TIDE DAMAGE AT SUMNER

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23353, 12 June 1941, Page 3

TIDE DAMAGE AT SUMNER

GOVERNMENT HELP SUGGESTED COUNCIL’S INSPECTION YESTERDAY The damage done in Sumner and Redcliffs by the exceptional spring tide and heavy seas on Tuesday evening was “obviously a bigger thing than the Borough Council could cope with without some sort of assistance,” said Mr W. J. Duff, a member and works supervisor of the Sumner Borough Council, after an inspection of the damage yesterday. The damage was so extensive that no immediate estimate of the cost could be made. Mr T. H. McCombs, M.P., member for the district, telephoned the council offices in the afternoon, and arrangements were made for him to meet the Mayor of Sumner (Mr J. E. Tait), who is in Wellington. It is proposed to invite the Minister for Public Works (the Hon. H. T. Armstrong) to visit Sumner to discuss the possibility of obtaining Government help. During the day the chairman of the Lyttelton Harbour Board (Mr H. Holderness), Mr F. E. Sutton, and the board’s engineer (Mr P. W. Fryer) were accompanied by Mr E. T. Chitty, deputyMayor of Sumner, and officers of the Sumner Borough Council on a tour of inspection. Mr Chitty expressed his conviction that adequate works should be undertaken to afford protection, as the erosion on the spit opposite Shag Rock left the bay open to future trouble. The borough electrical engineer (Mr A. Cheshire) reported that one of the electric motors in the station at Estuary road had been flooded before the council staff could reach it. The motor had now been taken out and is being dried. On the sea front at Stoke street and Hardwicke street sand has banked up, and although men were working at top pressure during the day. it was impossible to make a clearance at this point. With the heavy rain yesterday afternoon a certain amount of flooding was expected. In Estuary road and the Main road in Redcliffs many of the houses were still surrounded with the flood water yesterday. The roads have been cleared of all debris. There was no further damage at high tide yesterday morning or in the evening. Though the sea rose to within about a foot of the previous night’s level last evening, it was perfectly calm. After their preliminary inspection, members of the council and its staff reported that severe damage had been done to the Scarborough boat harbour, the tar-sealed road at Scarborough, and the sea wall from the tea kiosk to the boatsheds. The breakwater had been further demolished and damage had resulted at the boat-slips and shed, the new wall there being destroyed. The report shows that the sea wall along the Esplanade has been a considerable protection, and the next break in the line of wall is in Monck’s Bay, where the heavy seas severely battered the stonework. Further round the bay, opposite Estuary road, there has been no damage, although the flooding here was severe. It was in this area that several houses had to be evacuated.

DAMAGE BY SEA AT REDCLIFFS

REPORT TO BE PREPARED (F.0.P.R.) WELLINGTON, June 11. ' Instructions to prepare a report on the damage done by seas at Redcliffs, and to recommend the measures necessary to prevent a recurrence, will be issued to the Public Works Department by the Minister for Public Works (the Hon. H. T. Armstrong). The Minister made this reply to an urgent question in the House to-day by Mr T. H. McCombs (Government. Lyttelton). The Minister’s attention was drawn to reports of the damage by Mr McCombs, who asked if Mr Armstrong would take an early opportunity of inspecting the properties and, in cooperation with the Sumner Borough Council, of taking steps to prevent a recurrence. ; “I will certainly take the opportunity of inspecting the damage and discussing remedial measures with the Borough Council on my next visit to Christchurch,” the Minister replied.