TOWN RIVERS HIGH

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22637, 14 May 1948, Page 6

TOWN RIVERS HIGH

While most Gisborne homes and gardens presented a bedraggled and sodden appearance to their owners this morning, they were as nothing compared with tne spectacle which presented itself to riverside homeowners. Both the Taruheru and Waimata Rivers had overflowed their banks in dozens of places and the floodwater had swept to within inches of several homes. . Running like a null-race, the Waimata River rose feet during the night, bringing down with it debris and large logs, most of which fell foul of the William Petttie bridge during their trip to the sea. , , , The few small pleasure boats left marooned by optimistic owners on the banks of the river were swept away, as were several small jetties and numerous trees.

While the water encroached at many homes along the banks of this river, those which bore the brunt of the flooding were those facing onto Fitzher. hert street and Ormond road and backing onto the river. The grounds of the home of Dr. C. Isaac and the small reserve beside it were almost submerged, water creeping to within a few feet of Dr. Isaacs’ home. The story was as bad along the Taruheru River banks, where the water invaded the Botanical Gardens, most of the trees standing in lakes. The ground floors of the rowing sheds were hastily evacuated last night when water came in up to the windows. At the junction of the two rivers, the Trafalgar band rotunda was isolated from Read’s quay by water. Kaiti Creek, which runs from Crawford road, rose feet during the night.