BACK TO WINTER

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 104, 26 January 1929, Page 10

BACK TO WINTER

WELLINGTON SWEPT BY STORM DAMAGE TO HUTT ROAD SEA WALL RAILWAY AND STEAMER TRAFFIC DISLOCATED One of the heaviest storms, for this period of the year, by which Wellington has been visited for a long time, occurred yesterday. The damage caused was considerable. Extensive breaches were made in the sea-wall protecting the railway to the Hutt Valley, and beyond, resulting in the lines nearest the sea being rendered unfit for use and a consequent dislocation of train traffic. Extensive damage, too, was clone on the sea-shore fronting Petone and Eastbourne, when boats were dashed across the road. Work on the wharf was at a standstill, and only three vessels arrived in port. The state of the seas at the Pleads and in Cook Strait made it unwise for small coastal vessels to venture out. No damage was sustained to vessels at the wharves.

It is rarely that Wellington is visited in the summer time by such a violent south-westerly gale as that which started on Thursday night and continued all day yesterday. Immense waves broke with great force on the sea wall along the Hutt railway line, with the result that a number of breaches have been made, and the line is submerged in places. . Between Ngnhnuranga and Petone from 500 to 600 yards of wall are affected. and the line lias subsided somewhat as a result of the metal being washed from under the sleepers. Permanent way men are working under difficult conditions to maintain and keep the line open for traffic. The Day’s Bay road- was inches deep in places with gravel and seaweed, .and boats on the foreshore were • washed across the road and well up the bank. Private bathing sheds at Rona Bay have disappeared. RAILWAY DAMAGED Once again, the Railways Department is faced with a big expenditure in repairing damage done Io the sea wall along the Hutt Road, by the waves, as a result of the terrific gale. While lhe repairing of lhe damage done to the sea wall fronting the railway lines by the southerly storm hist August is scarcely complete,- both old and new portions .are. involved in fresh damage. Yesterday afternoon it appeared that between 500 and 600 yards of sea wall had been more or less affected. There was one stretch of 200. yards, which will require extensive repairs, breaches having been made, or the wall having been washed away. In some places the railway lines were under water, and due to the metal washing away from under the sleepers, a slight sinking of the line nearest the sea bad occurred. Permanent way men were at work raising the line again, but every few minutes huge waves would come over the wall, and drench them, anil washing out lhe metal as fast ns it.,was put in. Further. towards Ngahauranga,. from the Petone side, u goods train had conveyed, trucks of large boulders anil immense concrete blocks, which were placed in the breaches by a travelling crane. There were about 30 men nt work here. Their task was no enviable one, for the waves were battering at the wall over a three-mile stretch, and while some breaches were 'being tilled in, others were in tin: making. A gap 20 feet, wide had been broken in the wall between the Hutt Road bridge and Kaiwarra. and there were two more before reaching Ngnhatiranga. Beyond Ngahauranga, and up to (lie point wherethe waves are broken by the. rocks, the damage was pretty general. It will take some time to repair. The filling-in which has been done near where tunnelling operations are being-carried out. is being washed away in eartloads at the open end, The. sen, washes underneath, utnd then a great mass of spoil, weighing tons, subsides, and .slides into the sea. Yesterday morning the train traffic was confined to the inner set of rails, arid it is not yet possible to say how soon, the other line will be safe to run on. Even buses and other motor traffic coming into the city felt, the severity of some of.the heavy gusts Ou the Petone foreshore boats and launches have been washed right up on the beach, which is a mass of seaweed and litter.. Some of the yachts were badly battered, one being thrown against the wall.and reduced to matchwood. . AT DAY’S BAY AND . EASTBOURNE So fierce was the sttrwn I hat the Day’s Bay ferry boats were uuSJe to remain at' their usual night moorings, and were forced to cross the harbour tor tidlter. Passengers yesterday morning had very rough trips, the conditions being so pad that the working 6f Rona Bay was out of tlie question. Needless to say. ‘the buses were- crowded; The. road along the sea-

front resembled a river-bed, being strewn with boulders and shingle. Comparative-' ly little damage was done to the roadway itself, although some embankments were washed away. Boats, however, suffered severely, many being carried by tlie waves right across the road and badly smashed. STORM BUFFETED HEAVY DAMAGE ON DECK. With numerous deck fittings smashed to matchwood or carried overboard and her steel bulkheads severely buckled, the Canterbury Steamship Company’s coastal steamer Storm showed signs of having passed through a terrific storm when she arrived at Wellington yesterday morning from Lyttelton. The engineers’ quarters were a scene of wild disorder, doors being smashed in, bunks broken, partitions carried away, and clothes and valuable instruments washing about in two feet of dirty sea water. The Storm left Lyttelton at 3.40 p.m. on Thursday and ran into a moderate south-westerly gale which gradually increased in force until she was off Cape Campbell, when mountainous seas were encountered, causing her to pitch in a ferrying manner. With the., gale behind her,’ excellent progress was' made, and she arrived off the Heads shortly before 6 o’clock. It was at 5.45 a.m. that the full force of the gale was met with, and an exceptionally heavy following sea was shipped over the stern, sweeping the full length of the decks. Tons of water crashed against the engineers’ accommodation house, buckling the after bulkhead, smashing the door and lifting lhe roof, and flooding the engine room and stokehold. Another heavy sea was shipped over tlie stern shortly afterwards, hut did not do much damage. Tlie stokehold fires were fortunately not flooded, although the water was within three inches of the fire bars, and n -good head of steam was kot up. enabling the vessel to arrive snfolv at her berth, which was reached ;>t- 8.20 a.m. after a voyage of 16 hours 40 minutes, smiie hours faster than'her usual time. Repairs were nut in hand shortly after her arrival, and the Storm « exneefnd to resume her voyage -to ■Wanganui to-day. FERRY STEAMERS NGAIO DELAYED. The Nelson ferry steamer Ngaio also met with the full force of the gale, and arrived at Wellington some eight hours behind her usual time. The. vessel, left Nelson at 7,30 p.m. on. Thursday. and experienced fine . weuthe.r with moderate seas until early yesterday morning, when she arrived off Cape Ternwhiti. Here conditions were different, thick weather, with high seas, being encountered, which lasted, until her arrival import, a few .minutes before 1 p.m. / The Wahine, from Lyttelton, arrived on time, after experiencing a particularly rough trip. High seas were the order of the day. and as the vessel ploughed her way. through the strait she rolled heavily, .'rhe sens, were, however, following ones, and she was enabled to maintain a steady 17 knots. Off Kaikoura, at 3 o'clock in the morning, slip passed the Maori bound for Lyttelton, where §he arrived six hours late.. MAHENO STRAINS MOORINGS The Union Company's old intercolonial passenger steamer Maheno, now tied up nt the Patent Slip Wharf, felt the full force of the. storm,. and early yesterday morning there appeared to be some danger of her breaking away from her moorings. The company’s two tugs, Terawiiiti. arid Natoue, were sent round to Evans Bay to be on hand in the event of the Maheno’s breaking loose, while

everything possible was done to see that she remained secure. The wind at Evans Bay was probably as strong as at any other place in the harbour, and the mooring ropes were severely tested, while the two tugs were tied abreast to the leeward side of the steamer, ready for action if necessary. Later iu the day the wind moderated, and the Maheuo’s position was judged to be secure. WORK HELD UP ON WHARVES The movements of coastal steamers were completely disorganised, and the only vessels arriving in port were the two terry steamers and the Storm, many other vessels taking slie'ter at various places round the coast. Work on the wharves was discontinued, during tlie morning, but in the afternoon, when the weather cleared up a bit. work was resumed on most of the big overseas vessels in port. The Tamahiue left for Picton at her usual hour, and received a severe buffeting crossing the strait, and did not arrive at Picton until 6.50 p.m. The only other vessel to leave port was the Wahine, the sens both nt the Heads and in the strait being too heavy for any of the small coastal vessels to venture forth. The departure of the Ngaio was postponed until 4 o’clock this morning, in the hope that the weather would moderate. Despite the severity of the storm, no damage was sustained by any of the vessels lying at the wharves, CANTERBURY SUFFERS RIVERS BREAK BANKS DAMAGING SEAS ON COAST MAORI SIX' HOURS LATE Dominion Special Service. Christchurch, January 25. Nearly every part of the Canterbury coast suffered this morning from , the effects of exceptionally high tides, combined with swollen rivers and a terrific sou’-wester gale. Water poured across the sod bank along the Avon in the Bexley district, at New Brighton, and inundated the country, causing considerable damage. .Seaside resorts suffered, shipping was delayed, telephone communication upset, and minor damage done generally in town anil country. Several small pleasure boats are missing from Lyttelton. Residents Driven from Houses. Au exceptionally high spring tide backing up the waters of the swollen Avon, resulted iu the river overflowing its bunks in the Bexley district, with the result that the very -low-lying laud was soon submerged to a depth in places of three or four feet. The water rose rapidly after 5 a.m., and entered many of the houses on the lower levels, causing residents hurriedly to vacate their properties, It is estimated thut hundreds of pounds worth of damage was caused by the invasion of the water iu this small area. Many residents awoke in the morning to find themselves marooned iu their houses, and drays and milk carts were requisitioned to assist iu the rescue of those cut off by the flood. The district presented a desolate sceue later in the morning, sheets of deep water covering paddocks and roads over a wide area. The water soon rose to the heigfh of a foot and eighteen inches in some of the houses, and residents, in some eases iu gumboots and even in bathing costumes, sought drey rground, the menfolk carrying the women and girl members of their' families on their backs. Much damage was done in some houses, large quantities of silt being left by the receding flood. Before leaving their homes many families took the precaution of lifting such valuable articles of furniture as pianos and gramophones on to chairs or tables. Many people were concerned as to the safety of their live stock and considerable difficulty was experienced in shifting cows and horses to places of safety. One resident lost almost the entire stock of his poultry farm, numbering about, three hundred. " Potato crops and other vegetables in the area were covered . with water and in some cases they will be destroyed. In the morning a shallow cut was made in the river bank, and this, with the flood relief gates, helped to drain the paddocks and roads. At Sumner the tram bridge suffered severely from the buffeting of the waves. At i Scarborough the sea came over the sandhills and strewed the esplanade with seaweed and driftwood. The Clifton Esplanade was undermined by the force of the waves, and at North Bench, New Brighton, serious damage occurred in front of the Peace Memorial Hall. the stone wall being destroyed for a length of about 18 feet. At the south end this wall, which was built about two years ago. consisted of a concrete foundation, 5 feet deep and about 4 feet of stone work on top. It was built for protective purposes. Campers Leave in Pyjamas.

Kairaki and Waikuku, near Kaiapoi, got the full force of the storm and the high tides. At Kairaki the Waimakariri, backed up by the tide, overflowed, the water entering some of the cottages. At 2 o’clock this morning the Y.M.C.A. camp awoke to find three or . four feet

of water around them. Th-.v made their esenne to adjoining huts in pyjamas. The sea broke through the sandhills and flowed back to the river, turning the lower portion of the settlement into an island. Campers leaving Waikuku early this morning had an adventurous time. Water flowed over the road, and for some time cars were unable to get through. The seas came up the beaeh to a point seldom reached by them before, and occupants of some of the huts were amazed to find them surrounded by wafer when they awoke. The electrical staff of the Public Works Department was working practically all Thursday night attending to the electric light lines. Minor mishaps occurred in different parts of the city and suburbs, the most serious being when a windmill fell across some wires. Trees were blown down in some places, while the gale gave gardens which were exnosed a thrashing. Small craft at Redcliffs and Lyttelton had a bad time, several being sunk and reported missing. Maori’s Rough Trip. Leaving Wellington in the midst of the gale, the ferry steamer Maori, with about 35v passengers on board, battled against, the gale and heavy head sea from the time she left the 'Wellington wharf until she reached Godley Heads. She arrived at Lyttelton at 1 p.m., over six hours late. It took the vessel until ll.lQ p.m. to cross the Strait, an hour longer than usual, and the weather was so thick that the Kaikouras were not sighted. Interviewed, Captain B. Irwin, master of the Maori, said that the conditions were very bad and. the trip was as rough a one as he had ever made. The vessel, plugging along against the head sea. pitched heavily, the spray covering the whole vessel. The ship's speed had to be reduced and it was a most uncomfortable trip. Heavy . squalls throughout the night made conditions very unpleasant and visibility was very poor. Out of the 350 passengers on board only about twenty ventured down to breakfast. Most of those were wool buyers from the north. For the most part the passengers remained in their bunks until the vessel entered the heads. Sheep Die in Saleyards. About a hundred newly shorn sheep perished miserably iu the Addington Saleyards during Wednesday night. Left there after the sale on Wednesday, they were huddled together in their pens when the storm that had been gathering from the south-east burst in a torrent of rain which, unlike an ordinary summer downpour, •' -seended in wind-blown sheets all night 'X I through the morning. It told its trag ' tale when an investigation revealed the rain-sodden carcasses that spelt a heavy loss to the purchasers whose responsibility they were. The sheep were valued at approximately 2as. per head, so the loss is not a slight one. Considerable damage to telephone and telegraph lines was done by the storm, and communication with Little River ana Akaroa was cut off entirely, owing to a break in. the line near Little River. All the other main lines of telegraph communication withstood the storm, but large numbers of subscribers’ telephone connections were, affected.

An Improvement. The weather was boisterous, with frequent showers to-day, but late this afternoon conditions greatly improved, and there is every indication of fine weather following. The extent of the damage to crops will depend on the conditions during the next few days, although the losses are certain to be heavy in some districts. Snow fell in the foothills for a time, but did not last long, and it will be some days before the losses of sheep in the hilly country will be known.