WAIMANGU IN ERUPTION

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3043, 2 April 1917, Page 6

WAIMANGU IN ERUPTION

l_s.—: : TERRIFIC OUTBURST ACCOMMODATION HOUSE ' ( DESTROYED GUIDE AND FAMILY INJURED MUD SCATTERED FOR MILES AROUND ERUPTION CONTINUES The following message was' received from the Postmaster at Rotorua yesterday :— "It .is reported that a severe "eruption has taken place at Waimangu, and that the caretaker and his wife have been severely injured. Telephone communication is interrupted. 1 ' Later (5 p.m.). "Just returned from Waimangu. The whole place is a' scene of chaos and desolation.' Apparently the whole of Frying' Pan Flat' has been blown up. The guide's .house .is demolished, .only the walls standing. The roof was blown with. the. explosion,. ana. portion-.of' it carried quite five hundred yards away. The whole neighbourhood is covered with mud and.debrjs. i "Guide M'Cormick and liis wife were badly injured by the scalding m'ud falling upon them. They have been brought into Rotorua for treatment. 'The eruption commenced about six o'clook this morning, and still continues. Huge stones, tons m wpight, are being thrown up hundreds of feet in the air." A' similar message was received by Police-Commissioner J. O'Donovan 'from Sergeant Cummings,- at Rotorua. .THE LATEST TERRIFIC AND DISASTROUS ERUPTION By Telegraph—Press Associat-ion. Rotorua, April lyo.lo p.m. Information was received this morning, about half-past. eight o'clock, of a most terrific and disastrous eruption :that had taken place at .'Waimangu, resulting in the wreck of the Govern-' ment accommodation house, and. serious injury to the inmates, .Mrl' and Mrs. M'Cormick. and their child.' The news was brought'in by .Mr. William Wood; who has a selection in close proximity to the .great geyser. The resident officer, on learning that Sir. and Mrs. M'Cormick had bcon injured, procured a ihotor-car and made arrangements to proceed to' the scene, ■ accompanied by Dr. Osborne. • On the way out, when about - v balf way, a car was-met with the three injured people, and the doctor accompanied' them in to ltotorua,' where they were taken to .Nurse Glasson's private hospital, whero they are progressing as woll as( can bo expected. Guide M'Cormick is much scalded .about the bod.Vi face„.«nd hands. The child is. scaldetl about the face, while Mrs. M'Cormick is severely _ scalded all over, having evidently received the full brunt v of '.the awful blast that Wrecked the house. ■; Flying Pan Flat Blown Up. The eruption took place at 6.20 a.m., at which time the clock of* the house, stopped. .From what can be surmised, the whole of Trying Pan,. Flat must have erupted, and a blast of steain and mud swept up the valley, unroofed the house, parts of the roof having been driven a distance of 800 yards across the valley, 'and swept on to the ridge beyond. Everything in. the house seems to have been wrecked, the carpet having been blown up, and all articles overturned. A Miraculous Escape. Recovering .from the first shock of the outburst, the . inmates appear to have" taken refuge under the bed, but realising that the mud was being driven into the house, and fearing that the- exits would be jammed by tlie accumulation of ihojjuid, Mr. M'Cormick and. family, after much trouble, got clear of the building by the back door,it being impossible to face the fury of the steam, mud, and wind that was raging iu' the front of the building. Notwithstanding .her injuries, Mrs. 'M'Cormick started for the residence ofMr. Wood, to give the alarm, telephonic communication being impossible as the telephone was ■ wrecked. ■ Mr. Wood, seeing that more than an ordinary eruption had taken place; was proceeding in > the direction of the geyser, and picked Mrs. M'Cormick up, removing her to his home, where she was cared for by Mrs. Wood. In - the meantime, Mr. Wood returned for Mr. M'Cormick and the child. The surroundings at tlie. accommodation house indicated that the" force of the erup'tion niust have.J)fle_n .terrific, the roof of the verandah? having been blown off and lifted on to another knoll. The roof of the. main building was scattered all over tlie valley, and the ridges' adjacent, .'-U-lft escape of the inmates is nothing short of a miracle. "Hell Let Loose!" The soene of the eruption at Frying Pan Flat .resembled hell let loose. Mud, water, and steam were shot up to heights varying from 600 to 80U fe6t, black mud, red mud,stones, and steani of all colours were to be Been, and a remarkable sight was the immense blocks of stone being hurled an immense distance beyond the steam, and silhouetted io tlio wJiite steam in the background. Another ■ peculiar sight was the falling of what was no doubt stones, but they appeared to resemble a comet, or shooting stars,' having a brilliance like a comet. Mr. A. Warbrick, who, at tho instigation of the resident officer, proceeded to tlie scene of,tho eruption from Wairoa across Lakes Tarawera • and Rotomahana, is of opinion that , the whole of the Flat, some forty acres in extent,-has blown out, and, so' far as he could sec, he considers that the Gibraltar Rock has also erupted. Tlie country to the south of Waimangu for a distance of about throe miles is covered with a dirty whitish sand or mild, 'all vegetation being smothered. The force of the steam and wind can be gauged from the manner in which the fprn has been swept down and levelled to'the ground. The configuraton of the Flat will be altered entiroly, and it is not likely that thero will be any "round trips" for time, .the tracks through the Flat forming a portion o£ the land embraced by tho eruption. Rotorua Goes out to See the Sight. Hundreds of the residents of Rotorua travelled to Waimangu to witness the eruption. Commencing evidently at 6120 a.m., at the time they loft the spot everything was still very active. The roaring of the escaping steam was heard at somo distance. It is estimat-

Ed that the damage to the Government Accommodation House is much greater than that to M'Crae's Hotel during tlie eruption of Tarawera thirty-one years ago. After seven hours there appeared to be as much power behind the mud as at the start. Mr. M'Cormick will oe a heavy loser, as the fur-' niture and effccts at the house were his property. Much sympathy is felt for i him and liis family. It was only on Thursday last that he returned from a holiday, and yesterday many visitors .took the round trip, and passed over tlie ground that erupted this morning. Several were out and viewed the scene . of desolation and expressed their gratei»!ncss Mi.it the eruption did not take place while they were on their journey ' across the Flat. THE SCENE OF THE ERUPTION., j SHOW PLACE OF THE FAMOUS '' "ROUND TRIP." 1 The great geyser of Waimangu and i X ljing Pan JjJat are botli well loiown i to 'round-trippers" at Rotorua. The famous "round trip," after passing the two small lakes, takes tho visitor to the shores of Lake Tarawera, where tho i Government launch is boarded. Then ' follows a delightful trip to uhe bead i of the lake, near which, on the right is seen the locality of a Ahori village that, with its small population, was [ buried beneath the lava- and debris of '] - the great eruption of Mount Tarawera' 30 odd years ago. After leaving the i launch the party of round-trippers fel- ] ■ lows the guide up over the saddle and I down to the shores of Lake lictoma- • > liana, ail opaque-blue dead-loojting sliest - of water, conveying the aspect of indescribable desolation. Tho contrast between the two lakes is really striking.- At tho crest of the saddle the > visitor sees, to tlie left, the great luje [ that was ripped out of Mount Tara- , : wera at the time of the eruption. An- , • other and! smaller launch is boarded for ' the' trip up Lake Rotomahana, pr.es- | ing en route the ruins of the famous ' Pink and White Terraces. A'- short : walk, with' a stiffish clib, brings the party to Frying Pan Flat and the big geyser of Waimangu. Tho "Flat" it- ! self is a fair-sized area, very hot under foot in places, and bubbling and sizzl- , 1 ing everywhere with the manifestations ; of the mighty energy underneath. The < I great geyser, whiehwas one of the show places of Rotorua during the period of | its regular habits, when it nssd to play \ nearly every day ( has been quiescent r for a long time. Recently it maniL fested a return of its former spectacular activity -and threw some splendid shots.