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Swept to Death by Wall of Water

Shocking Tragedy in Public Works Camp

Terrifying Scenes as Men Hurled to Doom Trapped in Huts and Unable fo Escape Per Press Association. WAIROA, Last Night. A catastrophe of an appalling nature occurred early* Saturday morning when one of the railway construction camps at Kopuawhara was washed out by a tremendous wall of water which rushed down a gorge in which it was situated and swept 20 men and one young woman to their deaths. The disaster is one of the worst that has ever occurred in New Zealand and has shocked the country from one end to the other. So far the bodies of 18 victims have been recovered and three are still missing. A relentless search is being conducted. The victims of the tragedy were:— WILLIAM DUNN, married, 65 Derby Street, St, Albans, Christchurch. FRANK WILLIAMS FRY, married, aged 51, Customshouse. Street, Gisborne. ROBERT EDWARD SMITH, single, aged 37, Grafton Road, Gisborne. R. DOUGLAS, single, aged 28, Gisborne. JACK KELLI HER, single, aged 51, address unknown. EDWARD McGIVERN, single, aged 28, Russell Street, Gisborne. HUGH SLOAN, single, Wairoa. MARTHA QUINN, single, waitress, aged about 22, Napier. WILLIAM AULD, single, address unknown. GEORGE BARBARICH, single, Dalmatian, with relatives in Marton. FREDERICK I. C. CLARK, single, aged 31, Opotiki. DAVID BARCLAY, single, aged 56, address unknown. THOMAS HALL, single, aged 20, Harris Street, Gisborne. JOHN PENDER, married, aged 40, address unknown. F. G. FOUNTAIN, single, aged 25, Te Puke. ROBERT JOHNSTON, single, aged 40. H. WAAKA, single, aged about 45, Raupunga. THOMAS TRACY, married, married, aged 44, First Avenue, Wairoa. The missing are:— RONALD E. HALFORD, single, aged 22, Woodville. IVAN MARTINAC, single, aged 31, address unkn&vn GEORGE H. DAVIS, married, aged 49, Gisborne. The tragedy occurred at what was known as No. 4 camp, which is one of a series of four camps situated in the Kopuawhara valley and about five miles in. The camp comprised 50 huts, providing accommodation for 80 men when full. There were 35 men in camp at the time and of these only 14 escaped with their lives after a harrowing experience. There would have been several others in camp but some of them had left to spend the week-end in Wairoa or Gisborne. WALL OF WATER IN DARKNESS From information gained from the survivors, most of the men in camp had retired by midnight. It was raining fairly heavily and the river, which is not much more than a stream in normal times, was then rising. Some time after 3 o’clock in the morning some of the men were awakened by roars and rushing from their huts, were met by a wall of water rushing through the gorge. They had little time to do anything. Tearing through the gorge at a tremendous rate, the water simply carried the huts before it. Many of the men, it is thought, never managed to get outside, being swept to their doom without the slightest hope of escape. On the water rushed, carrying with it boulders weighing many tons, large trees, bridges and everything standing in its path. v Trapped like rats in a trap, the men foundered about in inky blackness. Several of them found their way to a motortruck and climbed aboard it. Here they remained for but a short time before this was also swept on before the maelstrom and the men were never again seen alive. Their huts had crumpled like packs of cards. Some managed to climb on to logs, while others groped about catching on to stray wires or anything that might save them. Their chances, however, were small. ORDEAL ON COOKHOUSE ROOF A number of men, however, had managed to find their way to the cookhouse and, climbing on to the roof, tried to attract the attention of their stricken companions. Meanwhile several people camped in the married men’s quarters of the camp, which was situated oil higher ground, could hear the cries of those in distress but were powerless to h4lp them. After what appeared to be hours of struggling in swirling water, thirteen men were successful in clambering on to the roof of the cookhouse and dining-room, which was a fairly large building, and they were joined there by Mr. Harold Cameron, who, with his wife, is in charge of the cookhouse, his 15-year-old sou, who had been successful in dragging one man from the water, thereby saving his life, and his little daughter Joan, who was also just snatched from death. Then began a period of hell for those perched on the roof of the cookhouse. Battered by tons of water and boulders,

the building rocked on its foundations. The portion on which the men were hanging then began to' crumple up and they were compelled to shift their position to another portion of the roof. They managed this just in time, for no sooner had they succeeded in doing so than that portion of the roof on which they had been climbing for their lives, collapsed and was swallowed up in the raging torrent. This left but two walls and a small portion of the roof. To this the men clung until daylight (about 5 o’clock), expecting every minute to be carried away to join their more unfortunate companions. How they hung there is nothing less than a miracle and speaks volumes for their bravery and fortitude. BRAVERY OF CHILDREN xne two children were heroes and, according to other survivors, never whimpered. They were, in fact, an inspiration to their older companions. Chilled to the bone with practically no clothing to cover their bodies, they hung on and, despite the terrible ordeal they had been through, they still had a smile for those about them. aESCUED by rope By daylight the river had gone down considerably and it was not long before rescue efforts were started. The rescue was carried out by people on shore, who threw a rope to the men perched on the remains of the cookhouse. One end of this was fastened to the stump of a tree and the other to the remains of a power pole. This done, it was possible to rig something in the nature of a breeches buoy and the men were then hauled ashore one by one which in itself was a perilous enough task. One man, Mr. Charles Chesley, a Maori and former prominent footballer, had a marvellous escape. He had not reached the roof of the cookhouse, but took shelter behind his hut, which had crumpled up but had not been swept away. This served to break the water and formed a calm pool behind it. There he stayed until daylight, when he was also got ashore unhurt.

BRIDGES AND ROADS SWEPT AWAY None of those rescued suffered any injuries, a fact which is to be marvelled at considering the nightmare they had gone through. It was about 8 o’clock in the morning before any intimation of the tragedy’that had occurred reached No. 3 camp, which is situated about three miles from No. 4 camp and which is the headquarters for the camps at Kopuawhara. Immediately word was received parties were organised by Constable D. Ross, who is stationed at Kopuawhara; Mr. K. W. McEnnis, engineer in charge, and Mr. J. W. Parker, overseer. Telephone communication had been disrupted and when the tirst parties started out it was found that the bridges and a large portion of the road had been washed away, thus almost completely cutting off communication with what had been No. 4 camp. In one place the road had been torn away, leaving a cliff face of about a hundred feet high and to reach the stricken party it was necessary to make a detour over the top of two big hills. This meant a climb of about 200 feet, but was eventually accomplished. It was a considerable time before telephonic communication with the outside world could be obtained, but by sheer hard work on the part cf the linesmen this was eventually done. Search Organised. On hearing news of the catastrophe, Constable J. MacAlpinc, Wairoa, and Constable W, Houston, Nuhaka, made for Kopuawhara with all speed, and on arriving they immediately organised parties to search for the bodies. For miles the countryside had been covered with debris and silt and the task of looking for the bodies was by,no means an easy one. Right from the turn-off on either side of the road leading to the camps, the ground was strewn with tons of timber, remains of huts, mattresses, blankets, clothing and dead sheep and cattle. Every man available and settlers for miles around joined in the search and by mid-day eight bodies had been found. Gruesome Discoveries. Many of them were discovered as much as live miles from the scene of the terrible disaster and some were almost completely covered by silt, with only a hand or leg showing. Others Were caught up in fences or buried under logs. Others were found on the banks of the river, which had scoured a bed 20 feet deep in many places. Three bodies were discovered near the scene of the tragedy and the task of getting them out was a terrible one. Many of the bodies were horribly wounded. By Saturday night 16 of the bodies had been recovered and two more, in-

eluding that of a young woman, Miss Quinn, were found to-day and taken to Waikokopu, where an inquest was opened by the Coroner, Mr. V. E. Winter. Evidence of identilication was given in each case and the inquest, which was watched on behalf of the police by Sergeant J. Mclntosh, of Hastings, was adjourned sine die. Cause of Tragedy. There is as yet no definite indication as to how- the terrible catastrophe occurred. It is surmised, however, that heavy rain had caused a slip which caused a damming of the river. It is also thought that there was a cloudburst which caused the river to be released from its temporary damming, thus letting loose tons of water, which hurled through the narrow gorge in which the camp was situated and carried everything before it. This is, however, pure conjecture, and until a thorough investigation has been car- j ried out, it will remain so. Eor the purpose of carrying out an inspection,, Mr. F. G. Newuham, inspecting engineer, arrived from Wellington to-day and went straight to the site of the camp, accompanied by Mr. O. G. Thornton, district engineer, of Gisborne. Of the work of tne rescue parties too much cannot be said. They worked hard throughout and are deserving of, the highest praise. The organisation generally went very smoothly. The task of the rescuers was made increasingly difficult because of the fact that the roads had ben badly torn, up and it was some time before the men could get through to the camps. However, by late on Saturday afternoon, road communication had been re-established. No. 3 camp did not suffer at all, but the people in No. 2 camp, which is situated about a mile further down tie river, and which is nearer the banks, had a very lucky escape. No. 2 camp is a much larger one than No. 4, and most of the men residing there are married and have their wives and children living with them. About 3 o'clock in the morning most of them were awakened by the roaring of the river to discover their camp completely under water. In many cases the water had reached almost to the top of the beds. Immediately on becoming aware of their plight, they rushed from their huts and on to high land, where they remained until the water had.subsided. Many of the huts bad been shifted off their foundations and the whole of the camp site was feet deep in silt and debris. By Saturday evening, however, they had, by dint of hard work, restored order and had succeeded in drying out their belongings. Fortunately the rain ceased early in the morning and the day was hot and sunny. Up till a late hour this evening there was still no trace of the three men who are missing.

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MT19380221.2.54

Bibliographic details

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 43, 21 February 1938, Page 7

Word Count
2,030

Swept to Death by Wall of Water Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 43, 21 February 1938, Page 7

Swept to Death by Wall of Water Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 43, 21 February 1938, Page 7