AFTER TARAWERA

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 83, 5 October 1931, Page 8

AFTER TARAWERA

DEPTH OF CRATER

FAR BELOW TERRACE LEVEL

A COMPLETE BLOW-OUT

The story of how the Tarawera eruption of 1886 turned the old Eotomahana ~lake into a giant crater with a floor hundreds of feet below the level of the White and the Pink Terraces— and of how this crater, then 565 feet above sea-level, became filled with water by the surrounding drainage, until in 1912 Dr. Marshall reported a depth of 500 feet in the new and greater Botomahana —is full of tragic interest. An important contribution is that of Mr. H. Lundius, who remarks that if the Terraces still exist at their old 1886 level, they should be at about tho elevation of the present surface of Rotomahana. Mr. Lundius writes to the editor:— - A few lines from one who knew the locality both before and after tho eruption of 10th June, 1886, may be of a little interest to some 'of your readers, although the subject has been ably dealt with in letters from Messrs. M. Crompton Smith and G. N. Sturtevant. CRATER BOTTOM 600 FT BELOW TERRACES. According to a map compiled in December, 1886, the ' elevation of Lake Tarawera is given as 1032 ft above sea level. At a modest estimate the Terraces were at least 100 ft higher than the lake. This would give the elevation of the Terraces as 1132 ft above sea level. The eruption totally changed the contour of the country in that locality. What was Lake Botomahana became what we called Rotomahana crater, which measured about one and a half miles in diameter, and which had an area of just over two square' miles. The crater was surrounded by precipitous walls from 200 ft to 300 ft high. Below them were slopes and ridges leading to a central cavity with water in it. Whether this water waß hot or cold we did not ascertain, as it would have been too dangerous to go down to it, on account of the fumes and steam constantly emitted therefrom. ' The elevation of that small lake at the bottom of Botomahana crater was 565 ft above sea level, or 515 ft below the level of Lake Tarawera, or about 615 ft below the Terraces (if they had then existed). This, I think, shows conclusively that if the Terraces still existed in the position they occupied before the eruption they would be like Mahomed's coffin, "suspended in midair." THREE DAYS AFTER: CRATER SEETHING. , I may here state that I guided the first party that set put to find out the state of affairs in the vicinity of Eotomahana and the Terraces and tho site of the thermal upheaval. We reached the top of the Hape-o-toroa hill on Sunday, 12th June, 1886. From there we cpuld look down into what had once been Lake Rotomahana, but all we could see was a large basin from which enormous clouds of steam and smoke were emitted. In fact, it was what one would imagine Inferno to be. We caught only occasional glimpses of the' seat of the eruption, and could form no conclusive opinion as to what had taken place. A few weeks, afterwards I again visited Hape-o-toroa, this time as guide to Professors Brown and Thomas, of the Auckland University. The thermal activity of the Rotomahana crater was still very great, and we could not see much more than smoke and steam. Pro.-, fessor Thomas suggested going down closer to the crater, but this did not appeal to Professor Brown; he thought it too dangerous, so we. reluctantly returned; to our camp at Kaiteriria. ' Professor Thomas/then asked if I would guide him over the site of the thermal locality, .for the purpose of making- a closer inspection, of the activities; and I willingly consented to do so. On the 19th, July we left Rotorua and pitched our camp at Pareheru, the only place where we could get drinking water and fuel. A NEW LAKE. The following morning, 20th July, 1886, we started out early on foot, crossing the' floor and bottom of Rotomahana . crater,' where there still was considerable thermal activity. We had to cross several boiling streams, and passed numerous steaming holes. Wo also discovered a rather large lake' (we named it Rotomakariri, as the water was cold) at the. foot of Tarawera mountain. • We then.started to ascend the mountain, and got as far as the top rini of the Rift, which Rift had been blown out of the southern end of Tarawera mountain by the eruption. The Professor wanted to get right to the top, but when I told him that if we did go there it would mean spending the night on the mountain, he, much to my disappointment, deemed it advisable to return to our camp. It was then getting late, and I was anxious to cross an especially nasty wide boiling stream before dark. This we succeeded in doing, and reached our camp late at night. I can assure" you we enjoyed our tea after that strenuous day. The Professor was one of the gamest? little men I have met, and a real good sort— a"white man! JULY SURVEY—NO TERRACES. On the 27th July Mr. T. Percy Smith, Assistant Surveyor-General, of whose party I was one, made a thorough examination and survey of the area snbjected to the eruption. We, crossed and examined the bottom or floor of the large basin or crater, and camped one night in it, on the banks of a boiling stream, thtf water of which rose and receded with a great roar at frequent intervals, causing us some anxiety, as we did not know to what extent it would rise. There was the possibility that it would overflow the banks and wash our tent away and boil us all. However, this possibility did not eventuate, and we all were safe and Bound. I may mention that we had to cany our drinking water with us, as all water in the crater was unfit for drinking. We also had to carry poles for our tent. There was still a great deal of steam and smoke in the crater, so we could not examine it as well as if the atmosphere had been clear, but we all agreed then and there that no vestige of the Terraces was to be seen. TARAWERA— A LUCKY DEER The following day we ascended Tarawera mountain from, the ""rest; we were favoured by a" fine day, and eventually wo returned to our main camp at Pareheru. A week later Mr. Smith, Mr. Douglas (later editor of the Auckland " Herald"), and the writer ascended Tarawera from the east. As far as I can ascertain few (if any) have been up the mountain from that side. I omitted to mention that when going up on the west side, and about half-way up, we saw fresh footprints of a large animal, which we took to be a horse, but it was afterwards shown to be a deer, which, must have been in the bush on. the mountain side all that dreadful night of the eruption. We also saw. the stump of a totara tree, the trunk of which had been twisted from it and was found several yards lower down. This no doubt was done by a very strong wind. From the above it will be seen that I crossed Rotomahana crater six times, and I think I can claim to have had the opportunity of seeing tho Terraces,

cd. I may mention that tho position of'the Terraces had never been fixed by survey, as in those days the Maoris had a great -horror or dislike of a theodolite. Rightly or wrongly, they considered that once a-theodolite had been on the land, the land had passed from their possession. It is possible that when the Trig survey was made of the surrounding country the surveyor took cross-bearings to the Terraces. If this was done, their former position can be fairly accurately established. There was great thermal activity at the top of tho White Terrace and at the back of it. One of the vents was called "The Devil's Blow-hole." It emitted a continuous roar like a .ship's boiler blowing off steam. You could scarcely hear anyone speak close to it. There was also a fairly large mud flat, from which steam escaped and formed small mud cones like miniature active volcanoes. In conclusion, I wish to emphasise the fact that Rotomahana crater was noi; in existence before the eruption, but was caused by the eruption. The crater is now known as Lake Rotomahana. From the above facts, I think the only conclusion one can come to is that unfortunately the Terraces are gone. Even if there is any doubt on that point, the draining of the present Lake Rotomahana would not expose them, as they were at about the same elevation as the lake is now, according to the height given by Mr. Warbrick. The figures given in this letter are from the late Mr. S. Percy Smith's report on the eruption, written in 1886, and should therefore be unquestionably correct. .