THE FLOODS.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 557, 14 December 1875, Page 2

THE FLOODS.

Accounts of the damage done by the floods continue to come in. From Ngaruawahia we lenrn that a far larger amount of damage has been done than was at first supposed. Mr Lamb lost seven hundred bags of -rheat either washed away altogether or seriously damaged, and Mr Parke's house, clo^e io Lamb's Mill's was toppled over by the flood and carried away. Lamb's Mill was so far submerged that the fires in the engineroom were put out by the rising water. Mr Parke estimates the damage done to bis property at £200 which as many thousands will scarcely cover Mr Lamb's loss. The greatest excitement prevailed at Ngaruawahia for the safety of the railway bridge. Had the Cambridge bridge been brought down by the flood that at Ngaruawahia would have been seriously imperilled. Every where except at the large archway there is an accumulation of debris against the upper side of the bridge fully 15 feet wide, and men are engaged working upon the top of it, as on an embankment, clearing it away. The strain on the bridge is very heavy and the cylinders of the iron bridge have already been forced about two inches out of the plumb line. This howerer is not of much consequence. The effect of the straiu upon the temporary bridge which supports the iron one has b*en to cause it to sink. It has sank at least 12 inches and men hare been engaged in wedging up the iron span which it suppoits inch by inch as it fell. Ifc will readily be nnderstood that with the work in this state the crash of a vast structure like that of the Cambridge bridge was looked upon as the last feather necessary to break | its back. Thanks however to the pre- i cations of the authorities in charge, to the use of the wire, and to the gallant aid rendered by Major Clare and the Armed Constabulary stationed at Hamilton this v\ as not to be. Almost at the same time Major Clare received telegrams from Cambridge and Ngaruawahia, the one telling him that the bridge had gone the other asking him to intercept it. No time was lost. Two boats were kindly lent by the Hamilton West Town Board and Mr Cummins, and were sent into the stream to reconnoitre and intercept it. Men higher up were posted on heights commanding a view of the river (the moon was up) and at about half-past eleven o'clock the cry of "Look out" was echoed from point to point by the several sentries, and presently two huge masses were seen by the main body of those gathered along shore rounding the corner above Cummin's brewery. The men in the boats with a cheer gave way at the oars and advanced to meet them, not a little excited, as whether they had to tackle a rolling monster or an inert mass, they had yet to leirn. Fortunately it was the latter. The bridge instead cf to3sing and rolling about to the danger of all coming near it sailed down the stream majestically as though it had been built for river navigation. Ifc was found that the bridge had parted in the centre. A rope was attached by one boat to one portion and by the second Wat to the other portion and then the struggle coramenced to edge across so as to bring the huge structure into the backwater above the punt. The immense bulk and weight of both pieces prevented this, and the bridge, boats, and all swept past Hamilton down the river towards No 1 bridge on the Ngaruawahia road. The men told off along shore at this juncture, seeing that a landing could not b© effected started

overland for the No 1 bridge also, as the next point upon the river where (heir services could be of use. The men in the boats two or three of whom got upon the bridge itself stuuk manfully to ike wreck nnd the smaller portion, the long approach to or wing of the main bridge wai edged somewhat in towards the western bank of the river, and various attempts were made to land and draw it into the side but ineffectually. At last, and as a desparate resort to prevent its passing No 1 bridge, between which spot and Newcastle there would have been no chance of stopping it, a landing was effected, the men bringing the end of the rope on sho.'e and straining upon it. The large mass of floating timber and the strength of the current dragged them through scrub and fences like so many children along the high bank above the river. At one time the rope was whirled round the post and rail of a fence in the hope of getting a stay, but in vain, post and rails flying like matches into pieces. It was coiled round scrub and bushes, bnf twisted them out of the soil roots and all. The half-dozen or so of mea on the rope had been run rapidly down the river bank now to within 50 yards of No 1 bridge, when the welcome shout of some twenty or thirty of the A C and others who bad arrived by the road was heard, and all hands getting on the rope, the rapid course of the moving mass was considerably arrested. Even then, but for a couple of accacia trees — the man who planted them, deserved a civic crown if Road Boards awarded such honors in these degenerate days— the wreck would have swept past No 1 bridge, but the men got a double turn on the trees and the rope stood the strain far better than a large one at Cambridge did the previous evening, There, when the bridge was seen to be doomed, they made a four inch rope fast to the structure but it swept away snapping the rojm as though it l>ad been a piece of pack thread or made of *' best New Zealand flax." To return, however, from Cambridge to Hamilton. Scarcely had the first portion o( the bridge been got into the back-water, when the second half came sweeping by, and apparently so far out in the stream that nothing could stop ir, but with great dexterity one of the men in the No 2 boat which heid this portion of the bridge in tow, made fast the line to the stern of the wreck just moored, and with but a foot or two of line to spare. This brought up the wreck all standing. There was a heavy strain upon the rope, an anxious half minute passed, and then slowly the mass in the river began to slue round, and brought up astern of its consort already moored in the backwater. The whole affair was carried out with great coin-age and determination by the men ot the armed constabulary under Major Clare and sub-Inspector Smith who were both present. They deserve the greatest credit for their pluck and determination, for had the wreck passed them the damage done at Ngaruawahia might be counted by thousands of pounds. The No 1 bridge, though severely injured, is still standing and passable, except perhaps by a nervous person with a heavily loaded dray. It appears, not to put too tine a point upon it, to \nv\ c got a cricfe* in its back. Like many others throughout the district, not utterly destroyed, it will need considerable repair. From a gentleman arrived during ye&ter'lay from Alexandra, we learn that there is good hopethat the Mangapiko bridge reported to have been carried away early on lhursdav, is still standing. Tlie water was then some twenty feet above it, but tlie nati\essounding found that some at least of the timber is there, nnd, if any part, more probably than not the whole. The water ros« so rapidly that before it had well time to give there was probab ly a sufficient top weight gathered to keep it down. From above Alexandra, we regret to learn of heavy floods experienced in the native territory. Whole settlements, whares, fences, cnltivations. and crops have been swept away. The flood is the highest and the most sudden in its irruption the natives themselves remember. Our Auckland and other telegrams, some portion of which were published on Saturday and yesterday as second and third editions, contain the laie&t intelligence of the disaster to the various settlements. At Whata Whata the flood covered a large area with water, some of the houses of the settlers showing only just their roofs above the water. The inmates had to take refuge in Mr Dawson's hotel, where they still remain. The old Whata Whata hotel even, lying high above the river is partly submerged, while the house of Mr Bently with its effects was swept down the river. Firewood, posts, rails, timber and a variety of articles went to swell the lumber on the ri\er. Parties coming down to Ngarnawahia have had for safety's sake to make a detour by way of Hamilton, On Saturday morning the mailman with Thursday's mail fiom Raglan had not put in an appearance at Whata Whata, so no doubt some of the rickety old bridges between the two places had been washed away. The punt at Whata Whata broke its moorings and has been left some distance off in a paddock some forty feet above the usual water level.