and no doubt they do recall the English Lakes. One view of Port Blair Harbour is strongly reminiscent of Derwentwater as seen from the Keswick end.
The whole of the Andamans and the outlying islands were completely surveyed topographically by the Indian Survey Department under Colonel J. R. Hobday in 1883—, and a number of maps on the scale of two miles to the inch were produced, which give an accurate coast line everywhere and astonishingly correct contours of the inland hills, considering the difficulties presented by the denseness of the forests with which they are covered. For Port Blair and neighbourhood a series of maps on the scale of four inches to the mile were made.
The exact latitude and longitude of Chatham Island in Port Blair Harbour were determined astronomically by Mr. Nicholson of the Great Trigonometrical Survey in 1861 : latitude 11° 41' 13' N.; longitude 92° 42' 44' E. The marine surveys of the Andamans date back many years, and one can go back to the days of Ritchie (1771) and of Blair and Moorsom (1788
-96) for partial charts which are still usable. Brooker's surveys of 1867 added much knowledge about Port Blair, but the serious dangers of the western coral banks were not removed by surveys till 1888-9 under Commander A. Carpenter, when a great advance in the charts generally was made. His general chart was that in use at the Census (1901), corrected by subsequent surveys up to 1899. The coasts on the whole are fairly well charted, but some most necessary work still remains to be done before a voyage round these dangerous coral-bound coasts can be said to be free from anxiety. It is, however, worth noting that the long standing notice on charts that “the dangers of the coast of the North Andaman have not been surveyed " has been at last removed, and that the Coco Channel has been made safe for ships.
(l) Meteorology. The Meteorology of the Andaman Islands is of more than local value, and owing to the great importance of the information to be obtained there as to the direction and intensity of cyclonic storms and as to weather prognostications generally as regards the eastern and northern portions of India, a well appointed meteorological station has been established at Port Blair on Ross Island since 1868.
Two very serious considerations for commerce are involved here : viz., timely and reliable warnings of storms in the Bay of Bengal and reliable weather forecasts. Accuracy in storm warnings and weather forecasts depends on the establishment of a number of meteorological reporting stations all over a given area of sea and land. It is therefore not sufficient for accurate warnings and forecasts to have meteorological stations round the Bay; they must be also established, if practicable, within it. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands can provide a number of such stations right across the Bay from north to south.
The great importance to commerce of weather forecasts brought about repeated attempts to connect the Andaman Islands with the continent by telegraph, as otherwise the meteorological obarvations have merely a scientific value, being received in India too late for practical purposes. In 1867 a serious attempt at a cable to Port Blair failed owing to the initial and maintenance costs involved and also the hilly nature of the sea-bottom about the islands. After 1900 the question was reopened, and a connection of the islands with India by wireless telegraphy established.
Spoaking gonerally, the climate of the islands may be described as normal for tropical islands of similar Intitude. Warm always, but tempered by pleasant sea breezes: very hot when the sun is northing: irregular rainfall, but usually dry during the north-east monsoon and very wet during the south-west : exposed to both monsoons and subject to violent weather with excessive rainfall, but to cyclones rarely, though within the influence of practically overy oyolone that blows in the Bay of Bengal, hence the value of the islands from a
