LARGE LANDSLIP IN WELLINGTON.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 21 August 1901, Page 4

LARGE LANDSLIP IN WELLINGTON.

Collapse off a Concrete Wall.

House Lifted ofi its Foundations.

(special to “star.”)

Wellington This Day.

The collapse of a concrete wall, and a considerable slip of land, caused great excitement hero last night.

A wall about 60ft high, sft thick at the base, and a foot thick at the top, had been built to retain a bank upon which the residence known as “Hour View” is situatedi The concrete had barely set, and the wall, under pressure of the moisture-laden banks burst, and several tons of earth crashed down on to the buildings below. Mr J. T. Glover’s house of six rooms> which is eighteen yards from the wall, was lifted off its foundations, and carried forward six or seven yards. It brought up against an adjacent engineering shop, into which the front rooms were driven one or two feet. Miss Daisy Glover and an infant were in one of the front rooms, iMr and Mrs Glover having left the house a few minutes earlier. After the first shock Miss Glover went to the back of the house to see the damage, and, while there, a second slip occurred, smashing through the back rooms, and burying her up to the waist in earth, debris, and broken timber.

Attracted by the girl’s screams, Constable Mahoney effected an entrance by a window, with some difficulty, and released her. The infant was also got out of the house. The back portion was completely destroyed, and the remainder was knocked quite out of shape. Some damage was also done to the engineering shop. Andrew Compton’s sash and door factory suffered a good deal, and several tous of concrete and dirt fell on the timber stack. The back of the factory itself was knocked about eighteen inches out of plumb, and, besides this, some machinery was displaced.

Altogether, the damage done is considerable, and the slip will necessitate a large amount of work before the debris is cleared away, and the hank rendered firm and safe.