A VOILENT GALE

Taranaki Daily News, 20 March 1918, Page 5

A VOILENT GALE

CARRIES DEVASTATION THROUGH mmm

ALL TELEGRAPH WIRES DOWN

WAIN TRUNK REPORTED TO BE ABLAZE

The wind which commenced to blow towards midnight on Monday developed into & considerable gale by the early hours pf Tuesday morning, and by daylight it had increased to such an extent as to constitute (according to the opinion of old residents) one of the worst storms ever experienced locally. The storm continued with more or less violence throughout the day, and it was not until evening that the wind really showed signs of moderating. At first the gale blew from the cast, then from north, but it gradually veered to the west, being accompanied by heavy showers of rain. Considerable damage has been done in and around town. Chimneys have been demolished, sections of fences . blown dow%'trees uprooted, and in some cases buildings'have been partially unroofed. Lines of communication have been blown and intercourse "with outside districts 'was impossible all day yesterday. Electric light mains w:re also affected, "and during Monday night—or in the early hours of yesterday morning—some localities were without, light. In.Devon Street the big bill hoarding opposite the Bank of* Australasia was 4 blowH completely, off its supports, while -on the opposite side of the street one of Messrs. J. and J. Auld's big plate glass windows was blown sight in. Some of the bjricjavork— the only portion left standing after the fire which destroyed the Theatre Royal—also collapsed under the fdree of the gale. The Grosvenor Hotel also suffered somewhat, tho parapet facing,..the sea being considerably strained, though it was kept from collapsing by sonic supports which were fixed before further damage was done. 'The Coronation Rail also suffered'some damage, seVeral sheets/ of roofing iron being torn off some of the annexes.

ANGRY SEA. It ijtras the sea-front, however, which attracted most attention. The gale had produced a very heavy and angry sea, &f& the approach of the high tide at about 2.15 p.m. \va3 watched with considerable' interest, and not a little anxiety. During the morning huge breakers ■were ,<spending themselves on the wall facing the railway premises, and as the tide fttse the waves broke high over the parapet in many places. Along the beßC'n fears were entertained concerning some-of;the cottages and the.Ngamotu FaUUtram. At higji tide the water came right under several of the cottages that are closest to the beach, though none of them-appeaTed to have suffered any real damftke., The palladium, which was at time* entirely surrounded by water, was not w> fortunate, and at one time there was Mghtien ipebes of water on the floor of the building, and'when the tide had receded'the custodian was engaged in shovelling out ,the deposit of sand that , the |*a had left behind.

';■ ,A' SHED SMASHED. The wharf aW breakwater were the chief, centres of attraction, and the sight of tjie waves as they literally boiled up and completely submerged the breakwater for its entire length was an aweinspiring one. The trams all the afternoon carried crowds of sightseers to the locality, and motor cars were there by the ,f Bcore. It was here that the sea manifested its fury, and it was here that considerable damage was done. A shed of considerable size, which was erected on ■ the side of the breakwater, near # the Shore end, which was usd as a mess room by the wharf workers and harbor emrjloyees, was lifted bodily off its platform by one of the big 3eas that were breaking right over that spot as the tide 1 rose. The shed was deposited right across the railway lines' several yards front its original position. Though there were some men in it at the time, none of them sustained any injury. The shed

was shifted further over, nearly right

across the wharf, later in the afternoon, - and the western side of it was completely blown in and the interior wrecked, while the back of the building appeared to have been broken against one of the standards supporting the' wharf lights. When the building was driven across the wharf on the second occasion, a number of people who wero close it had very narrow escapee, and two ladies were unfortunate enough to be knocked down by it, and received more or less serious injury. . j Another large shed on the wharf also had-the western wall badly buckled in.

. SAFETY OF SHIPPING. The vessels at the wharf stood the strain very well, though the harbormaster and his staff had a somewhat anxious time. The Kittawa was berthed on the western side of the wharf, directly astern of the Karu, while the dredge Paritutu and the Waimea occupied berths on the opposite aide of the wharf. Anxiety was felt concerning the Rarawa, which, although sighted early in the morning, was unable to berth.

BERTHING THE RARAWA. Soon«ft«r midday it was seen that the Rarawa was approaching the breakwater, with the evident intention of coming inside, although the signals ordered her to stand out till the sea moderated. All doubts u to the intention of Captain Bark were set at rest when it was seen that the vessel was really making for port. The spectators on the wharf experienced some thrills during the process of berthing the steamer. When she came broadside on to the set of the waves she was on one occasion almost completely lost sight of, while at other times she appeared alternately to stand up on bow and stern. Great relief was felt when the Teasel was eventually got alongside, the way she was handled by hats skipper Remonstrating skilled sea-iiwuilto-tai'yat tho subject of .very J» *«* * aaa I 3 * l * bnt

the harbormaster exercised great skill and pains in getting the vessel moored. Doubtless the most thankful of ail concerned were the passengers, of whom there were a good number. They had had a most unenviable experience, and all were glad to set foot on shore again.

A horse which was unloaded soon after the vessel was berthed bore signs of the severe handling the boat had received, its fore legs being much grazed. Captain Bark, seen by a News representative after arrival, said they had had a good trip down, until nearing their destination. They left Onehunga about 3.30 p.m. on Monday, and had a fair wind, which increased somewhat during the night, veering to the west, and later, before coming in, i-lightly to the soujth. JjThey were off New Plymouth almost at the usual time yesterday morning. He said there was nothing sensational, in their experience, though he admitted that the sea at New Plymouth was an unusually heavy one.'

THE WORST SEA HE HAD SEEN. Captain Waller (harbormaster) stated that the sea was the worst he had seen during his five years' experience at New Plymouth. He and his staff had had a trying day, but were pleased there had been nothing untoward in connection with any of the vessels in port. Referring to the Rarawa earning in against the signaki.-he thought it quite possible the captain had not seen the signals. The wharf felt the f strain of the sea, and of the moored vessels, considerably, and as the vessels first on one side and then on the oilier were rolled against the structure by the swell, it shivered and creaked ominously.

The gale gradually abated during the evening and the weather cleared. CUT OFF TELEGRAPHICALLY. This is the first occasion since New Plymouth was . connected by telegraph that communication with the ,outside world has been entirely cut off. Generally if the southern line is unworkable—a very rare thing—the northern line can be used, but yesterday both lines were useless Pole.i and wires were down everywhere. The linesmen had a very busy lime yesterday in straightening out things and re-ereeting the poles. Last night communication between New Plymouth and Hawera was restored, hut between Ilawora and Waifganui polc-i are down in every direction! and ii.jw* reigns supreme. North of I'remii the lines are seriously affected, .as they are on the other side of the Mokau. . '

Squads of linesmen are working assiduously to restore communication. A LINESMAN'S EXPERIENCE. A telegraph linesman named C. Revell met with ian unenviable experience yesterday. He was busy with the wire shaken from the telegraph, posts near Crompton's, Omata, when a motor car came bowling along and knocked him down. The car picked him up in a very badly shaken condition, and brought him into town.

ANXIOUS TIME AT WAITARA. The houses in exposed positions in Waitara received a severe buffeting, chimneys being felled and outhouses and fences lowered. Many householders, alarmed at the oscillation of their domiciles, stayed up all night, expecting at any time to have to make a run for it.

DISTRESS SIGNALS AT SEA. | People in Waitara saw, at about four in the morning, what they regarded as distress signals out at sea. Probably it was tl»e Rarawa, whidh was battling with the elements in the neighborhood of Waitara at Ihat time.

AN EXCITING EXPERIENCE. One New Plymouth man had an exciting time. He was awakened at an early hour by the violence of the storm. He heard first his fences, then his fowl house, next an outhouse go. Then he thought it was about time to get his famrly together and prepare to eVacuatc the house, which was swaying and groaning. With so much wood, etc., flying about outside, and the rain falling, the prospect was none too alluring, and so the family decided to "see it through" in the house, which weathered the gale safely. The .householder confesses lie •dos not want another experience of the kind.

in miming to time-table, but those coming from Hawera found the gale and the up-grade obatables to punctuality. At 2 p.m. the gale had dropped considerably, but outdoor work was far from a pleasure. ELTHAM. "Easily the gale I remember here," sums up the weather 'prevailing. While not so high as .Stratford, the resident,-, of Eltham have also experienced the "blow" Mr. Carman's shop is minus a window, whik< seme of the residents have also experienced the same trouble. The line flower beds near the railway station are a wreck, while the street trees growing near the courthouse are finding it hard to stand up. Indeed, one, a fine ash, has smashed, and in going across the courthouse section narrowly missed the corner of the building, and, of course, destroyed the hedge.. The Box Factory had several timber stacks, but these have generally collapsed. The usually spic and span Bridge Street is littered with leaves, showing that the trees are rapidly shedding their foliage, assisted by the breeze.

The wind camp in such terrific gusts that at times it felt as though something solid had been heaved against the sides of the houses, many of which, trembled and shook so violently as to cause considerable alarm to the inmates. In one case a door was blown right in, the iron lock having given i way under the pressure of the wind. Paterfamilias, py-jama-clad only, had to nail battens across to keep the door clpsed. The rain, driven by the wind, was forced under doors and in through windows that were not tightly closed, flooding many, premises. Gardens were devastated.

Flowers, such as asters, phlox, cosmeas and salpiglosMis, that were making the gardens look beautiful, were all flattened out and damaged recovery. Large pine trees IS inches in diameter were snapped like carrots, and huge branches torn off and blown about the place. In Graham Street a large pme that was snapped across a few feet from the ground, lies prone across the street. Fences were blown down in many directions.

A portion of the iron balustrading over Mr. Q'Haga'n'g verandah was blown down, one of the windows •of Mr. Carman's shop, on the Stanners Street frontage was blown in, and the roofing of sheds and outhouses was blown off. Apple trees were stripped of all their fruit, and in some cases the trees themselves were blown out by the root.

The roof of the retort house at the gasworks was blown completely off. A hoarding on the corner of Collingwood Street was blown over, and, hitting an adjacent lamp standard, broke it off.

A young man who cycled into town from Haweva stated that he had to surmount no less than eight trees, which had fallen across the road. But this appears to have been the common experience of those whose occupation took them on tin. roads, several milk carta being thus held up. •The roofs of a number of milking sheds were blown off, and the plants put out of use. Mr. Sadler, of the Mountain Road, suffered in this manner, being unable to milk his herd that morning. Several settlers in the Mangatoki district were in a similar plight. It wa3 reported that a portion of the Te Roti church was blown down.

Mr. Bracher's blacksmith's shop felt the full force of the wind, and has taken a distinct lean. The front door was blown in, a portion of the roof blown off, and the chimney blown down.

• AT HAWERA. Large windows in High Street were subjected to a severe and at Grace's a large sheet of glass gave way under the pressure, one of the windows of Cole's motor garage also offering insufficient resistance, while the window of a Chinese laundry in Union Street \va3 broken. Other windows have been partly timbered to withstand the strain. Hoardings, signboards and fences have become loosened, and, in cases, have been blown to. the ground, while others are swinging about with an ominous croaking. Several trees are minus some big Ifenbs, and at one house, a great willow tiee has been brought down. Fowlhoiises and outhouses 'have also suffered, and chimneys are reported down in places. Two tanks, belonging to Mr. Kneebone, got adrift, one trundling its way down Victoria Street to South Road. At Nolantown, which is even more exposed to the easterly, the roof of Mr. \V. K. Shaw's house was lifted by the gale, ,one piece of roofing iron being blown on to an outhouse at the railway station. The pine trees at Mr. Nolan's property have suffered severely, and many branches have been blown off. Mr. Taylor, of Quin's Timber Co., states that the windows in his house suffered badly, and considerable damage was done to his furniture. Considerable damage was done at Quin's mill, a large part of the roof being damaged, also the end of the factory, while timber was blown all over the' place. The damage is roughly estimated at about .C4O. Symcs' mill was more fortunate, and only minor damage was done to the roof and in the yard. As usual in heavy gales the electric mains snlfered and both the low tension and high tension systemji are disturbed. Fallen poles and frees nave caused the main damage, the extent of which is unknown at the time of writing, but the rei,a ; r staff is hard at work, and it was hoped that the full service will be available by the evening. The full force of the gale was felt at the Egmont Racing Club's course, where the damage done, it is estimated, will cost some hundreds of pounds to repair. The row of stalls from the gate to *he sand roll has been laid flat, and four of the loose boxes between the course and the sand roll have been unroofed. Some iron has been blown off the grandstand and stewards' stand. A number of the pine trees near the caretaker's cottage have also been levelled.

STRATFORD. Lying high up, it was only natural that Stratford should feel the full force of the gale which commenced to operate shortly after ten o'clock. The force of the wind increased rather than diminished as the night wore on, and with the arrival o; daylight, many anxyous property-owners took stock of their surroundings. At the Commercial Hotel the wholo length of the iron rodfing of the verandah was bodily stripped, posts accompanying the flying sheets, and several bricks being displaced from a chimney. At Mr. Ford's shop, next to the hotel, a verandah post appears four feet above the iron roofing. The roof of the hotel shows various dents caused by falling bricks. At Mr. C. Arden's Empire Hotel, one of the. windows was blown in, while.the new picture company's fine premises had two windows blown in. This building is the highest in Stratford, but, beyond the broken windows, appears to have suffered no damage. Shaky verandahs and levelled fences were the rule rather than the exception. The electric light officials had rather au anxious time, and this morning were busy making a tour of the town to note . the damage, but these appear to have g so far stood the strain reniariably well. I The trains from north had so difScultv

At the public hospital a large tree was uprooted and fell aevuss the mffln entrance, completely blocking it. Electric light wives were badly damaped. At the cemetery the roof of a shed was lifted and blown right across the grounds as far as the custodian's house. Several tombstones were blown over, and one was broken. Glass bowls enclosing wreaths were scattered in all directions.

At the Bowling Club's green the fences have suffered badly. That dividing them from the Tennis Club is practically all gone, while lattice work is scattered badly. The roof of the gymnasium of the District High School, which was Deing repaired, was lifted, while a couple of windows in the mill:, school were broken. Owing to the rough weather the committee gave the children a holiday. It is reported that a local milk vendor lost bis previous evening's milk, it having been blown down a gully. The practising stand of the fire brigade was overturned.

A settler from Alton reports that between GO and 70 telegraph poles are down between Ball Road and Hawera. Many chimneys at Alton also suffered damage.

The Hawera Bowling Club has suffered sevprely. The tea pavilion has been •smashed to pieces. Probably repairs, on the whole, will cost the club between .120 and £3O.

It is stated that 24 telegraph and telephone posts have been blown down between Hawera and Mokoia.

On the Turuturu Road a hjg chimney ■at Mr. Wilkie's house came down and almost went through the roof. This was propped up. and held until the bricks were removed. .Sheets of iron may be seen in varioi.-: paddocks.

AT NORMANBY. The Normanby correspondent of the Star writes that the gale was the worst in the memory of the oldest inhabitants. It apparently reached its height about 4 a.m., when the fury of the wind played havoc with trees, fences, milking sheds, r>tc, some iron roofs being deposited fully :\ quarter of a mile away. The principal damage is tho -porch of the Presbyterian Church, which was blown over. The produce shed of the Horticultural Society was levelled to the ground. Tho police station fence and that at the Normanby Hotel were blown over, and the Electric Company's wires lire down in several places. A door was blown in at" the Commercial Hotel, and the roof started, while settlers had their milk stands seen in various paddocks.—Star.

AT INGLEWQOD. Inglewood, in comm'""' 1 . with the rest of Taranaki, suffered from the gale. The oil derrick on tlu late Mr. B. H. Nicholl's property was blown down. A large pine tree was blown across the road near the Moa Dairy Factory, damaging some of the electric light poles and wires, and, as a result a portion of the town is without lighting, while it i 3 stated that the Moa Dairy Company's electric motor, which obtains its power from the borough, was put out of action. Various minor damage is reported from different parts of the town and the surrounding district.

GENERAL ITEMS. Many of the private gardens in New Plymouth suffered severely, the hurricane, laden with salt spray, "blighting flower beds and shrubs, and playing havoc with the pungas and other ferns at all exposed. Several bush fires have been noticed over the Ngaere swamp during the past Jew days, and the gale fanned the flames in one particular outbreak until it was plainly visible from Eltham (says the Argus).

When the mail train steamed out from New Plymouth yesterday morning, for the first few hundred yards the enginp struggled very slowly against the wind and the railway carriages were so much shaken by it that some of the passengers became quite.nervous. But when the engine got well through the cutting there was then a fair wind, and the train would have run along without any engine.