IN A DUST STORM

Gisborne Times, Volume LXX, Issue 11130, 13 February 1930, Page 7

IN A DUST STORM

11ARE0 WJ NG ENPJSHIENCES. C'LOUDS LIKE BREAKERS. Wluit is described as the worst dust-storm suico 1902, at Caxwra TuuK' New Bdutli Wales, oOb utiles west of Svduey, occurred on November 20. Mr. A. Id. Orr, missionary at the Aborigines Camp, thus- describes tlio scene : “From early morning a strong wind was blowing, .taking huge clouds of dust up into the air. -It gradually grew worse during the day, and we hardly ever saw the sun. The heat Was terrific. AA; about 3.45 pun. 1 was, with a, com-; minion, writing m a schoolroom, when wo became conscious ol: a .strange and very wiei’d \allow light. Wo continued writing tiiit- 1 ! about 1 p.m., but the light became so bud we bad to stop ■ “W'e went . outside to. see wJiat w as doing'and on looking up w,ere amazed to see huge clouds of dust in the shy rolling and tumbling about like .tremendous ocean breakers In a few minutes..Wo saw.: a lnme wall,of dust along tke whole ol 4 1,0 v.uiLhwest horizon (about a ; mile oAviiyt and advancing very quickly.; We decided after n Ifeu; isecbnds. to make for our ermn ab-ut alt;- yards rwray, but be lore, we could get there f#bO AVcIH IVtIS on US. “I’ll never forget it—it was amaz_: ing. astounding, awful, fearsome : cached cur camp, hut thought it

might he blown down upon us, as | the wind was nothing short ol fifty miles an hour. ,so taking our coni'- ! age in both hands, we decided to' make a dash back: to school. “.We; started. Then conditions got; worse, 1 we nearly choked—could not breathe see, or hear, so thick Were 'the dust ■ and sand. My companion and J. took hands, for we dare not separate, j hut L could not even see him, nor! could he see me. W e groped blind-! Jv forward, bulleted and tossedi by the wind, trying to find our way to the school. We passed a tree, pud just, as we did a huge branch: came crashing down behind us. We: heard it but did not see it. Alter l a couple :• of minutes that seemed like years we reached the schoolhouse, exhausted and just, about .“all in,’’ Others were sheltering: there, j too. Many of the aboriginal women | were in tears, arid the men weroi as glum as could be. . |

"The stonri and darkness lasted lor about half. an. hour;, then suddenly there was a heavy shower of rain, the air cleared more or Less, and. the storm had passed, leaving a cool 20-mi.le-au-hour breeze behind.

."Oh! .The scene that met our eves. Across the very yard we j had come huge sheets of galvanised iron were strewn, bent and twisted: tins and wood and .rubbish were to be seen in every direction. We had a miraculous , escape.-, Tents - were blown down, blown inside out, and ■ beds and . houses badly damaged., When we- returned, to our camp we'« round it practically untouched, but everything was in a fearful rness,”