ALARMING OCCURRENCE AT NEWCASTLE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXIX, Issue 113, 16 May 1906, Page 2

ALARMING OCCURRENCE AT NEWCASTLE.

POPULAR RESIDENTIAL AREA

SINKS DOWN

MUCH DAMAGE TO PROPERTY

RESIDENTS EVACUATE THEIR

HOMES

SUPPOSED EFFECTS OF ADJACENT COAL MINING.

[PRESS ASSOCIATION.] (Received May IG, 9.10 a.m.) SYDNEY, May 10. A sensational subsidence occurred at Newcastle last night.

The locality affected is Shepherd's Hill, which forms one of the most favored residential sites, and occupies a position adjacent to the underground workings of the sea pit.

It is surmised that a creep has taken place in. some portions of the workings, causing the surface to be rent and buckled.

About three hundred acres suffered. Terrace Street is considerably affected by the subsidence.

The houses are mostly brick. Every one of them is more or loss damaged, while the water and gas mains are twisted and broken.

Residents of the Hill felt the earth trembling, the effect being most severe about half-way up Terrace Street. The walls of the houses were thrown out of plumb, the cracks ranging up to two inches wide. Lawns and backyards are lined with crevices.

The residents quickly evacuated their homes, 'many seeking refuge with relatives" or in the hotels of the city.

. The masonry of the forts is cracked in places, and much injury was done to the gun-mountings.

Viewed from any point, it seemed, as if the whole hill had lost its foundation and subsided a couple of inches.

The rupture of the water mains drained the high pressure tank containing several thousands of gallons on the apex of the hill. The water did not come to the surface, but found its way underground.

A further subsidence is feared