THE EARTHQUAKE

Hokitika Guardian, 18 June 1929, Page 6

THE EARTHQUAKE

PARTICULARS OF YESTERDAY’S DISASTER

WHOLE WEST COAST SUFFERED

m WESTPORT BADLY CRASHED

ENORMOUS DAMAGE DONE

OTIRA LINE ESCAPES

NORTH ISLAND SUFFERS LITTLE

FURTHER QUAKES. _ There were further earthquakes dining yesterday afternoon’and. a .rather siiuirt- one at 9.10. p.m., Tliqre were several tremors during the night and heavier tremors between 7 and ;8 a.m. . r. V: i MOANA > ; v' 60 FEET OF EMBANKMENT. CHRISTCHURCH, June 17. Trains from Christchurch to Greymouth are cancelled to-morrow owing to a slip having carried away sixty feet of embankment near Moana, but .this will be cleared to-morrow evening. Arthur’s Pass escaped damage. The tunnel is intact. WESTPORT .WRECKED. POST OFFICE RUINED. The earthquake isolated Westport more completely even than Grey mouth,, from the, resit of the country yesterday. The Duller Road was the scene of considerable devastation, and ‘this included the breaking, of the telegraph and telephone connections. It was learned lorfjer, however that tl»e damage was there on a par with that elsewhere pn the Coast. At the State School, it was reported, a child had a leg either badly injured or else completely amputated. The Westport Post Office, which has. for.years been a source of anxiety, in relation to earthquakes, fared so very badly yesterday morning that one message sent ,by radio last evening, stated it was beyond ■ repair, and that the P. and T. Department had decided to secure new premises. The tower was reported ..to have been demolished. A very large number ol chimneys, both at Westport and in the neighbouring mining towns came to grief. No fatalities are reported either from the mines or elsewhere in Buller.

from 2 YA that the Duller River is blocked. Westport should he advisod urgently that if the river breaks suddenly a big flood is to he expected. Severe shock are continuing. WESTPORi’S DISASTER. A DAD SMASHING. MUCH DAMAGE DONE. WESTPORT, June 17. The most disastrous earthquake in the history of the Duller occurred at about 10.30 this morning. Nearly every brick building in the town is down and there is not a chimney standing. As far as, can he ascertained at present there is nobody seriously injured. A girl at the State School is reported to have her leg cut off at the ankle and another woman is said to have had both legs broken.

No report is available Ifrom the mines which are likely to have suffered severely. Several more or less severe shakes were felt during the night.

This morning the shake started with a quiet undulation and then gradually increased in intensity.

With the buildings rocking people streamed from the shops as bricks an mortar fell.

With resounding crashes the front of buildings tumbled out find mingled with 'the screams of terrified women it was a terrifying moment.

Asi soon as the quake started the employees of the Post Office rushed from the building and a few seconds later the clock and tower crashed into the front street.

At first.it was thought that one man had been caught in the building hut lie appeared a few minutes later.

Excellent work was done by the teachers of the State School in getting the children out.

The big shock, according to a late message, brought down the tower of the Westport Post Office, and the structure altogether largely collapsed. Then communication with the outside world entirely ceased.

Hie children,, instead of rushing about wildly, obeyed orders and all escaped hut for the child already mentioned.

In the corridor a huge piece, of concrete weighing about a ton fell on a teacher. Miss Lena Mumm, and a pupil. It took five men to lift it off and both of them came out unscathed exr-ept for a few bruises. The slion of J. J. Lawson, next door to the “Times” office is a complete wreck. First the plate glass windows went and then with a terrible crash the brick and cement facade crashed on to the footpath.

BUSINESS PARALYSED. WELLINGTON, .nine 17. The town of Westport was wrecked by the violent earthquake of tTvis morning. The town is without communication.' Waiter and electric services were destroyed. The Post Office •is wrecked. The Westport Times Office was demolished. There were no casualties. BULLER RIVER BLOCKED. 'DANGER TO WESTPORT. ’ A message. received at 9.30 p.m. through 2 Y.A. wireless .station, '.-Wellington, states that the Buller''River is blocked, and should it break Through Westport would be flooded. Severe shocks still continue at Glenhope. FOUR LIVES LOST. TWO MEN MISSING. M URCHISON HAVOC. WELLINGTON, June 17. The Acting Secretary-General of the Post Office has received the following further information in connection with the earthquake from the Postmaster at Murchison, forwarded by messenger to Glenhope:—

At the hospital a great deal of damage was done but none of the patients were injured although they are suffering severely 'from shock. The Albion Hotel, also a brick building, was severely damaged. The 90 feet floodlight towers on the wharf, although severely shaken are still standing. The wharf itself is had |y warped and the railway lines twisted.

At half past eleven another severe shake was experienced which brought down more plaster and concrete.

The business of the town is completely disorganised and it will be Several days before anything like usual conditions can prevail.

A fissure is reported to have opened up in one of the hack streets o<l the town. ■

WESTPORT, June 17

The worst .damaged building is tbe Post Office, which is practically reduced to a heap of bricks and mortar. The back portion of the building is not so bad, but the front where the counter and money-order department is situated is a complete wreck. After the first shock died away everybody was showing distinct Hgrfs of nervous tension, women sitting on kerbs weeping and others had gone into a dead faint. Too much cannot be said for the behaviour of tbe staff and children ot tbe school. Tbe child injured was Lola Dent, aged eight years. As she as coming out of a door a chimney fell on her.

An earthquake, commencing at 10 a.m., .culminated in a severe shock at 10.20 a.m., which caused considerable havoc.

The Mntakitaki River became blocked by a slip of thousands of tons, killing four people. The Buller River is blocked by slips in tlie vicinity of Fern Flat. The residents are camping in the school ground, as the houses are uninhabitable. Two men are missing. Severe tremors with loud reports are still continuing.

Betts motor garage is practically wrecked and is beyond repair. A number of ears inside were also wrecked. Houses in the back streets of tbe town were torn from the verandahs and in places the road lias dropped two feet. Not a building in tbe town is not seriously damaged and people will not be able to cope with the situation without Government assistance. Tremors are occurring every few

The Chief Postmaster at Christchurch reports:— From Grevmouth ; There is no communication .with Westport, and little chance of getting through to-night. From Glenhope the following has come:—Please arrange to broadcast

minutes and many people a re. still in a state of collapse.

Westport is a wrecked town with a terrified population. Endeavours' have been made to communicate with mining townships hut these have been successful. It is reported that rock has come down in the Duller Gorge. Mail cars could not get through and came back to Westport. With the Gorge blocked Westport is completely isolated except bv sea.

Extensive fissures are reported on the road to Cape Foulwind and one bridge has been completely demolished and others badly damaged. The train line is like a switchbackrailway.

A four-feet fissure is reported to have opened up at Orawaiti, about tivo miles from the town and another deep fissure down Romillv Street. At the present time practically every building is empty and people are congregated in onen spaces. The whole town looks thought it has been subjected to heavy bombardment. The “Nows Office” did not suffer so badly; hut the “Times Office” will not be able to publish for several days. On the road to the mines huge fissures appeared on the road and one bridge in patticular has lifted about five feet, and attempts have been made to get through by car, hut these have had to be abandoned. Tearo House, one of tbe biggest drapery establishments iii the town is also beyond repair. All pupils at the Technical High School escaped uninjured. The building is'fairly new and but lor the chimneys and little strain is not badly damaged- . The Mayor has summoned a special meeting at noon to discuss the situat-

ion. . The water supply has been off m many places and the sewerage also is interfered. « Almost before the first shake had stopped the fire brigade had both engines out and took a great risk bringing them up tbe main street in case of any outbreak of fire. All Telegraph communications with the rest of New Zealand is cut off and this message is being sent per tbe favour the Kaitoke. Fortunately the weather is line. AT BLACKBALL. THREE MEN BURIED. The earthquake was a particularly unnerving experience for the coal miners everywhere in the district, and nowhere more than in the Blackball colliery, where the workings underground shook,. .pillars moved, and coal crunched in a ..terrifying manner. The miners generally thought that they were trapped, and feared that an explosion might be the .cause, and that they might never again see daylight. A stampede was made for the surface, whence-the men issued, white-faced and quavering. It was. however, discovered that three men had lieen buried by .falling material in the workings, and q. number, of their comrades lost no time in getting to work for their liberation. A rescue was quickly.effected, and it was finally reported that all hands were out and safe. One man sustained slight injury ■through being struck by a piece of coal Imt beyond the shaking everybody received. there were no worse consequences. It will doubtless take a day or two for the mine to lie restored to normal condition, hut the men naturally decided that no more work should ho done yesterday after the disturbance. On the surface there was also a great commotion in Blackball. Few houses escaped some sort of damage or other. Chimneys came down in all directions, crockery, and other articles fell in the houses, tanks were dislocated, and pipes were sundered. It is computed that damage to the extent of £IOOO was done in the town itself. In the cemetery a number of the headstones heaved and gravitated out of the perpendicular. A number of women ifain + "d i"’’ l there was a rush on all sid-s into tlm "pen. T' e big hill adjacent to the road ]„.„lin<r info Blackball gave way under the ra-ket and the road itself was so much d- i uv , ''d that over a dozen men were later put on to effect repairs. It ls hoped that it will he to-day restored sufficiently for light traffic, but it may be some time before it is able to carry heavy vehicles again. r The railway, however, was affected to ail even greater extent than the roadwav. On the Blackball bridge one of the central piers sank several, inches, interfering with the line, wluls the rails on either side heaved and go out of alignment. The vails were heaved right up for a distance of three, quarters of a mile on the Blackball hide of the bridge. On the opposite side the lines also were heaved up near Ngahere to a considerable extent ■ rendering traffic quite impossible until there nas been fresh ballasting and a restoration of the alignment. THE WORST EFFECTS.

Apparently the worst effects the shake were felt at Nelson and Vestport. At Nelson several buildings, paitieularlv the Boys’ College, were rendered unsafe for occupation. The tower of this . building collapsed, injuring two lads. R. McKay, son of the Assistant-Headmaster, and L. A. Baigent, while a number of other boys sustained scalp wounds thiough the falling plaster. A number of the' walls of business premises in tbe centre of tjj.e city collapsed, and at Giiffin’s mill a sixty foot chimney broke off 20 ft. aliove the base, the ton portion filling with a. terrible clatter, though fortunately no one was hurt and general narrow escapes occurred at the Mental Hospital, where one of the main chimneys crashed through the roof. Patients wore hurried outside and noe were injured.

At Blenheim there was a very violent shake. Numerous chimneys wore down, and windows smashed. Two big chimney stacks at the Marlborough Brewery were demolished. AT CAPE FOULWIND. The proximity of the quake centre doubtless explains the fact that the gear of the liglithouse at Cape Foulwind was put out of action, being shifted out of plumb to the extent of six inches. It was uncertain last night whether the light would be operating. Steamers at sea in the vicinity had a peculiar expedience. They just shook and then stopped dead. IN OTHER PLACES. Kumara got off lightly. There is a serious slip at Aickens. There is a big slip on Stafford Road. At Camerons a fisssure opened for £2 yards, being over two 'feet deep. IN REEFTON DISTRICT. The Inangahua district generally got a great shaking up. Shocks were felt at Reel ton at 12.45, 7.21 and 10.17 the third one lasting well over a minute, bringing down chimneys all over the place. Shocks continued all the afternoon, and there were distinct tremors at a late hour. There has been much damage out inanagahua Junction way, and at Cronadun. At the latter place O’Malley’s Hotel has been shifted bodily. At Cronadun, indeed, so violent was the shock that the people at 10.18 a.m. were compelled to go on hands and knees, unable to stand up to it Among Reefton stores affected were those of Wills and Co., and Harold Bros. Few chimneys escaped. It is reported that Hawke’s Crag is down on the Buller' road. OTIRA ESCAPES. Contrary to expectations, both Arthur’s Pass and Otira escaped damage yesterday. FATALITY AT TARAKOHE. ENGINEER KILLED. NELSON, June 17. The earthquake caused the death off a man named Stubbs, third engineer at Golden Bay cement works, at Tarnkolie. Many tons of limestone came down from the cliff and fell on the office where Stubbs was working. He was killed almost instantaneously. Half, a donen motor cars in the neighbourhood off the office were crushed by the fall. The Company’s new building is intact.

Children in various schools were got out without difficulty. Griffen’s fac--torv stopped temporarily, but delivery of orders will not be interfered with. Three of the 'female staff of the Masonic Hotel had very narrow esaapes from a falling wall. The General .Post Office arch, on the southern corner of the building, facing Trafalgar Street, came down with a tremendous crash, about half a ton of brick work smashing the asphalt footpath. Fortunately no one was within the radius of the 'falling material. The large tower though intact, has an obvious lean'. It is impossible to estimate the amount of damage at present, but both business and private premises have suffered some very severely. Fortunately theio has been no loss of life in the city, although narrow escapes were numerous. Satisfactory arrangements have been made for the continuation oil work. At Nelson Boys’ College, fortunately, most of the hoarders .were housed in various college houses, and those havo not been damaged. The Board of Governors at an urgent meeting to-day, asked the Minister, of Education to visit Nelson as soon as possible, together with the Government Architect. TAKAKA DAMAGE. - POWER HOUSE COLLAPSES. WELLINGTON, June 17. The Acting Secretary-General off the Post Office has received the following! message from the Chief Postmaster at; Nelson : “ A report from I akaka was. as follows: Severe earthquake-shocks,; commencing at 10.18 a.m., were ex-j perienced at Takaka and district, cans-j ing considerable damage throughout. 4 The pbwerhouse at Tarakohe works col- ! lapsed. One man was killed, by the: name off A. D. Stubbs. All lines aie: down south of Tophou.se and south of Tadmor.”

IN THE NORTH .ISLAND. At Wanganui' ante New Plymouth, chimneys were shaken down, aim places as far north as Whangarei and Dargaville, felt the shock for the first time in these, parts for very many years. slost of the North Island towns between Auckland and Wellington report that the quake was felt with more or less severity. In the South .Island, a sharp shock was experienced at Christchurch,, where a few windows were smashed, a brick wall collapsed, and minor damage done to gables of city churches. Dunedin, Oamaru and Timaru also report that they felt the ’quake. WELLINGTON EFFECTS The severest effect of tbe earthquake in causing personal injury, seems to have occurred in the Government Buildings where n large piece of plaster, tw • inches in thickness end weighing over a luindred-v.eight. fell from the ceiling of the ledger room in. Hie Treasury Dcnartinrn*-, striking a young departmental officer named \. B. Taylor, on the head. He was attended to by'a (loelor,. who found it necessary to stitch the wound.

MINOR DAMAGE AT CHURCH. & ;A 'Vf CHRISTCHURCH, June 17. 5 Only minor damage is -reported in the city to-day. Several bhimne.vs in a house in Bealey Avcmie, L|ifi\|ilicid smashing the roof, hut no .pthei- houses appear to have suffered worse Ilian a cracked chimney. Two or three brick walls in old buildings fell, but no big buildings suffered worse i 4han a few broken windows. j Reports stated that the Cathedral spire as out of plumb. This was' contradicted after surveyors’ examination. The cross at the top appears crooked, but the masonry and steel structure, which forms the top of the spire is apparently stable. ; Country towns in Canterbury report having felt a so" re ’quake but little or no damage was done. INSURANCE CLAIMS. CHRISTCHURCH, June 17, Insurance nun say settle all claims under risk held by them for a very small sum. THE ’QUAKE CENTER. BETWEEN NELSON AND BLENHEIM. WELLINGTON, June 17. In jWelliugton the earthquake was felt sharply. A number oT^chilimeys are down and shop windows sinfqsheu. From information ernment Seismologist, Dr \ Adams, gives it as his opinion, that .the qferitre of the earthquake was somejyhere in the northern portion of the South ;Island, possibly between Nelson; [Jla.nd Blenheim. The shock seemed ‘to be ..ravelling in a S.S.W. to N.N.E. direction, which would be the casrijif the centre was where lie thought was, ihe noises accompanying the earthquake were certainly an unusual phenomenon. 1 hey could be accounted for by supposing that the strata. of rocks, in the disturbed area, were, rubbing against each other. Tlio; exact locality from which the 'sounds came would he difficult to determine, until all information had been eorrela.tqct. It was the same with earthquake shocks themselves, as instrument^-had been put out of action, irate, until some time after, the irigSii* shock, it would take some time tofoirfitfe at reliable details of reckon. i. 60. 6 0.

There was one peculiar .ijicbident, which by great good fortune' was not disastrous. That was in the lift well of Coionial, Motors’ building. The lift was at about the third floor, when the heavy shake came, with one passenger and only one of the staff messengers. A oalance-weight, high above the lift cabin was apparently twisted round sharply, and two sections, of one hundred-weight apiece, broke loose and crashed down, going clean through the cabin. The liftman, who by the ■way. has only one arm, received injuries to that arm, and the ■messenger’s leg was hurt, hut neither case was serious. The .itt is badly damaged. On the previous trip a full load of passengers was carried. ' •./

WAS IT FROM TASMAN SEA? RECORDED ON AUSTRALIAN 6 INSTRUMENTS. SYDNEY, June 17. The earthquake felt in New Zealand was recorded at Sydney with unusual severity. The seismograph at Sydney Observatory recorded the biggest disturbance at 8.57 a.m., the boom of the instrument swinging for seven minutes as widely as the instrument would allow. t"" 4 '* The officer in charge has never experienced such a violent and protracted wave on the seismograph, ;thj?’vibrations lasting until' rO o’clock. MELBOURNE, Juim 17. The seismograph recorded the earthquake with considerable strength. It was the biggest ever registered. A member of the Observatory staff was .unable to obtain satisfactory readings, owing to the violent agitation of the 1)00111. ■ AN EARLIER EARTHQUAKE. It was 43 years ago on Monday, June 10th. (says the Auckland Star) since Auckland was electrified bv the news of “a terrible earthquake” .at tTara-j I wera. Reports came through \slowiy,' and it was some time before the full details of the tragedy were known. Half the side of Tara wera Mountain was blown out, the incomparable Pink and White . Terrace were destroyed, the country for miles round was bur-, ied under a pall of ashes and mud, and resembled nothing so much as a' landscape in the moon. Considering the awful upheaval, the loss of life was small, but fortunately there were not many Maori villages in the district. The cataclysm happened .< hot long after midnight on June 10th. 1886. The Maori villages at Te Ariki and Mourea, between Lake Rotomahana and Lake Tara wera must have been overwhelmed almost instantly. At Wairon village, across Lake Tara wera, was M’Crea’s Hotel, but as it was winter time there was only one guest, a young Englishman named Bainbridge, who was killed wjifle going • from .the hotel to Sophia’s hut,‘where several people took shelter. The Hazard’s house, on the other side of the • gully, was wrecked and two ; lives were lost. The total number of) deaths was 111, all being Natives except the • three mentioned above. To-dav Tiki- j tapu Bash has regained some of its } beauty, the Green and Blue Lakes have regained some of their colour, and 1 the site of the eruption is one of the “show places” of the thermal region, ‘ but it will be many years before the traces of the. amazing upheaval disappear from the face of the earth. |