“Never So Badly Frightened” : Tornado Experience

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22730, 31 August 1948, Page 4

“Never So Badly Frightened” : Tornado Experience

“I don’t think I have ever been so badly frightened in my life as I was when I saw the tornado rolling towards our building. We saw it first when it started up the road, and it suddenly took a turn and came straight towards us with timber, roofing iron and dust being carried to a great height, and the column moving with incredible speed,” writes Mr. Raymond Muir, a former Gisborne man now engaged in the building trade in Frankton. writing to Gisborne relatives of his experience when the town suffered devastation last week. ‘‘lt was raining at the time, with thunder and lightning, and the spinner looked like a water-spout of a dirty grey colour. I suppose it was the dirt and dust that made it appear so. When we saw buildings going up into the air in front of us we tried to, close the heavy sliding door of our building, and had it almost closed when it was upon us. “I was spun ground and back into the building, and I now have a bit of a lump on my head and my back is pretty sore, but I don’t remember anything hitting me. It was all so sudden and unexpected. “Chinese Luck!” “Luckily, we are in a reinforced concrete building, with no windows on the exposed side. We escaped lightly, but buildings on both sides were wrecked. Parts of aircraft wings were lifted and carried three or four blocks, and soared hundreds of feet into the air. It was like being in a gigantic wind-tunue. with an express-train rushing at you. “The tornado seemed to travel' in hops, like a ball bouncing, and every time it came down It smashed everything in its path. In the main street of Frankton. for the width of one block, the damage was terrrrlc. “I now know how the saying “the luck of a Chinaman” originated for there on the main street was a Chinese fruit-shop untouched bv the spinner, with a cat sitting in the doorway, while on either side shops were badly smashed. All the same. I’ll guess that the old chap sot a ‘velly big flight!' "We have been around all the rest of the day. patching roofs where we could and helping those in need. I tried to send you a telegram after the tornado passed, to let you know that I was safe, but everything was tied up."

Unloading of Wire “That head office be advised that production is at present being hindered in this province through supplies of wire for docking netting not being unloaded in Auckland for distribution to manufacturers, and that this province requests that the matter be urgently represented to the appropriate authorities.’' This was a remit moved at a meeting of the Hawke’s Bay provincial executive of Federated Farmers, but it was suggested by the chairman, Mr. B. S. Williams, that the matter was one which should be fully investigated before any such action was taken. It was decided, without discussion, to leave the remit in the hands of the chairman and secretary, to be forwarded to head office if it was thought to be warranted.