AFTER THE ’QUAKE

Hawera Star, Volume L, 13 February 1931, Page 4

AFTER THE ’QUAKE

Tn A.\l p FROM \\ A LUO A Tu GiiSßOitfNr.. HAWJiiiA MAN’S EXPERIINCES. Writing from Napier to his relatives in JdLajvera, Air. Alan Powureii gives a grapple clescription oi experiences on tne road between Napier ana ttisoorne on tne day of tne oig ipuute.

‘' We ieit Napier lor Wairoa at S a.m. anj had an uneventful trip untti we readied Waikare,” says the writer. "There 1 beard deep) ooomings like the explosion or gelignite, out as they were continuous t took no notice of them, and drove on to Mohaka. i’assmg through the township i was driving up the hill above the hat when 1 felt a mighty wind and a. cutting on the left of the road began to fall. The ground shook and tilted alarmingly and then undulated, fortunately, behind us. Part of the ground opened as though cut with a gigantic fame, but somehow the car was driven oil to a small hat to safety. On the right oi the road a huge cliff fell with a roar and. in a cloud or dust into the river below. 1 looked around and saw that the whole hillside hanking the road we had just passed over had slipped down. The cliffs over the river were robing like waves and the river was fast damming, a bridge below us already being covered. 'The ground heaved but mostly shook laterally. We met a lorry driver who had just driven up from the river bed. He said that the river had spurted up around him. Another man and 1 jumped into the lorry and set off back towards the township. The road was open everywhere, but we reached! the railway camp at the mouth of the Mohaka tunnel. We found workmen in the tunnel had crawled outside through an 18-inch opening;. ‘‘Further along the road an area of about one and a-half acres was in danger of Sliding from the top of a cliff. The road was cracked open and a threefoot gap stretched across it. The Mohaka bridge was safe, but a man had been killed by the fall from the face of a cliff nearby. A companion and I decided to walk to Wairoa. It was fearfully hot and the ground was still shaking. We tried to buy horses, but the Maoris would not sell them, so we packed our belongings into swags and set off. A short distance along the road was down en masse for about one and a-half miles. We tried to get over it; but it was impossible and we scrambled down to the safety of a flat patch, passing through a paddock oozing grey slime which had been forced up by pressure. Sorting out a convenient grade, we scrambled up on to the road again, after travelling some distance. Slips were everywhere and in the distance a house was blazing. After traversing a mile or so we met a family in tears; it wais their house that the fire had completely destroyed, after it had collapsed m the big ’quake. They had lost everything. “At the bottom of the Mohaka hid we saw the railway again. Here we got a ride on a Public Works ear and started off slowly over huge cracks in the road. At Waihua the bridge was verv unsafe, but we crossed without mishap, eventually reaching Wairoa to be confronted with a sorry sight. The Ferry Hotel was burning and all the shops were either down Hat or broken. The bridge was wrecked and. blocked. Over ‘ the river two people had been killed by a falling tank. The whole of the population was in the streets; chimneys were down in every direction and shops were .in a terrible mess, many of them having toppled into the street. It was marvellous that no further loss of life was caused. The freezing works chimney was down and the chambers cracked, leaving 100,000 carcases rotting. Relief doctors and nurses were trying to get through to Napier from the town. “We slept the night in a meat truck with coal sacks as our covering, _ and at daylight had a cup of tea in a ruined house. The only way to reach Gisborne in an endeavour to get back to Napier was to wa/lk, and we set off. At Mohaka we found that a boat had come in from Gisborne and was leaving in a few minutes from Waikokupu with doctors and supplies. We hastily got a few supplies and a tent, but missed catching the steamer by ten minutes. Resuming our tramp we reached Morere and found 1 that no damage had been caused there. Gisborne was reached about noon to find that the ’quake had caused a slight damage and that there were no casualties. It was ascertained that a boat would be leaving about daylight for Napier, and after considerable trouble a permit to Havel on her was eventually obtained. Noises were heard and ’quakes felt all night and the walls seemed to be caving in. It was an uncanny experience. The boat did not clear the port until 11 a.m., and seas mountains high were encountered. “It was after midnight when we reached’ Napier, which seemed an inferno. The Bluff was dark, but two enormous fires like volcanoes were raging over the other side. As we drew closer another fire broke out on the hill. A nearby coastal boat warned us by Morse lamp that there was only 9ft-. 6in. of water where formerly there was 25ft. Picket boats were scurrying about in_ lanes of searchlights, and in their light the scene ashore was awful. We were not then allowed to land. When daylight broke Napier did not look so bad until we landed. We were at first informed that we were not allowed to land, hut were to be transhipped back to Gisborne. However, we smuggled ashore. The harbour was 12ft. shallower than it had been before the ’quake and the Veronica being nearly aground.” Mr. PiowdreU gives a very vivid description of the damage done in Napier and of the personal experiences of acquaintances. He found lus former lodgings to have been wrecked, but fortunately was able to recover the most of his personal belongings, but his car was a heap of ashes and molten metal.