Wall At Auckland Beach Destroyed By High Seas

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27992, 12 June 1956, Page 14

Wall At Auckland Beach Destroyed By High Seas

(New Zealand Press Association)

W 1 AUCKLAND, June 11. workmen battled against- the encroaching sea this evening in a desperate attempt to save the popular B ay beach * from destruction oy erosion.

~?e J s- whipped up by gale-force winds, today battered the foreshore destroying part of the sea wall and in« shed? S tO sweep away the bath '

♦>,? eav ? c °ncrete steps leading from u of Bay to the beach btX » ad i y ““dermined, and looked dawn ‘° be swept mtQ the sea befOTe

in Spakad t 0 the skin, and knee-deep in swirling water. 25 men from the city fhJ'TT s . de P ar tment strove to stem «ii Prt tlde -,? y u s mg 40-gallon drums filled with sand as groynes. They also used quick-setting cement and In an attempt to bolster the sagremains of the sea wall untn e worked in pitch darkness BP. 11 p s?’ Then, unable to do anyth Tnne fU^ her £.u t , hey downed tools. Tons of rubble and debris litter the foreshore. Seaweed and driftwood covered part of the lawns of the pYcmc

A .SJ?” j reds - °t Spectators 4ngW e shUCTo’ waW drama at high tide this e ening periodicahv tS as rS th Were drenched m owr the a the .waves pounded 30 feet into air ’ hUrling Spray hurn ? edfv r ” =n> s had been erected cades S ° w^re barrithese' a?Vh»/ he , on ’ ook ers ignored let S< a a clo l ser ey v. P e^ hed aDd j ° Stled to 1.0-30 5r m -’ so far as could be ascertained by the light of torches.

several chains of the sea wall had caved in.

The surging waves had gouged huge chunks out of the picnic area, and several pohutukawa trees, set a considerable distance from the high-tide mark, were perched precariously on the water’s edge. The crowd roared delightedly when a radio commentator, speaking into a microphone, was doused by an extra-large wall of spray. Section by section, the sea wall buckled as the sea surged in behind it, biting and cheyzing at the sandy soil. But when high tide came and went, it was obvious that the brick dressing sheds would not, as had been feared, be undermined and toppled into the sea. No accurate estimate of the damage will be possible unt ; ! low tide tomorrow.