NEW CALEDONIA.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10011, 6 April 1910, Page 5

NEW CALEDONIA.

THE HUREICQNE AT EASTER. ADDITIONAL DETAILS OF DAMAGE. SEVERAL SHTPS SUNK. United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph Capyright. Received April 5, 10.5 p.m. SYDNEY, April 5. Details of the cyclone at Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia, (a large island off the coast of Australia, belonging to France,) on Easter Sunday night, state that a high wind drove the huge waves over the quay, and the vessels anchored in the bay, chiefly consisting of small ketches, fishing boats and punts, many of which sa;,k at their moorings.

The coasting steamer Cajore capsize , and the ship Guttharg broke away, and received considerable damage, colliding with the steamer Ville dj Lacoita!\ The cy>lon: reached its height at midnight. In the mjrrring the town presented a pitiable sight, the streets being strewn with debris. Many houses were unroofed, and some blown down. Gardens were obliterated and a magnificent avenue of trees surrounding th€ Place des Cocotiers were completely destroyed. The harbour was covered with wreckage, and the huge concrete blocks of the quay were shifted a hundred yarda, The gasworks were severely damaged, and the town was without grass for several days. The railway at Montreavel was torn up, causing a complete block of traffic. The canal that brings the water lor Noumea burst, and the people were dependent on private supplies. All the telegraph and telephone wires are down. At Ansevate, a suburb of Noumea, the, road skirting the beach was washed away, and a rubber plantation blown down, The sea at places came forty yards inland, leaving behind it a vast quantity of pumice stone. Noumea was apparently the centre of the storm, i Other districts report little damage, j No loss of life is reported. I

ANOTHER VESSEL WRECKED. Received April 6, 12.30 a.m. SYDNEY, April 5. The schooner Countess of Ranfurly. which is engaged in the New Hebrides trade, was on the route to Vila, when the disaster occurred on the south coast of New Caledonia. As the agents advices simply announce the wreck without mentioning the crew, it is inferred that the latter are safe. The schooner had a%eneral cargo insured for £1,500, and the hulk was insured for £2,500, both in the United Insurance Company.