THE SNOWFALL.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16257, 6 July 1918, Page 8

THE SNOWFALL.

COUNTRY THAWING OUT.

RAILWAY TRAFFIC IMPEDED

Very littlo information has yet como in fiom the back country districts as to the snowfall, as telephonic communication with nearly all stations is interrupted. Mr W. Nicholls was able to get into communication with Tarndnlo and Molesworth stations, in tho Nelson province, and learned that the snowfall was not nearly so heavy as further south, only two feet being'recorded.

Word came to hand yesterday T>y road that there was a heavy fall of snow on the country between Hundaiee and Greenhills, but the actual depth was not known. Mason Hills, Wa:au, reported 18 inches, and there was ia similar depth at Hawarden and Medbury, but efforts to get into touch wtih stations further back were unsuccessful. It is reported, however, that several woolsheds in the district had had their roofs broken in with tho weight of snow. At Castlo Hill, on tho West Coast road, it was reported that there was about 4 feet of snow.'

The snowstorm was very severe m the Mount Somers district, where there had bee;i a fall the previous week. From 3 feet to 5 feet is reported, while further back Lalco Heron reported only IS inches. At Mount Possession there was 5 feet, Hakatere 3 feet, and Clent Hills 4 feet.

A good thaw 'fee't in yesterday under the influence of the warm sun, and in the Mount Somers district the depth of snow was reduced by about a foot-. The weather, however, looked threatening further back, and word came through from Mount Somers last evening that further snow from the northwest was feared. At Lake Coleridge there was also a good thaw yesterday. The fall of snow at the lake was much less than it was further down! . LAKE COLERIDGE SUPPLY. "

"Everything is 0.K., the line is working smootldy," reported the official in charge of the Addington eubstation, when auestioned by a "Press" reporter last evening, as to whether any troublo haJ been experienced with tho south transmission line from Lake Coleridge during the day. Enquiries niado at tho City Council station elicited tho same response. Efforts are now being made to get provisions and material through to tlio Lake, and Mr L. Birks, the Chief Government Electrical Engineer, wont out to Hororata yesterday to direct the organisation. Mr A R. Blackwood's party from Lako Coleridge, in company with Mr Boris Daniels, reached Hororata yesterday from Brackendale, after oiitting a track through. Mr Blackwood subsequently left for Coalgate, where lie stayed the night. He is going to work up the north line to the Lake to look for faults. Messrs G. P. Ferguson and C. P. Agar have reached the Round Table hut, about five miles above Coalgate. This morning two men with two hacks and two pack horses will leave Hororata with the intention of i\tt(mpting to push through to Lake Coleridge with provisions;

It is understood that the Canterbury Aviation Company is fixing tho engine and body of an aeroplane on to runners Tthich will skim along the snow, and in this way it is expected to reach Lake Coleridge. It is hoped to make the attempt to-morrow.

THE JOURNEY ON SKIS. An interesting account of his journey towards Lake Coleridge on skis was given to a representative of "The Press" by Mr Boris Daniels last night. Mr Daniels, who is a Russian, is in the employ of the Public "Works Department. The skis i which were lent to him, wore those used by Captain Scott in the Antarctic. He reached Hororata on Wednesday nighty and was anxious to push on, but Mr Birks sens a message forbidding him to take this risk. At about 8.30 next morning Mr Daniels commenced his 'ong trip, and was soon swallowed up in a vast expanse of white. He did net run all tho time, stopping occasionally to look at tho line, ill which he coiilu find no faults. The snow was-mostly 3 feet deep, but it gave him no trouble. The fences were no obstacle, hone being more than about a foot above the snow* and he was able to jump them. Tho journey was practically uphill all the time.

"Passing the Brackondalo telephone liut," said Mr Daniels, "I met two people 011 horses. The animals were very much exhausted, tind the men themselves looked tired. They carried practically the same message as I did, and I took theirs as well as mine! Ihey had been trying for two days to get through to the lake. Sortie miles further on I met at the highest point of the transmission line Mr Blackwood, chief of the Lake Coleridge stair, and handed him both messages. He went td the Point telephone hut, and sent a message through to Ohristchurch. Later he and two other men, all on horses, journeyed with trie back to tho Brackendale hut, and we spent the night at a fanners homestead. In the moraine w/A? nt n? n , t0 Hororata, and hcr e I left Mr Blackwood and met Mr Birki who took hie in his motor-car to feho Addingtoh sub-station." Mr Daniels sajd ho did not feel the cola when running on his skis, and, indeed the case was so much the joverse that when he met Mr Blackwood par K oa ?- of the first he dldwft s to .divest himself 0 f his overcoat and give it to ono of tho horsemen. He had to travel over diffiin ?i i Ces ' nn d was somewhat handicapped by the fact that the po.es winch he used in conjunction with the skis were not of the regulation pattern, but made of bamboo, and shod with cast-iroti. ' ®" rin r '"'a trip Mr Daniels observed fP buried in the snow, many with the tips of their noses only showing. but still alive. There were also many hares and rabbits to be seen mostly m the plantations. Some of the farmers were trying to get shoeD m small flocks to the haystacks The country, , e said,- looked very beautiful and the skv was ver v clear. He learned that tobacco had become very Scarce at Coleridge, and added, with a smile, that Mr Blackwood had been qm.e pleased to obtain an old piece of tobacco which had probably been lvih<r in dust for years. ' " D

THE TELEGRAPH SERVICE. , Yesterday tho Telegraph Department had the use of another wire t 0 Wellington via the West Coast, the linesmen getting it m working order during the afternoon. It is not antiji.that furthei* repairs on this route will be effected till early next week. Prospects are not good with regard to the other lines. Gangs got through from Kaikoura to Hundalee yesterday, and the lines were also restored between Waipaj-a and Parnassus. The main break is now between Parnassus and Hundalee. The Kaikoura lines are in/a very bad state. The pole 3 have been snapped, bent, or uprooted,! and many wires are lying under two feet of snow. In some cases the gang cut down bluegum trees, and set them up as temporary poles. For 18 miies south of Kaikoura temporary repairs have been effected. A message was fpt through to Cheviot last night, wheieas only Kaiapoi could be reached on Thursday. Line parties in the! "NVeka Pass continue to experienco great I difficulty owing to the snow. I

THE RAILWAYS. ' From information obtained from Railway Traffic Department yester&j* : it seems that tho position as regards the railway services is about tho bwq b Yesterday an engine and van was got up to Glentiinnel in the morning £14 back to Darileld, but a good deal of ' trouble is still experienced on thii lino which, from C-oalgato to White! cliffs, is still in tho grip of tho frost Hie Oxford lino is also closed for the present, as tho railway station yard in still snowed up.. The Methven and - Mount Somers lines aro clear. Xha latest advices stato that trains unable to get past Springfield, the line beyond being icebound. The gangs at work towards Arthur's Pass are teW much troubled by water percolating over tho lines and fivezing hard at nignt. making tho clearing of the liri« a matter of great difficulty. It i« said tliat, fronerallv speaking, passeb. ger traffic except to Whitecliffs (W ford, and past Springfield is almoH normal. There are still some inter ruptions to goods traffic, but not of a very serious nature. The Waipara-P ar . nassus lino is clear, but there wta trouble on the Waikari-Culverden line owing to mishaps and snow. *

IN THE COUNTRY. Heavy frtfsts expcrioncod bit Lad brooks on Wednesday and Thursday nights, and fino weather is again being experienced. Local farmers hnvo started putting in crops, ctc. Tho district was not visitod by the recent snowstorm, and, in spite of the continuous ram during tho last week, very little damage has been done by water awl only then in tho very low-lying country.

On Thursday afternoon the train from Mpthven to Kakaia brought down a strange freight, consisting of seven large trucks piled high with snow. In' ordor to clear the Methven yard, this snow had to be sent down tho line to be disposed of. Tho trucks were emptied opposite tho Loan and Merv cnntilo Co.'s offices, and the huge heap has proved a source of attraction, and provided much amusement for old and young. Yesterday morning a party of commercial travellers held a battle, and, Inter, tho Kakaia school children had a glorious time. All hands that could bo mustered woro taken u p the lmo on Friday to assist in clearing operations. The Department is taking enly perishable goods for stations ftom Lyndhurst to Methven till the yards aro cleared.

Although tho stem has abated in tho Waddington district, the weather prevents any estimate of the loss of stock to bo made. The snow is still •very deep, and now that it is frozteh hard, it will bo some time before it gets awnv. All journeys are made oh horseback, it being almost impossiblo to get vehicular traffic through the snow. Scarcely a homestead •in the district has escaped some damage. Even the latest-biiiit residences havo had th# spout intr destroyed, or partly so, - whilp older residences hare been very much damaged. Verandahs on every hand ore broken in, and stables aha outbuildings present, in many instances, a pitiable sight. Where one stable fell j;n, a horse received' a broken leg. It ■was not till midday on Thursday thfit the train succeeded in getting through ! to Sheffield. Men are working assiduously on the railway and telegraph services, nnd it is hoped to have things back to normal in tho near future. A Mayfleld correspondent writes that the tenant snowstorm was similar to the one in 1903, when about 2 feet of snow ffcll, and remained ort tho ground for some weeks., The present fall, ho#over, was more gradual, and was followed by rain. Thoro was a debth bf 13 inches in the township, but two miles below in the Li smote district, tho fall was only seven inches. Farthers •; are hard put to it to provide sustenance for their sheep, and water-race '<• ploughs ore being used to clear the:' snow from the turnips. The Waipdra-Culverden line is clcftr, but thero seems to bo something atoiiSjM on the Waikari-Culverden liiid, lor nothing has been hoard of the north ex- ; ; press _ since sho left Waikari yesterday morning. It is assumed that she has met with a mishap or is frostbound somewhere north of Wnikari. _ T 0' lr Oxford correspondent writing oh Wednesday afternoon/hays:—This snow-' storm is tho heaviest known in tho hisof Oxford. At East Oxford at nino \ 0 clock yesterday it measured 26 inches deep; further west, and on the higher \ altitudes it was deeper. Though sho# < continued to fall during' tho greater, part of the day, there \vas a considerable thaw, So it did not increase. Mtich damage has been done in all directidnd. No guttering or spouting was stfohg enough to support the pressure of twb„V feet of snow on the houses, and every- '' where it is dow™. Vornndnlis also Btlf- ; fered. 'These of the N.Z. Farmers' Obop. and Messrs Alford and Jones frith ' damagMand the verandah of the East i. Oxford Hotel collapsed. Outbuildings • that were not substantially built sutfor- • ™ c ? r h s I l^cr^'yi I' is stilt snowing ott 1 the hills. The back country mu&t.be/ in a serious plight, the snowfall being* measured by feet. There was no ritif-, way traffic yesterday, but to-day, after much difficulty, an engine got atfhy. As all telephono and telegraph toiree a "«°ffn the district is isolated. snow which fell during Sunday J 11 ?,. ,on Monday ahd Tuesday et- ■■ tablished a record for the South Mai- - vem district. At Cdalgato the snowfall measured about 18 mcneß, at Glentunnel over two feet, while at Whitecliffa ' the fall was Still heavier. Work at the coalmine has been suspended for three days owing to tho tramline becoming imi Gang 6f men was put on on Thursday to clear it. Tho damage - Klone bv the snow appears to be oon- . • sider&ble. Almost fcverv house in Glen- ■ tunnel has been stripped of its spoliting owing to the enormous weight of snow • ' slipping from the roofs. Chimneys ' built on the outside of walla have been < pushed bodily over, ana at the pottery - the roofs of same of the drying shetu ' collapsed under tho weight of the snow. 1 olograph poles are down in all dire - tions, while at Ooalpate the wires of the • ivake Coleridge/transmission line are reported to be lying on the ground. The v ; first mails from Chrlstchurch for the week reached Glcntuhiiel bh Wednesday ' evening, a railway engine which haa , been blocked at Coalgato since Monday way slowly up t<> - Whitecliffs, with two men on the tiowcateher to clear the snow which kept blocking the wheels. To travel any dis-'- >■ tance on foot is almost an impossibility, - the snow reaching to well over a man's' \ knees, and the schools of the district * have been closed for throe days. No ' news has been received here of tne back country, nnd anxiety is felt for tha safety of flocks, among which mortality 1 is sure to be high. Trees have suffered. j badly by b?ing broken denm by the weight of siow, the fine weeping wil- ■ lows in the Glcntunnel Domain especially faring badly. The weather has 1 cleared, but a hard froßt has set in.

MACKENZIE COUNTRY,

(special to "thb press.")

TIMARU, July 5. ■ The Mackenzie country run hold ers'ar# << at present having a very streiluous ti«W f. endeavouring to save their sheep, ana it is ronorted that up to £2 a clay is. i-; beinjr offered for competent snowrakeri. The Mackenzie County Council's men f' got to work with the snow plough bo- f fore the snow stopped falling, and have f ■ opened up tracks along tho main ani J; most of the branch roads between Fairlie and Tekapo. It was. expected thao they would reach Tekapo 'with th® ploughs to-night. These tracks aro onabling flockowners to get their sheepi down country to feed. So long as sheep do not"eat each other's wool they will live for a month or six weeks with- .L'j out feed, snowed up as many thousandr £ £ of them are At present. . '>!» Messrs Neville and Turner, of Stock Department, visited Fiirlie day and oonferrod with members of th# . Mackenrfo County Council, who «»■ '^1

Icd, on behalf of the runholders. that the Government should give free Tailage for the sheep from Fairlio to any part of South Canterbury, and that the Government should supply Jiny at cost jrice. A good mnfiy flocks of sheep aro now •-en their wny down country to food, but |t unfortunately hnpnens that turnii> tf;ops are few and far between this winter. The work of getting the sheep out L «f the snow is more difficult than usual | awing to .=o jv»:my of the best men for - ' this puroo;-o being at the front or in i camp. '' Tne president of tho South Canfer- \ bury CbamliT "f Commerce has teln- - grnphed to tli? Minister of Agriculture asking him to provide free railage for stock which has to be sent down'coun- I tir on account of the snow. That there I will be con -iderable niTtalitv among the | hill flocks U c"rt.v'n, but it i« impos<= : blo I jet to ascertain the full extent of this.

A DESOLATE SCENE

VISIT TO CULVEIiDEX

(dy orr. c rr.ci.VL keporteu.)

Enveloped 'in clouds of snow on each side as it daslw.l along, the North Canterbury train i'roin Cliristchurch steamed into Culverden an hour after schedule tiiro on Thursday, and btislnesa places—even tho fiot^ls—iYi Culver's ' den, closed down for. the occasion, for tha township had been cut off froi*. all communication from tho outside woi'H sinco tbo snowstorm first began at the end of last week. With the aid of an extra engine from Waikari, the train ha*! little difficulty in getting through, foi the snow was then soft, and those who saw its arrival state that it was one of tho prettiest sights they have ever seen. Tho engin.es, it may !«e mentioned, were quito invisiblo to tho passengers, such was tho cloud of snow they raised. Naturally, mai] s and papers were eagerly sought after, the residents having been thrco or four days • , in the dark ns regards outsido news. Sestorday, however, matters Hero not . 80 nlscc rful. Tho train ieit * ; 5 : as usual at 9.60 a.m., ami SKfet? AVaikari and liawarden practica)!sifi|rv|3n}o, but then trouble eonimeflfcaff. - A big engine had been added the train to see It safely through th o Weba Pass, which was negotiated without difficulty, but, unfortunately as it proved, the usual stop was made at Ualmoral, with the icsult that the train was quite unablo to start again. Tho heavy snowdrift and the ico which hnd formed on tho lines proved formidable barriers, and it was not until ono engine had gone on by itself and cleared tho lino to Culverden, thnt a start wds at just on two hours after schedule time. But that was only half ' UD .' rc tnrn train to' • Christchurch was timed to leave Culverden at 3.20 p.m., but in shunting hack to tho city end of the carriages, both engines went off the line and nil hands wore called to help in 4i™inrr i them out of tho snow, placing tlicTn on IhOJl hO Ji ne o' * tC '' with tho result that it Was 9.45 p.m. before a stnrt was mada on tho homeward journey with one engine and two carriages only—the I • tram arriving j n Christchurch at 1.40 a.m. , , ] From Rangiora onwards North Can- ' ttfbury presents a scene of desolation. I Thdreis still snow scleral inches thick, J far fls tho eye can reach, with tho white clad mountains on both sides as a fitting background. Hero and there i can'be seen mobs of cattle nibbling at ? haystacks, and flocks of sheen wan'dor- .1 "iff.aimlessly about in search- t)*f the food J thtey cannot reach. Hares nnd I ffrcjrowis-rnu»sr. be seen in erahirT'olonit* J iookiilg for green food, which is denied 5 them, and disconsolate hawks and mng- I pios ard t6 be desdHgd perched ruefully J on posts itld fetices. The telegraph line? S : are still down ofl the greater port of j ; tho line, and oiio. canhot but wotidef V | at tho strength of the snow which j | counts such nugo poets' as nought, nnd i\ I levels them to the ground. From j i Waikari northwards corrimiinidation' is j\, quite cut off. Various serious slipSj in- j temipting the road, have beett reported V round about Waipara, while in .tho jj Waikari district various runholclers are reported to have lost Severely by the j) collapse of wool sheds and other build- £j ingj. though details are as yet meagre, g Cmlvorden, tne end of tho line, is still under from 16 to £2 inches of | enow, and no ono in the district cai reriicmber any previous fall to equal tin ofle ( which visited the country at th< beginning of the present week. Ai far as telegraphic and telephonic com mnnication is concerned the town ii completely cut off. Aftor two or three lajs of isolation, the Residents begitr in fear as regards provision, but rtov that the triun is making its waj through silpplie'S of bread are being ob tained. The Cvtlverdfen Hotel relies oil i AValau. butcher i for its me&t, but • naturally has received nobe from him, - so to supply demands neighbouring < settlers are slaughtering, thoir sheep. BfliSf, bf course, is a quite impossible 1 laiUry. It may be mentioned tnat the W&an butcher referred to endeavoured : to get through with a light cart on . Thttrsday, but got as far as the Waiau station 9nly, a distance of one miloy a&d could got no further. As yet, communication with the big < rtlhs in the back country is absolutely ; cut off, and practically ho news is avail- . able, though it is certain that there hai been a very heavv loss of stock. • ' On Thursday mortifng, about weight o'clock, Mr E. Breckon, a member oJ the staff of Mr Mockett, who runs the motors from Culverden 'to fianmer, set out from Hanmer in an endeavour to reach Culverden with maita. Ho com-

menced his journey oti a horse, which Ae knocked up on the way. Borrowing . another, he.ftmde his way into Cuh*eroen. iafter having walked more than jurtr; the . distance, and knocKed both ; nipself and the other horse np in the attempt. Tho journey was not accompluhed till well after nino o'clock at «gbt 4 and Mr Breckoii's arrival \V;iB < &eited with well-merited cheers in volverden. Speaking to a "Press" reKesentative yesterday, Mr .Breckon, Vno, by the way 1 , is ji partial cripple, I? in Hanmer was Jfy black. Supplies were running I® 1 ? low, especially at the Queen Mary §J*ospital and as vehicular communica•gon could not be restored for soma sJJBA tb come, prospects •tfrere tlin re-j '"f cheerful; sleat, ho Eai3, had though not iri largo from the neighbourhood j residents had hardly enough >while the stocks of flour itfmoafc completely , riin out. Inciflßntallyf" Mf. remarked that JUanoer was under three or four feet £fflow t arid, although no information Mailable, it was Known that losses Tjwlii etc., in the district would bo : W obnsiderable. Tho whole _ vefahWl of Mr Dodds'a large emporium in wuitfeijj by the way, has been comlevelled. forpofal from tho Queen MiirV Hosgave similaf details. In addition fc that the hospital's wiiter {"BMy hod become frozen, and .two 1 weilt down to the reservoir w> matters, with the result that were sribWed iri, and ** n^cr ® in the morn ' n g it 5.39 o'clock Mr of Culverden, set oiit oil foot trfth mails, arid the last ISSS him waa that he bad breakMontrose, some • eight miles B*2o o'clock. Endeavours IBjg?k bo made to-day to get througn Ikjv; yith mails to Waiau, which is jjggjfttely cnt off. 40 men emnkorad Ik Pnb>

lie Works Department on the Cnlver-cen-Waiau line have been tillable to .work at nil since Saturday, and are campotl in Culverden. They state that u *' no congregation of rabbits and hare? a great boon, as they form practically their only means of sustenance.

As an instance of the hardships that nave to be met. it may be mentioned •ii t" n ,flr 'y .iu Oulverdon was seriously ill last evening. A local resident set out for Ttotberhnm, about eight miles distant for the doctor, but little hop© wns held oiit that the doctor would bo able to make his way through.

ICE IN OTAGO HARBOUR

(special to "ttie nUESS."\

DUNEDIN, JuTy 5. .severe frosts am "icing experienced in Duncdin. For the first time for many 3'ears thoro was a thin coating of ice on the water in the vicinity of the wharvps this morning.

SN'OW AT BEALEY. to the tnnoa ov "tiiu tress."

Sir, It will be interesting to know what tho snow depth was at Bealey. I S e°iQ?o o,t * recort^s that Juno and July ° tli ' VOrc uot ' sn °wy, and intensely cold. In Juno, there wore 23 days of rim, the maximum 1.83 in. on the 29th. In July it was snowy, and intensely cold throughout, snow falling on nine days, to 10th, when 3rt Oin lay on the ground, and it wns the heaviest recorded at that station. The greatest rainfall was registered for Julv 28th, 3.75 inches. The tinniest frosts for many years prevailed. *ru S kat y finr the terious floods at Chanevs corner washed out some miles in length of the ballasting, and, ultimately, as a result of the continued inundations of tho land at the South \Yoiniakanri railway bridge, the Railway Department proceeded with the erection of the Stewart's Gully bridge, which now takes the main body of the \yaimakariri river on to the sea.— lours, etc., J.L.W.