OPERA HOUSE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 October 1942, Page 2

OPERA HOUSE

DECLARED TO BE UNSAFE IN EVENT OF SEVERE EARTHQUAKE REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS EXPERTS. READ AT TRUST MEETING. A report on the Opera House building, made by officers of the Public Works Department, was read at the meeting of the Trust Lands Trust yesterday at the request of one of the Trustees, Mr A. O. Jones. The report, which was made by Messrs A. G. Harris (engineer) and D. J. Burns (architect), of the Public Works Department, acting as honorary building surveyors, following the recent earthquake, was read by the secretary, Mr A. W. McKenzie as follows: “Opera House: After the earthquake of 1934, this brick-walled theatre building was fitted with a very complete system of piers and bands. On the front wall these were chased into the brickwork, but at the sides, and rear they were cast on the outside of the walls, with the walls tied to them by rag bolls and large circular washers. It is most unfortunate that these structural members were not chased into the walls, as the present system cannot be passed as satisfactory. In a severe earthquake, the walls would most certainly fall inward and, if the building were to be occupied, casualties would be heavy. This is all the more likely because of the very poor quality of the brickwork as can be seen by an examination of the top of the walls, from the flies. A further weakness is that the piers are obviously too slender to resist the force developed by a severe earthquake. The only effective remedy we can visualise is to extend the piers and bands through the inner faces of the walls. The existing reinforcement on the inner faces of the members would have to be exposed, and the new reinforcement securely tied to it.”

“The matter is not finalised,” observed Mr H. P. Hugo, chairman of the Trust Lands Trust, when asked to comment, this morning, on the above report.