THE EARTHQUAKE

Hokitika Guardian, 20 June 1929, Page 5

THE EARTHQUAKE

FURTHER. SHOCKS. There was another sharp shock felt last night about 9 o’clock, that caused (further alarm. This morning at 7.45 o’clock a light shock was also experienced'.' At 10 a.m. there was another fairly sharp shock, of several minutes duration. ■ WESTPORT MAILS. ; 1 ’ *>;. ' ,v \B.V Telegraph—Press Association). CHRISTCHURCH, June 20. Owing to bad weather the air mail delivery for Westport was not undertaken and mails left, by train at 10.20 and will go by car from Inangahua to v Westport. ;si •• !• •* REE ETON REPORT. f REEFTON, June 20. Earthquake shocks continued last night and this morning but none were . serioiVs. At Maruia Springs shock wore . felt but there was no damage. Lester at Station Creek reports no .damage there beyond broken crockery. Ingram was reported missing by wireless last night at Station Creek. The road to Reefton is clear, MESSAGES OF SYMPATHY. WELLINGTON, June 20. Several messages of sympathy with • those who suffered through the earthquake were received yesterday by the Prime Minister. The following cable* gram came from the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr S. M. Bruce: “On behalf of .the Government and people of Australia I desire to convey our deep sympathy to the peoplie of New 7> land and especially to sufferers and relatives off those who have lost tliei? lives in. tlie earthquake which has cm euEred in your country.”

Further messages were also rec r, \ from 'Mr Buttenshaw, Acting-Premier of New South Wales, and the Swedish Consul-General for Australia. MOKE FAVOURABLE NEWS FROM MURCHISON DISTRICT. NEWS OF OUTSIDE SETTLERS. ' NELSON, June 20. Murchison township is situated in a fairly wide area at the junction of Matakitaki and Buller rivers, and on to which several other large valleys open out. It was in a valley running south of Matakitaki that the largest landslide or eruption took place. Dnat was happening in other valleys, no one in Murchison knew exactly. Certainly, detonations from breaking strata were heard from all directions.

News is now coining in slowly from some areas in these valleys, and the indications are that the settlers are not so seriously situated as seemed probable a day or so ago. Twenty settlers front Maruia Valley got out yesterday and camped in Glengarry School. It is understood. some settlers from ' Toi Toi Flat came into Matiri by Fern Flat, f

Telephone communication has been established with Braeburn, and the settlers there have suffered to a less extent than their neighbours. It is considered probable by those who know the district well, that settlers Tn Maruia South, will go out to lleefton or on the other hand, some may go through Hunter’s Station to Braeburn and Maruia Plains. This is considered may bavi. given the settlers greater security than their neighbours. Fifty settlers have been camped on Four River Plain, across the Matakitaki river, and forty are coming on to Nelson.

A party of ten, led by Rev. Teague (Methodist Minister) is remaining there to search Maruia Valiev and bring out women and children. Magnificent work is being done by all. The opinion appears to lie consolidating in the direction that there is little fear of the dammed Matakitaki breaking away suddenly. It is thought a big lake will be formed and that the river will overflow at the lowest side, and gradually wear a course through the debris, which is about three-quar-ters of a mile to a mile in length. That water could sweep its way through such a huge mass suddenly, is considered unlikely.

£290 DONATION. CHRISTCHURCH, June 20. The Mayor to-day received a cheque for £2OO from Sargood Son and Ewon for the relief of the earthquake sufferers at .Westport. LONDON REPORTS. LONDON, June 18. The “Daily Express” has an editorial article on the New Zealand earthquake. It says:.Mercifully it has not produced a death rate proportionate to its widespread- destructiveness, but the blow has been a severe one. Just because they are British, the New Zealanders will stand* up to it, and will repair their wrecked towns and hamlets and carry on. These catastrophes test a people’s nerve and the administrative capacity of their rulers. There is not the least reason to think that New Zealand will fall short in either respect. DUNEDIN SYMPATHY. DUNEDIN, June 20. The City Council passed a resolution of sympathy with the earthquake sufferers., the Mayor expressing fluopinion that if Government assistance yv were inadequate. Dunedin in common ' ' with other places would rise to the occasion.

HON. ATMORE LEAVES FOR MURCHISON.

MR FURKEIIT ALSO IN DISTRICT.

NELSON, June 20

Hon. H. Atmore (Minister of Education) who is representing the Government in the stricken areas, accompanied by Air Deavoll (private secretary) and Mr G. C. Black, M.P. for Motueka, left for Murchison this morning. Mr Black, M.P. for Moteuka. informed a “ Mail ” reporter to-day that when the streams came through the, road and paddocks at Motupipi and Riwaka, the water also oozing out of the fissures was made a dirty black. Some smelling of sulphur was also exuded.

.Mr Black had several snapshots in his possession showing the streams.

Mr Black, ALP., stated to-day there was no news from Karamea or Maruia South. At the last-named place there are about ten settlers, in addition to some twenty men working on Springs-Junction-Lewis Saddle road.

Air Blacft is endeavouring to get in touch with the locality via Red!ton through AVcllington.

Mr Furkcrt (Engineer-in-Chief of the Public Works Department) arrived overland from Picton late last night and proceeded on to Alurchison at 5 o’clock this morning.

Air L. May, Resident Engineer, was in Murchison yesterday and awaits his chief there.

Among the refugees who came into Nelson from Murchison district last night were a party from Alangles Valley, and one of them informed a .« Alail ” reporter that all in the valley are safe.

One of the Nelson men who went through in a private car yesterday was interviewed this morning. He described the chaos of the district as unbelievable. At Pikomanu on the road 'from Glenhopc to Murchison a large slip of soft clay was slowly crossing the road when the Nelson car came along last night, and the car would have been unable to get through hut for the assistance of roadmen, who dug it out on two or three occasions, when it became stuck.

Just before the Nelson motorists left Murchison, M,r B. F. Spiers informed them th.lt the search party which had set out up Matakitaki earlier in the day had returned at about 5 p.m. with the report that everyone in that district was safe. SEISAIOGRAPH REPORT. SHOCKS DECREASING. CENTRE IN MURCHISON AREA. WELLINGTON, June 20. Kelburn seismograph still records fairly continuous shocks, varying in magnitude, hut these arc slowly decreasing in number. Some are perceptible apart from the instrument records, and one at 8.48 last night was sufficient to cause the hanging lights to swing perceptibly, and another shortly after 10 p.m. Evidence gradually accumulating all points to the vicinity of Murchison as being the centre of the disturbance, and Air Adams does not agree with the theory of Riverview Observatory, -Sydney, that the centre was roughly ,100 miles off the east coast of the South Island. Tii-o evidence, too, discounts any theory of volcano activity, the quake being due probably to a Iracture along one of the numerous fault lines to be found in Alurchison area.

A USTR ALI AN SYM PATHY. WELLINGTON. June 20. The Governor-General, Sir Charles Kergusson, has received a message from the Governor-General of Australia, expressing personal sympathy, and 'from the aeting-Governor of Victoria, coiir veving on behalf of the government and people of that State, condolences with the relatives of those who lost their lives and those who suficied injury and damage to property. Sir Charles Fergusson replied, expressing warm appreciation of these messages; mentioning at the same time that the lamentable loss of life and damage were confined to a comparatively small area on the West Coast of the South Island.