The Gale Last Night.

Thames Star, Volume III, Issue 1688, 1 June 1874, Page 2

The Gale Last Night.

Never before, perha^s, f tia«;the r TJtomea ( b^iti visited Vith' suiih a storm as raged last night, and with utill more certainty might it bo sad that a storm has never carried'with it such disastrous .coniV-; quences-^-at every assailable (i.e., weak) point, it brought destruction. The indications on Saturday night gave warning of the approach of nastyweather, although the most knowing of weather-cocks could not predict exactly what would follow. On Sunday- morning" and. throughout the fore part of the day the'win'd disported itself; in fitfiul gusts ;■ it rainedandwas '■ fine by turns j and, in fact, the weather was most undecided. When the sun had sunk to rest, however,-•; the wind began to assert itself,'and the tide to rise, till, at .about ;six,o'clock, it was blowing such,a gale, as we s only.can-talk of with moderate. comfort at a warm, ; fir,esidle. The streets were almost desertedi' except in places „ where iT the. effects -of the gale%ere most corispicubiisly" displayed, and made them centre points of interest. It is almost* impossible to* arrive at an exactly" accurate conclusion'as to the e?ctenjt of the damage .done; -the severity jaf tW gale, however; was most "felt i&Grp hamstown—those^ portions,. of; the^ town exposedto the r fury' of' the combined forces, of wind and wave- Fortunately there ;happoriedr:to be little shipping in the gulf; but -the vessels anchored at different points were, one and all, darried from their moorings; cutters and sciibijtteprs anchored '•with apparent:-'\seciirifcyrvriS?ejre driven like cocklr-shells on the beach, and rid?pl>wSi^ ?cbn\6i stem:; MfeirA headlong course. At Shortland, in the vicinity pf Sealey-street, a schooner was driven ashore at about 7 o'clock, while others could be seen fast yielding to the fury of the gale; and a yacht shortly afterwards was cast up on the beach in a like manner. The cutter Sydney drifted from her fastenings and finally, drove, through.tjie Grah'amstown wharf -just above thatipart of it where the v ;.original construction terminated. The ; Sydney, after effecting this^passager through the wharf, and- some severe bumpihg, landed high and dry on the beach just above Keid's timber yard/ -She is^eon'siderably shaken, but has ndjfc sustained nearly .no <»iu<ih! damage* as might The. Lady, Bath and George also effected passage! through the wharf at different points, making fearful gaps ; these vessels were followed closely by Mr. Hawkes' Tapu cutter. .. I Th>. r .,t^oT9rmer^er.e/car« ried -up tbwards'Shortland some distance, but the latter managed to get fast in, the vicinity of Holdship's wharf. The Grrahamstown wharf would: appear to be doomed The breaches made in it above referred to was, not the only damage it it sustained: the junction which con-, nected the raili. oh: the wharf with the Grahafnstbwn and r Tararu line of tramway was completely smashed^up ; and at one time it was feared that the fore part of tho-:wharf would' be carried bodily away, but. that fear, as it his happily proved,' was' groundless. The \ sea wall all along the line was; in places completely destroyed—notably at points just above the Grahamstown terminus, and further on towards Williamson-street. The wood work f was in some instances ca'sJ*up_in_f.ragments.,Qn.the road, and in others, carried away in immense pieces by the'receding waves, as tbe tide went out. Thenecessary result of the embankment being destroyed was-the falling in of the ea^th and;.st«i^^^^which formed the linit^rjcoii^jj^^jpiK:4he line is laid;; an^'ihe^iiS^jmßlllsif^r^the water, suspeQ^ed, lajJ^^gmo^^-ii> the; parts of the-line Hfi^^eal^aU^f^Vhich ihad not giwji way^^Dgi^|:the line; of tramwayi the sea broketbver, into the" streets, and though not running "*-' mountairis high," it was sunicien ( tiy;lofty in its grand rage. ;< to "unfbrtuna,te^ travellers whose businessJor curiosity tlieii along the Beach roafd, fThe: beach from t^e^^acificr Hotel ia Roldshi^s-wharf presented a panorama pT fearfuldisordeV and destruction: ''^hetimb'erfrom Reid's yard was scattered about in all directions j^-a quantity of it ltrinl^ i 6 l^war&ofr tHe colter Sydhey• and indeed all ■ alotfg the footpath opposite thef - Wesley ah Ghurch. ?Aibreach was fjoiadei^ Holdship's f#ha?f about 12 feet from the butt. "''Thfs was caused by the small . timber .:,. stacked thereon and the logs of junVtimfiet'Whicsh were swept; in the direction 6f tjie wharf and against the pihW It #as ,tlm»>found necessary to cut away; that j^ortionlof the w,harf in order ; .,^;^ve';th|e^€iiructipA of tntf tiers' upon which timber was stacked alongside, and its consequent distribution along the beach, iiftjifar as we could learn last .night from personal observation- alk;thfc serious damage resultingvfrqm this unlucky visitation 7>f the gale; but of minor mischief there was evidence everywhere;-iThegardehs, along the beach, upon many;of which considerable time and trouble had been expended by their owners] were' more or less harmed—in many inßtanceSjTindeed these gardeng^rere, flooded, and the inhabitants of the houses suffered no little«iaeon> venience from the; unceremonious encroachment of the tide into their houses Fences were blown down in different parts—many were leyejled in Shortland, amongst which we t remarked that of Mr Douglas in-Wyipughbyistreet, displaying a goodly show of pumpkins. I

-Further Paticulara. Further inquiry this morning reveals a worse state of things than that described in the «bove writing. The gale did great damage to-property at-Tararu. On an early visit this morning, it was at once seen that the wharf was again a complete wreck, but two small sections being left without damage. The part pf the--wharf where the steamers discharge cargo—so far as could be seea--w uninjured, a« alio U the lighthouse. A long portion

of the wharf hag been completely carried away, and another jjength has been so completely shaken that very little will carry., it .away to sea. The money loss must be;something like £1000. £150 has just been expended ou a portion of the wharf nowcamed away. iThere was no collision.by.vessels with fhe structured but the sea seems, from ■the look of the wreck,- to have risen under the foot planks, and, by their resistance, to have torn the structure to pieces, the large .spikes and bolts by which, it was held together being twisted'like bfts of wire., - The Imperial.Crown Holel at the Tararu end of the" wharf had a most narrow escape, the foundation of the house, being literal'y' washed away For some 15 feet under it on its sea front, leaving the blocks hanging. The adjacent out-house has „had v its „ foundation nearly washed away, arid lis /out'of plumb. The damage to the sea wall isc:^fc aa^inight hav£ been anticipated % „ 1A few days.w/ork will, put that all right. All along the line of tramway is strewn with wreck. A'large portion drifted to the Kuranui battery. ■OninqiHry"'it'was: found 'that the battery on ■■-v;jtlje>: beach:^kd; sustained ;no ;i damago other; tMn Jwhat r little sand may? have been,washedjiiitQ,them.! .. ;.v. rr ,-.,..•. The barqiie Lady Emma', moored in the Thames l^iver'.at.the^ lower ? mill,Joad\ ing vtimberV dragged^ both- -artchbrs—one' having.4o and, the_ ; other . 30 r fajthprns Pf cable 'wp^ande^jtth^bn'gs't' thY mangrotes,' £■■ hundred .'feefcV above?; they "v^iirf; vessel has 'been* ihuM: "dama-ge'd,^but*life, anticipates considerable difficultyfin get-; ting her oit. " ; .;; ; ;.;~ Up the various creeks, in, v pipbsed, situations, the damage^ done A is'" rcSn£ siderable. We learn that .brie ■house was .blown .over.i but'-nobody, .'was hurti^^Sce^were Jle^>ll^a !in^all Miree^ tions, gardens 4<??P-§Ued -.by, i the > |brce i of the wind ; and^a^portion of Jthe' Moana- 1 taiartWateiyllaeejCom pany's fiuming|has been'destTrsoj^c(i:'p In sotneioi> the remote icr.eetß^anjl-, jgoutll|g^, .^reater/dumage may - liave^b'een sustained, particulars of which. haiVej-np^ com.e,tp baad. . . ; ,■> • " • &Thii rb'eac)i road ffrl)m Tararu' to" Shortlti|d||"Whkrf 'ifasJa-da^; strewn ifitK'timber; °a! good de&t of' Whicn waS £ijroke& in fragments of m o use, except for,.fire.virppd,; I^lecies iiromythe; di^f^ni^ard*, .^niusl^a^e^e^c^e^ sadly Tmixe3;up. \^2kß> cutter Sydne3T>.o|., all thei coasters, weins', to be in the worst' plight, and to a casual observer, it would seem that gettins:ne*~< afloat again will be a difficult matter. ■ The gardens fronting "the b^tfeh I have guffered- fearfully.-;» The^-inflow, of salt water andlth| dashin^sprayl have noti only carried away the soil and destroyed' many valuable plants, ; but.the tide has deposited a layer of' sand where /before was rich earth. Front fences have also been_ undermined,, _ and in...somg gca.ses thrown down. ~"..V

A portion of the zina-corering jof i St. George's iGhurcn spire has' been stripped; but only a small portion. Some persons thought the whole of tho spire would vhave come..dqwii._,_ _„_„ tr ,^ .„. . "• ■,^.,. I*.':-_: >v %^^MaM .f_MatJ. jKeCjbarbmeter gave ample indications of the change coming on. The master of the barque "Lady; Emma., noticed. .the^change.and^.macle. all secure as he thought.-^ Captain &oidsmith'i, observations were to the e;ffecfc that the glass fell lower than ever was known? beforehand 1 that it rose^ as^jfSatiit the turn of the tide. .