Tikimu’s letter

Press, 8 July 1976, Page 11

Tikimu’s letter

Dear Children, Floods can occur at any time, but I think that many of those experienced by the early pioneers were particularly frightening. I was reading recently about the big flood of 1893 at Clive, Hawke’s Bay, which caused great destruction. Richard and Maria Tucker and their seven children were among those who barely escaped drowning. For days it had rained and rained at Clive. Then one night the noise of lapping waters woke Maria. To her alarm, she discovered that the water was in her own bedroom and almost as high as the bed. She realised that the two rivers nearby must have burst from their banks and joined together to flood the land. Quickly, she woke her husband Richard. He jumped out of bed and grabbed his axe while Maria roused the children. Meanwhile, Richard placed a small table on top of the kitchen table, climbed, smashed a large hole in the ceiling, and then climbed through to hack another hole in the roof. One by one, Richard and Maria helped the children through the ceiling and on to the steep roof. The parents followed and they all sat through the night on top of their

house while the rain poured down. When morning came, they saw that all the houses were partly submerged. Branches of trees floated through windows, and torrents of water flowed down the street, carrying the bodies of dead animals. The Tuckers, as they clung to the roof, felt their house shaking on its piles and realised that it might be wrecked by a heavy floating object. When they' saw the dead body of a draught horse approaching, they waited fearfully. Luckily, however, the currents swept the body in another direction, and soon sailors in a boat arrived and the Tuckers were rescued. I do not think that Christchurch will be flooded this winter. However, I have heard that there are some anxious cousins of the Wombles (they migrated last year), who are living under the Square and are preparing themselves for emergencies. They are busy gathering up plastic bags and have made a good supply of raincoats out of them. And last week it was reported to “The Press” that a sturdy raft was being built at the back of their home — presumably in case a quick get-away is necessary.