“TAUPO THROBS”

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LX, Issue 11047, 22 February 1933, Page 3

“TAUPO THROBS”

Waters Troubled

LAKE RISES AND FALLS AS IF IT WERE TIDAL.

An unprecedented movement is reported from Lake Taupo, the water in the lake rising and falling as if it were tidal. At 10 o’clock last Wednesday morning, a number of Maoris were engaged in removing some stones from the lake bed in connection with the building of a wall at the trout hatchery, when they suddenly noticed that the waters were rising. This steady swelling of the waters continued for 13 minutes, the level of the lake rising about 20 inches. It then stopped and the waters subsided taking nine minutes to regain their ordinary level. There was a pause of four minutes when the waters again rose, taking the same time (13 minutes) to attain their maximum and another nine minutes to subside. Since then the movement has been regular and has continued without interruption much to the mystification of the residents. The Maoris who live around the lake shores, particularly at Waitahanui, are completely in the dark as to the reasons and are somewhat disturbed. Other pakeha residents are also at a loss, saying that they have never seen such a phenomenon before and they can offer no explanation.

It was noticed that when the movement began the rise was directly against the set of the wind which was then blowing fairly strongly and it later changed to across the wind.

The Maoris can offer no explanation as to the cause and state that there' are no records in their knowledge of anything of the sort having happened before. “The bosom of Toupo throbs,” said one. Wellington, Feb. 21 . Both Dr Adams, Government seismologist, and Dr Kidson, Government meteorologist, are inclined to the opinion that the peculiar- behaviour of the water in Lake Taupo can be attributed to seiches, which are periodical risings and fallings in lakes, and are due to variations in barometric pressure. Very occasionally they may be due to earth tremors, but in the absence of any reports of these from the Taupo regipn there is no reason to suppose that anything of that kind is at work on the present occasion. Though a rise' and fall of two feet might sound a lot, said Dr Kidson, it is not so in view of the-vol-ume and area of the lake and the shelving of the bed.