CLEANING UP

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 July 1942, Page 2

CLEANING UP

OPERATIONS IN MASTERTON GOOD PROGRESS CONTINUES. REMOVAL OF FALLEN PARAPETS IN HAND. Clearing up operations are still proceeding briskly in the commercial and residential areas of Masterton, following the big earthquake of a week ago. Attention is now being directed to the removal of parapets which have fallen on to the roofs of buildings without crashing through the iron. Cracks continue to open up in damaged buildings. Work is now proceeding in Queen Street on. Messrs Hugo and Shearer's building, the Trust Lands Trust promises north of Lincoln Road, the buildoccupied by Cody’s Cash Drapery and the Prince of Wales Hotel. In all these cases broken parapets are being removed. At the Prince of Wales Hotel, portion of the front parapet crashed inside the building, falling into rooms on the first floor. This debris is now being removed. Good progress continues with the demolition of the Post Office tower and St. Matthew's Church. The front part of the Fire Brigade building is badly shattered and the whole of this portion will probably have to be demolished. A billiard table standing in the men’s room upstairs was shifted nine inches and two of the legs broken off. This building and several others are still roped off. Except for a fracture in a large concrete chimney in the Methodist Home, little damage was done. The chimney will have to be removed. In the meantime, the children at the home are sleeping downstairs. St. Matthew’s School also escaped serious damage, though the chimneys fell on to the roof. These have been, removed and the building is again in full use. Chimneys at the West Side School fell inside the building and the children are being accommodated at the main West School. It has been suggested that if the Side School pupils could continue to receive tuition at the West School ,the children of Te Ore Ore School could be accommodated at the Side School when the latter has been repaired. The Te Ore Ore School, a brick building, is badly shattered. Among messages of sympathy and offers of help received by the Mayor, Mr T. Jordan, is one from the Mayor of Dunedin.

' POSITION IN CARTERTON FURTHER DAMAGE REVEALED. Further extensive damage in Carterton, not already reported, is that to the western wall of Messrs Hughan, Ltd’s, building. Yesterday the staff were busily employed protecting the wall against collapse with heavy wood bracing both inside and outside the building. Mr Leggett’s storeroom (Parton's old tinsmith shop) is roped off as being unsafe. The front portion overlooking the footpath in Pembroke Street is badly cracked. The brick portion of the Carterton flour mills also shows distinct damage and many cracks in the walls are visible. This building is also roped off as unsafe. At Te Wharau the district shows signs of severe shaking. Many landslides on the hills are visible and in one instance it is reported that a woman refuses to sleep in the homestead and a tent has been erected for sleeping purposes. The first batch of bricklayers from other centres arrived in Carterton yesterday. The men are billeted at the Marquis Hotel. They commenced work at once in rebuilding urgently required chimneys.

The quake has been responsible for a subsidence to an approach to the Carrington bridge near the cheese factory. County men are effecting repairs.

A sharp shock felt in Carterton before 5 o’clock this morning was responsible for shaking pictures from walls in some homes and breakables from unprotected positions.