CHATHAMS TIDAL WAVE

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 August 1924, Page 5

CHATHAMS TIDAL WAVE

CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE CAUSED TEES’ ROUGH TRIP. (Per Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, August 12. Reports of the tidal wave which did considerable damage at the Chatham Islands on July 21, were brought by the steamer Tees, which arrived in Lyttelton last night. The wave swept inland five chains on the eastern side of the island. A trawler belonging to the Kaingaroa Fishing Company was lost, and another was smashed. The clam which supplies the company with fresh water was washed out. Pitt Island wharf was swept away and some of the beaches were cleared of shell. When 100 miles out from the island, the Tees encountered the effects of the wave, causing the ship to heel over. As the result of water getting into the engine-room, the high pressure cylinder was cracked, necessitating temporary repairs, during which the vessel was hove to.

The run to the Chathams proved a strenuous time for the crew and fifteen passengers. Waitangi was reached at 8 o’clock on July 24, after a trip taking four and a-half days, which under normal weather conditions, could be negotiated in forty-eight hours. Speaking of the damage at the Chathams, Captain Dowell said that the Kaingaroa Lake, which gives the supply of fresh water to the Kaingaroa. Company, had been washed out through the carrying away of the dam. The lake had been drained, and it would cost a considerable sum to rebuild the dam. Pitt Island wharf was completely washed away, not a sign of it remaining. A surf boat and a dinghy were washed np a creek a distance of eighty yards. The tidal wave reached a distance of about five chains inland at Kaingaroa. The roar of the wave was heard at Owenga before it readied the shore, and at Kaingaroa, some fishermen, who were playing cards, went out to see what was amiss. On seeing the wave they made a rush inland to the bush. The west side of the island was not affected, only the east side, the places suffering being Kaingaroa, Pitt Island, and Mangere Island. At the lastnamed place a big land slide occurred.