THE TARAWERA ERUPTION.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 162, 24 July 1886, Page 10

THE TARAWERA ERUPTION.

Return of th^ Professors to •;■'.'*"' V '■;■'•' Auckland. ■■'*''■ '•

Professors Hutton awd Brown, who were charged by the (Government with the, compilation of a report on the eruption* returned .to 4own on Saturday evening, . Professor ; Huttqn'v -who ; is staying at the Northern : Club, proceeds South on: Thura day.. He was seen' by a reporter of tha fciTAR to-day, but is disinclined to give a full expression to his views until his official report is published. As in thd report he will collaborate with the Auckland professors, it ia not likely that it will be published for two or three months -too late for presentation during the present session of Parliament. Professor Huttoa seems to have riiade as close an investigation of the phenomena attending the eruptida as the state of ;the country will admit, arid 1 from the amount of scientific data that he has collected, his report should be" of great value, not only in determining the causes and probable effects of the recent eruption, but as a guide to seizmologista in other countries where volcanic phenomena occur. The professor 5 states that no scientific man would have suspected Mount Tarawera of breaking , out, as there are many more likely points of eruption in the Vicinity. The predisposing cause of. the eruption has not been* arrived at, but an intellegent inference will no doubt b© drawn when the data ia collated, arid compared. It has taken centuries to colleut the volcanic forces at Tarawera, and it might take centuries before the. j e forces increased again sufficiently to cause an outbreak. There is -no probability of an outbreak at Rbto.rua, Orakei Korako, or Paeroa, as the pressure has been relieved by the great eruption, : Lake Rotorua had been tilted by the eruption, but no change had taken place since. The eruption at Tarawera and Rotomahana was over in 24 hours so far as danger wenft 9 . and the volcanic agencies had since then been becoming more and more quiescent. The spurts of steam and minor eruptions from Rotomahana were ciused by thestreams of-watar charged with mud and stonea running into the cratera. The recent earthquakes were also due to this. It is a mistake that flames issued from Tarawera Mountain during the eruption ; what the _ observers saw was" the reflection of the red hot stones ejected from, the crater on the steam. He has no doubt, of the destruction of the terraces ; they would have been blown up first, and theirremains would be buried first. It is probable that they may be localised' again, as the springs will make exits through thadeposit. He is of opinion that the buried settlements of Te'Wairba and Te Ngae will become habitable again, ''and it will be quite possible to re-open the old road to. Te Wairba, as the mud is hardening and drying. If this is so, the old track of travel to Rotomahana can be resumed, and it will be less arduous than by means of the new track via Kaiteriria. The landing from Lake Tarawera would be effected at Te Ariki, and from the hill there tho whole of the volcanic . rift may be seen. The experiment of sowing grass seed on a large scale should not be tittempted till spring. Professor Brown holds similar views to those entertained by Professor Huttom Before leaving Rotorua he, in conjunction with the other professors, met the Ohine* niutu natives at the runanga house, and exhorted them not to regard the phenomena of nature with superstitious feelings, as they were only on the same footing as the tide and the wind. Professor Thomas will not reach Auckland for several days, ' In th© meanthno he will visit Maketu and Whakatane, aud measure the depth of the volcanic "deposit there.