THE GALE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 353, 2 April 1910, Page 2

THE GALE.

AT OMATA. Writes our Oinata correspondent: The heaviest gale that has been experienced here for some years has been blowing for the past two days, and the amount of damage done is considerable. Very few of the settlers have escaped injury to their property. The telegranh wire is down in several places between New Plymouth and Oakura. When 1 •ay down, I do not means the wires only, but the posts. The chimneys at the school, Mrs. Pease's and Mr. D. Hooker's have been blown down. Mr. Jess Jury has lost the whole of his outbuildings. Mr. C. Oliver has also lost his cowshed and other outbuildings, Mr. W. Jury the roof from his stable, and Mr. Meredith the iron from his cowshed. Mr. Clcmow has had a fine field of corn stripped clean, leaving nothing but the stalks. Several haystacks are level with the ground, and as for trees the roads are literally strewn with fallen trunks and branches. The royal mail (motor) coach, lies in a gully, at the bottom of (Honeysuckle Hill, having been blown completely over the embankment. A buggy also lies upside down near Mrs. Crompton's, and looks considerably damaged.

AT WAITARA. Writes our correspondent:—Fences, chimneys and windows have been the main sufferers by the gale. The roof of a thai in Messrs H. Brown and Co.'s timber yard was blown off on to the top of a large tree in the railway yards. Telegraph and electric light wires were also affected.

The fishing boat "Swan," while crossing the Waitara bar inwards on Wednesday, was struck by a large sea and almost foundered. Mr. Danielsen, who was at the helm, was knocked against the side of the boat, and got his side bruised, but luckily was able to keep the boat under control, and succeeded in crossing the bar without any further mishap.

AT WAKEA. Our Warea correspondent writes:— The gale was the worst experienced here. Considerable damage was done to plantations, cowsheds, fowlhouses and other buildings. Telegraph lines were Mown down along the coast and the •wires broken, and all communication was cut off. The motor 'bus with the fimail arrived about two and a-thalf hours' late, it finding it difficult to get along. Mr. Sutton's cowshed was completely blown away and he was unable to milk his cows that morning. Several pine trees around his house were blown down. Mr. W. Kevell suffered considerably, the greater part of the roof of his cowshed and several other builTingsattached were taken clean away. Big pine trees were nprooted and blown down around the house, rendering it impossible to get in and out at the back. The garden is a wreck. 'Mr. Parker, who is on Mr. <j. J. Elwin's old farm, has also suffered considerably, most of the big pine trees around his orchard having blown down and fallen over the fruit trees, which aie about destroyed. The old stable has . blown over and also the fowlhouse, and other damage done. Mr. Clothier's row of pine trees, from the road down to the paddock, were mostly levelled to the ground, while the orchard has suffered very much. Mr. Mac Donald's place is a wreck, pine trees being up-rooted and others broken off and lying all over the paddocks. A new shed that was put I up only a week or two ago was blown away and the cowshed started to go, but was stopped by weighing down the windward side. Mr. W. B. Clarke's trapshed was blown away, and the chimneys of the house blown down. A little damJ was done to the hall outbuildings, and the timber in Messrs Ducker Bros.' timber yard w?.s a little mixed up. Several cowsheds and outbuildings were Wown down on the Warea road. On the road between here and Puniho the road is almost blocked with fallen pines. Mr. Gibbons' old stores are roofless, and the old Puniho library is upside down, and the other buildinirs are looking very shaky after the wind. None of the *oachps nor the mail 'bus came througn on Wednesday afternoon. The whole ilistriet is covered with leaves and limbs of trees of every description. Almost nil the native shelter bush is destroyed, as well as all the shelter that siad been planted. Hundreds of pounds' worth of damage has been done in this district alone, scarcely a single farmer escaping.