THE FLOOD AT WESTPORT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 137, 9 June 1873, Page 2

THE FLOOD AT WESTPORT.

( Westpdft Tiihes,- June T 0 ) Tuesday last: will. -long be remembered in Westporfc as a day of dire disaster. Of all the misfortunes heretofore occurring from sea Qutl river encrq.achmehti T ribnej have happened so suddenly or resulted irr so much loss and* destruction 'of - property as the flood, that . came roaring. down the Buller on Tuesday morning. On the previous day the rain *had> fallen heavily continued all night, but the river had^qt perceptibly risen. "'Few' therefore wb'6 went quietly to. theinbeds' dreamed. of or had the slightest presentiment of the trouble impending. At six o'clock on Tuesday nroniing 'the- 'river hai']' scarcely risen more than-a-foot;or -so, but towards daylighJ;. r Jthe. wat f j?r. rose, rapidly, and the river,. be6am§ fe raging £ndJ>.Qilijgig.totr|.nt. The soft sand| bank, alo,ng "^barf-street, loosened and broken up bn f the surface by traffic, 'and* undernrifiett[ tjyT th;e|^cjf6 ( h]jof current ana ti#e,'s6bV showed Symptoms of giving way/ abd T dweiler's' in houses along the river bank, hurriedly roused up, found ; their property in. instant^ jeopardyThe fir^t' : plade" toii. suffer was"- Frank, arid' M'Farlane's blaeksn?itb/s shop at the end of Wai labi- street', Which toppled over into the river, carrying witk;rt:al goodvportion of the „ s tock, of iron , and, ,. T wording implements of" the proprietors. 1 ' 'Thrgap thus made soon widened, and the instant removal of the; smnll; bjpck of; buildings ou the -river bank bejt ween> and fright streets,! was necessary, the.<inmates having scant time>to hurry ouTlbeiß portable property. Along Wharf-^street also tho river bank kepft tumbling ftway in; : tpgfr weight, and it was seen that < every house there was doomed. About thia-tioie too, Riley's coal wharf ?wifch;6ome t^elve'itontf/<Sf coali was carried away, and fears were entertained that the schooner Aurora, moored

at the Cobden street wbarf, but unladen *| and unballasted, .w^qujd. be carried oaj^pver | the bar, there no It-Miner the \ river to tow hlrM,to raeMlago^k forj safety, oven hau "^he pl^ftge Across been practicable against the force of the increasing torrent. Chains, anchors, and lines .„ brought into req|iEf|tion a^'dl the : moqrqU &s safety as practicable" alougside the wharf, against which she chafed and rubbed dangerously,, but at the same time ; formed a breakwater protecting a little \vhat was still .leffcyo/^he river bank below, and giviri'g a 'little more time for the Baying of property. Meanwhile the work of demolition sped. Goods and trade stocks were being hurriedly^ carried, ;out pell mell, and houses knocked. to .pieces in reckless fash? ion. >sAt-^he-Empire /Hotel all. poyeable articles were carried out into the Masonic Hall£ twenty or ( pore men at 4h.e.°same time knocking the hotel building'sto* pieces. All nlong; Wharf-street and Molesworthstreet similar work was going on, and flic bx t c,item.ent,' was; intense.' .>About;uine o'clock i Mi* cottage at' the 'end 6f<'Bpigh't-strßet-U'6pp!ed over and .sailed towards tho bar, whera : it broke up, mingling, wjth |he wreck floating from the hquß^s;'|urthißr. J up stf«am. All day long men' worked and strove with unfailing, thouglfb^ntihi'ea irebkless, energy toVsav;e SQ'^'e,wbaf;! from"; the lericroachingr waters, ijoods^iurnjfnre,. iboardsj iron, and a hundred dismembered oddsand ; ehds cumbered the streets | r ''drays, ..heavily laden, were driven too' a*hd r fro, while tho crash of fail-' iogibuildinge, and (tlieibusy/qlick of chisel and hamlfiefr was. .nearly^ downed by $he noise of rushing waters.:, -,. So,-the time sped on, until with the ..lapse of one short winter chVJr; Slscdreor mOrelof) buildings had gone down amid .irretrievable ruin. Nor- was. ihiß^all.the., damage. Those who Ind time to look about them saw with diemay that .the .river, ; . was > encroaching steadily on £he batik between Cobden andi Broh,am,sfFfete, and , to '.'s> sligjiter^ extent u'pwaVdsio wards Wakerierd-street' "wharf. Huge masses of earth and^, roots, of trees were confi\|ually^ foiling' ov>|rj\into the turbid stream,' and fears arose "that the Nelaon-street wharf would be cut off from the bank arid r - the protecting -stone groin below undermined. rAbput eight p.m. .the first evQ'nt. happened. The wharf . ) rie wjj; built, compactly: put together, tough tved, strong in. ;air jreßpects' as-good wqrk' arid material jcotu.ld make it, was carried away like a structure of- reeds,;; and the .water came surging and whirling close up to the corner .of M.rs t v . Wharf Hotel,. '"''"^lp furniture had !>een hurriedly carried ajvay., v ..T^ 6 encroachment here, .necep-, sVtatJd^ttS 1 pWing^dbwn^ortwo adjacent cottages ownfed^by' Mr-'Carruthers and Mr Stephenson, and"a little later .on, i e^Wa-wdre 1 paadeitS'sav^the wharfipger's ' dffice^bu"c t^at too' made' a' 'sudden plunge^ : riverward,,and np. ri more. i: The \ stone groin stood well all day, but about : eventide many^qnsiof ■stpjie^drifted away from the point. .iVirhilp^his.aharjipe.rjed up! ; stream the bank was;"- still melting away to wards.<the-river. mouthy and! great .'efforts were made to save the Clarendon Hotel 1 and W. J. Pat,ie^s6ti's- r itdre a% the opposite , corners ? TJiese ; buildingslT werer ; pulled" down piecemeal aij^thb 1 materials piled in . the street, as r also . \ Henri " _P« in's " "cordial fabicfry ;' 'Spends sjore.'o'n thi same block having been pdilea'jdtiw'ii earlier in the jday. Lu.cki.ly,, the" rain, had ..stqrjip^d,'and'^ a,j '.prlef .iglea^Vj ojf/'-'Bunshin.ef in I the; ' , afternoon, -chado (ibieea .1 . succeeded: by' a '' !jßne;/-«mo6nlight,- H 'Sn3 -•■» thus'; work'; wa"-i"n6fc siay'ed 'unilf'men Kjd'rses ; wer,e ' utterly exhausted.. About il^p.m. it w/aB : seen, jthat -the Mood^was abatitjg, and; early - 1 risers,! QnVrtfcre l tfoUowing , momriag: igained suGbJiconsolation^as'they^might from know;in%gf^that tKe ; 'danger for'/ the; time y?as'; staye(|. Still the^rqspec'l, was* mouriifui' \ in:'\t^e t |fl§tr§mf, ; , . '^h'ejVstciqe'y^; wera.'^allr- ! cujnhefed"; Ay ith, /.(debris,; .and xnuch- :w.ork . remained to be accomplished. 1 ' 1 -On -Wed- ! nesday-thedfiy was "fine; -and great portion of-th^ was f eind'veJ to, r pjacea of i „.,yFpr.j4m9>indtrpf^tLws)ste. fourth page. ;