An analysis is made of the occurrence of high sea levels at Bluff from records of the high tides (52 in all) that exceeded an arbitrary level during a period of nearly 6 years from 1951 to 1956. The high sea levels usually occurred at times of low atmospheric pressure. but in most cases the recorded level exceeded the predicted level by an amount which was one to two times the head of water corresponding to the deficiency in atmospheric pressure below a mean value. This behaviour is ascribed to the effect of wind.