THE EARTHQUAKE

Hokitika Guardian, 5 July 1929, Page 6

THE EARTHQUAKE

MID-MARUIA SETTLERS.

LIVE STOCK IN JEO'PAIIDY. immediate decision Called FOR. ' (By Telegraph—Pyeas Association). NELSON. July : 4. The settlers of mid-Maruia waited on the Relief Committee to-day. Mr Peacock first‘explained where the particular area is'situated in Lower Maruia Murchison County. This was quite distinct from the Upper Alaruia which' was situated in the Inangahua County The area which he spoke for appeared to have been devastated to a greater extent , than sny. other portion of the Murchison County, inasmuch as that the settlers were completly cut off by an absolute blocking of the roads.. Some of the farms had been totally destroyed and those whose farms were partially destroyed had no access. To enable the settlers ?to decide what to do'it was necessary that they, should know at' the earliest ,pos- : sible moment what was to be done op. their behalf by the Government. It was a dairying district, and the cows would be coming into profit in a couple, of months. If the settlers were to be given access their cows need not hot be sold. He asked that an immediate decision bo arrived at, and he urged that arrangements he made for an assessment of the damage and that an indication be given at once of tlig Governments intention. In answer to the Mayor, Mr Peacock said that all of . the settlers in mid-Afaruia were unable to return to their farms through lack of access There were many settlers affected havbetween them large numbers of cowsand sheep; and unless access was provided within two months, the co\vs would have to be sold, and they would be difficult to; replace if access was given later. That was the reason for wanting immediate action. The Mayor referred to the desirability of appointing a Commission to inquire into the losses. •Mr H. Eraser, County' Clerk. ieplied that the whole country had been revalued just before the earthquake, So that a fresh valuation now would give an excellent comparison of the values, and show the actual loss sustained. ,

Mr J. S. Roberts suggested that the settlers’'ifeUirris’ front the" Murchison Dairy Coy should be of assistance in arriving at the value of the locality from a dairying point of view. : M-Mr A. Thomson of Nelson who was asked to speak,, .said that Air Peacock had clearly -'stated the case, and all he had said was positively Aorrbit. Air Peacock had not stated his own case. He was rather more unfortunate thijn the other settlers, as he owned some of the best of the flat country. The river had been diverted. The whole gorge had been blocked by rocks and trees to. a depth of about 50 feet, and this had caused the river to rise, and to change its corirse. Tlie river at that point had gone right through Air Peacrtek’s flat—in all, some. 250 or 300 acres and so far as Air Peacock arid many other, settlers were concerned, the . land had been positively ruined. At a point further up voe valley owing to the river being blocked, it l ad caused a lake. The people had . not yet had a chance to see what damage had been done. They first had to get out in'time to save their lives, rt was not possible for them to ascenain what they had lost.' S(pck had been covered up with slips, killed by trees and drowned. If Air Peacock’s statements with regard to t.W stock were correct, Air Pahoeiv’s suggestion that a - valuation should be made was .a proper one. It could not be cm/fed too much that the whole of riie j.-eople in the valley had had a most trying ■time, and even it rhe Toads: were opened up, they would still be as gieat loss. • . •

In, answer lo the Alavol* as 1 o whether settlers suggested that .'lock be sold at once, Air Pea ii>.:k replied that this depended entirely on what the Government Intened to do. If it was intended to provide access al c-rcc then tlie position would be al-.eiod. There would be twr-ntv-iiy miles of road to be re-conditioned.

Mr Pointon stressed tlie point that t unless access were provided at once, the herds would have to be sacrificed.

Mr 1 Chas.- Watson pointed out that up to the present the Belief Committee .had been only able to attend to tlie needs of the refugees. Now tlie question of ' roading could be dealt with, and if the Government were asked to take action immediately, fle had no doubt this would be done. The Town Clerk read a telegram from Sir. Joseph Ward, which indicated that the Government intends to assist in every way possible. Mr Thomson was applauded when he stated that the Murchison people appreciated all that the Nelson people were doing for them. He expressed appreciation of the good work done by Air Waters (Commisioner of Crown Lands and by Mr .May (Public Works Engineer). He concluded by urging that a .resolution 1 be carried that a‘deputation go to Wellington. This course was eventually agreed to.

DAMMED RIVER. breaks Away. SWEEPS OVER. SEDDONVILLE. ? ’ GREAT DISASTER AVERTED. WESTPORT, July 4. The Mokihinui River. broke, through about 2 p.m. rising fast and inunwhole of : Seddonville township. The flood at its highest poin.t, readied .almost to the State School at 5.30 p.m., driving almost the whole of the population on to higher ground, and out intp the open, where a fairly hard night will be experienced as the people had no time to secure foodstuffs and blankets. At 8 o’clock the flood waters were receding, and good news came to hand that an aged couple, Mr and Mrs Geo. Coleman, were safe, they having refused to leave their premises, and having clambered on to the roof. In numerous houses, the water was up-from eight feet to ten feet. At Hopgood’s Hotel, the tables set for luncheon were swirled round on the floor.

At Seddonville the hall was- caught by the flood, and was carried a distance of about . five chains, and was then thrown heavily ( against Wimsett’s shop. Fortunately tjie flood { occurred in daylight, or a. disaster,; unprecedented in the . history, of New- 'Zealand , was likely to have been yecoitded. The flood water'came away, then--it hung for a time,, and then came aw.?y in a wall, sweeping over) - almost the whole of the settlement.-'

STOCK LOSSES. • ); ' While there does not appear to j)e any loss of life, the loss of cattle is expected to he very heavy. Mclndoe’s and Corby’s will be presumably faring the worst in. regard, to their stock. 1 _ i A relief train went out to Seddonville to bring people in to Westport, but they refused to- come, preferring to see- 'how: their homes have fared, when daylight arrives. " The, Westpoft Relief Copimittee met and are sending out a big supply of food-, the first thin" in the morning.

u\l.R. ON THE SCENE. G. ,G. Black, M.P., who has been through all the earthquake areas, is at present at Seddonville, whither he went as soon as the first news of the• disaster jreachefl the town. ! At Seddonville to-day, Mr E. R. Fox, .Coroner, held an inquest touching’the .death of two miners, Robert McAllister ayd Wiljigm phamley. He returned: verdicts that both (lied from suffocation, by beihg covered' by falls of' in; the Glasgow Co-operative Company’s mine, Chamley in the Cardiff Bridge mine,; both: deaths being due to the earthquake. Tlie Coroner expressed- sypmatby yith the'relatives of tlie deceased, and admiration for - the manner in which their comrades had risked their lives in recovering the bodies. , .

HIGHEST FLOOD ON RECORD

FATALITIES NOT FEARED,

- WELLINGTON, July 4” ; The Acting-Secretary of the G.P.Q. has received'a further report (from the Chief Postmaster at Westport as follows:— . 1 :

9.20 p.m —Tlie Alokihinui . flood, invaded the houses in-Seddonville qnd'St. Helens. It ’was' the highest flood on record. j • •

The water lias faileii considerably. The Westport. Relief Committee, is. sending vehicles from Granity and Westport to; convey the '.settlers to Ngakawau and Grftmty. .’ Communications. ,ha.ye dipt,, jfet been established, witlri Secldoriville or. St. Helens. Tlie..'settlers, appeiiy to haye had plenty of warning*, iincT ■it is pert thought that there have, been anj fatalities,. ,

- , ( ~ ... ' J THE FLOOD DISASTER.

DANGER NOW PAST. Wellington; July 5. ■ . The Acting-Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department received the following further report from the Chief Postmaster at Westport:— i At 11.40 p.m. the cars returned from St. Helens. They state the settlers would not leave. There is no loss of life. - The water invaded the Post Office and one hotel to a depth of eight feet and some residences up to the loofs. All danger is- now past. i Water damaged most of the foodstuffs. V The Westport Relief Committee areforwarding provisions for three hundred by a special train this morning.

ATTLLERTON ISOLATED. ROPE IIOAD ONLY OUTLET. ’ AVESTPORT. July 4., The bottom 'of the MiUerton Track is moving doivn ' towards Granity Greek. Orders have- been issued to stop all road traffic, amV it is likely tobe a month before traffic over the affected route is renewed,

The M-illerlon track is about half a mile from the Granity bins of- the Westport Coal Coy. From half way up the MiUerton track to the bottom, there is what is known as a “greasy back,” which for years has caused much trouble through repeated slips. Millerton, car traffic, if not also traffic to Stockton - and the mine, will be interrupted until the route can he restored. -> ..

KARAMEA BEACH

A GOOD LANDING PLACE.

FOR AEROPLANES

WESTPORT, July 4

“There are rumours circulating about the Karaipea beach,” said Air G. C. Black, ALP., in the course of an interview with the “News,’ 1 “that must .be denied, taking into consideration the future air development in the Dominion. .First, it has been stated that there . are quicksands on the Karamea : beach. - This is contrary to fact. The only quicksands are in Oparara River, some distance away. That the beach lias a solid landing foundation is proved by the fact that the local racing owners have for years past used it for a training track. It has also been stated that the Karamea people have not been clearing driftwood away, and tfl a t because of such neglect, the Moth plane was damaged on Tuesday morning. . The position is. otherwise. Ever since the plane first 1 visited,, the settlement,; Mr W. R. Simpson (and (other public spirited - men: have visited the beitch; daily, pai.rolled the runway, and indeed, on more occasions than one, JUiye marked out a .landing spo.t. On Tuesday last, there -was Jio driftwood, on this parti-, cuhir afea, the' only; obstacles being, at•the northern, end tlie. • w-reck of the Mangapapa;i;g-iidi at the southern end .a large -shag, ..three-quarters of a. mile from (thei old-slip. It was this obstacle ’that the- wing- of the plane struck. Karamea -possesses fine stretch of beach which was readijy availed of whe-n Captain Buckley visited the Coast some years' ago. Many flights were made' from it and that wins one of the best lauding spots oil the Coast. I. have no doubt that Karamea beach will be made use of ill future. It has natural advantages, and these should ndt be offset by rumours that'-iare circulating—in many ■cases qmong people who have no local knowledge of the conditions or personal experience of tlie .events of the past fortnight.” :

DR TELFORD CORRECTS

STATEMENT,

DID NOT REFER TO” WESTPORT

PEOPLE

:v CHRISTCHURCH, July 4., - In a statement yesterday, tyr T. ETelford, District (|fficer of Health, said Regarding ari ! interview gi\ en to a reporter of the/)** Lyttelton/ 1 imes over the telephone at Christchurch oil my return from;‘‘the West Coast, ,1 was unfortunately, represented as saying that, the Westport/people are condoling, with each other-, and' considering getting in, relief .money instead of getting to work;- This is quite incorrect. Tfle statement applied to the Borough/Council at the time of ■ my arrival at Westport when they were considering these matters instead of. getting on- with all the essential utilities which had been interrupted. I - understand that; this reputed '* statement of mine 'is likely 'R>' haye done harm in the minds of tlie general public, and I am anxious that .this impression should be corrected. From ray inspection of v tlje Wes Coast locality following the' earthquake I am satisfied that the Wes Coast people went through a very harrowing time, and in addition sustained serious damage to their dwell ings arid furniture. ''l would therefore suggest to al 1

'those Tfi 'a position to give, to give " iil,v.-i all.y, ! ifl i'rider that the /daman* done' to'* private property ’ may ]ic h-'tecdiiy ■ r-t : fiecl, as the suffere;1 earthquake are in eveiw sense deserving.

DIPHTHERIA AT KARAMEA

WELLINGTON, July 4

...•The Acting Secretary- of the Po,st and Telegraph Department- has the following message from the Supervisor of the .Ivnramea radio, Karamea Since the earthquake only two cases of diphtheria have occurred in Karamea, both being jn the concentration camps of tiie refugees.. Under such conditions there was every likeli,hood of. the complaint, spreading. Captain Buyrell, in response to tlie n,rgent request of the local doctor, flow from AVestport- under dangerous flying conditions with sufficient serum to cope with any further cases. Fortunately,, no further outbreak has occurred. The present cases are progressing favourably. . c WESTPORT, July 4. The position, at Raramea is now reported to be getting back to normal, but great damage has been done bv tfie quake- - Some farms at Corbyvalo are completely ruined.

WESTPORT WIfARYES. SAEE FOR SHIPS. WELLINGTON; July 3a The Secretary of the Marine Department (Air . Godfrey) states that the Westport wharves were slightly damaged, by the ’quake, but are quite safe for shipping. The Denniston, MiUerton, Westport, and Stockton , mines are all working and coal is available for shipping at tlie. wharves. ■ -

AT KARAAIEA

In the course of a private letter, Air Joseph Cuttance, writing from Karamea stated:—

The first quake occurred about 1 a.pi. Then there were three or four minor shakes until about 7.30 a.m. when there was a fairly heavy one; then a lull till the great quake came. It appeared to. approach from the sea. I was going down the river to look at the bar, when I noticed the quajc© coming towards me by its muffled roar. It was on and past like a flash. Instantly the river was like a boiling whirlpool with pillars of water spurting from five to ten feet high. On both sides of the river water was spouting up and boiling into' the river which continued for some zO to 30 minutes after the quake had passed. These,.l found, were caused from tlie rents and fissures on each side of the river some three to five feet wide and foqr to five chains long, others only twenty to thirty feet in length. These fissures were all over the flat.

In one case a fanner’s swamp land that was unsafe to walk upon has been converted into dry land. Evidently the under pan had broken and allowed the swamp to drain, increasing the value’ of his land by hundreds of pounds.

I was very fortunate to be able (o make the wharf as my boat , was filled to the thwarts jvhqri I landed, and ,1 naiVowly escaped being capsized through the blow-ups in the river. Tlie wharf got a pretty severe shake and'two lines of .timber skids with over 103,010 ft. of timber went into the river. The timber floating roupd everywhere. Both goods sheds weie tilted ; and leaning, up tlm riyer. - Practically all brick chimneys apd tanks .have collapsed and many of the settlers’., houses have suffered much damage.

DULLER RAILWAY DAMAGE,

£25,000 for: repairs.

CHRISTCHURCH, July 4.;-

It is the opinion of Mr J. AlcNaii District Railway Engineer, that it will cost about £25,000 to repair the damage to railway works on the West Coast.

The greatest damage sustained by the Railway Department,. he> continued, occurred on the Westport-Moki-hinui line, over a distance of abo.it 30 miles. The damage done elsewhere on the West Coast was comparatively small compared with this which would taka £IO,OOO in round figures ,y» make good. In soiao portions of H;e route the rails had b-en shixid 1 i'i m six to eight feet from where they were before the visitation. The tails ha been twisted ai\d it would-be necessary to use a jimscrow on them to restore them to their former state. The Waimangaroa-Granity section of the line \rias. t'fle .worst, this being tlie more unfortunate in that supplies from the Denniston, and MjUertop mines were trucked on. it. The - Department was however, able to handle nil the coal that the mines could prodrice : although trains would Rave to travel at reduced speed over the lineuntil permanent repairs were' affected. He thought that it would require about six months to get the tracks back to their original state.