Wellington Gets Sharp Earthquake Jolt

Manawatu Times, Volume 68, Issue 49, 27 February 1943, Page 4

Wellington Gets Sharp Earthquake Jolt

Per i'rcss Association. WELLINGTON, A eb. 20. A short, turn i j cariuqua..o w oit awakened most people iu tue \.elliugton area ut d.3i tins morning, .i ft >/ cniwneys, wuicu nua piouuuly been uamagea earlier but uau iieeu passed us sound,'catue down, and, in tnc flutt \ alley, ‘’green” brickwom in recent repairs failed, but no uamage of any consequence had been reported to the council authorities ut the lime of goi f; to press. Ornaments and odds and enus fell from shelves here and there. The Government Observatory considers that the centre of the shock was about 3U miles from Wellington, in u direction not yet determined. The shake had a force of 6 on tiie RoasiForel scale. The Post and Telegraph. Department has had no reports of damage from any point. The only building over which there was any anxiety was the Town Hall, said the City Engineer, Mr. Luke, today. There were clear signs that old cracks had worked a good deal, but nothing moro had hapened, thanks to the stage to which the new buttressing work had been carried. The sam* shako a mouth ago might have caused a lot of trouble, he said, and anything more severe would still do damage to the hall iu its weakened state. Though a few men had become available recently, the shortage of men continued to be a serious handicap to the expeditious repair of the hall, Wellington s worst earthquake risk until the work could bo taken much further ahead. The shock was only a light one in Falnicrston North and district.

Unplanned Production “Potatoes are at the moment a practically unmarketable commodity, and I believe that a large part of the North Island crop will never be consumed, ’* said Mr. G. W. Armstrong, in a statement on behalf of the Gisborne Merchants* Association, l'otaio production was a most glaring example of unplanned production, Mr. Armstrong said. The acute shortage eight or nine months ago had led to Government appeals for the sowing of larger crops, and the response had been amaxiug. A large part of the crop had been sown iu areas iu which experience had proved crops deteriorated rapidly, and where early digging was essential to avoid severe wastage. These crops had been dug, and now there was no market for them. In many districts, commercial and private growers were urged to produce vegetables for the Armed Forces, said Mr. Armstrong, only to find that the Armed Forces themselves hail in some instances simultaneously produced their own requirements. In fact, in some cases they had over-produced, and were now competing on the Opel market.