GISBORNE VISITATION

Northern Advocate, 16 September 1932, Page 6

GISBORNE VISITATION

;f A SEVERE SHAKING. ' ‘ :■ ; AREA SUFFERS, f; : ’CHURCH BUILDING DAMAGED. ■, j . . ."'(per Press Association. —Copyright.) _ vf GISBORNE, This Day;. ;>-' r ' >Gisborne was shaken by a severe v earthquake at 1.27 a.tn. The ’quake was followed by a succession of slight tremors, lasting till 5.30; with one out- “ standing jolt about 2.30. , L ; ' The initial ’quake was more severs than that experienced at the time of [.- the Napier earthquake. {'l * Shop fronts, as on previous occasions, /f were considerably damaged, and pave-t;'-v meats this morning were strewn with. glass. - 'Window displays were thrown ' , ■ into confusion. V --Many chimneys are down, but struc- - build* *: \ ings, •. including the Holy Trinity V\[. • Church, where a brick gable was t'" 1 .thrown clean,over the porchway on to the grass plot in front of the church. fir- The premises of Collett’s Motors-suf-fered heavily. The whole/ west wall, *•'. \ for a distance of 5Q feet, fell outward, 1 V I ' and the back of the premises collapsed. The roof fell on to a number of ears. , -The parapet and side Avail of Vin"cent’s paint shop-fell, crashing through ; t 6 the floor of Robinson’s tobacconist f" shop.- - ] Tradespeople generally were busy this’ morning |straightening out the ' niess. ~ »" Mr John Ormond, a well-known i,#-, citizen 1 , avUs rushing out of Ormond’s . Motors when a second sharp ' shake £*.- came. He fell and suffered slight coneussion. ••, At the Cook Hospital, in several .wards in Avhich plaster was falling the ; . patienta Were quickly removed.. Staff and patients preserved admirable preg./ 'sence of mind, i- . 1 In the St. Helen’s Home a chimney crashed* through the roof, but nobody ■ was hurt. Many business people came into toAvn ’•£ • soon after the first shake to survey the ,V- damage, and look after their stock. §; The headlights of cars for a time provided the only illumination. Electric :'p‘ power.. service Avas subsequently restored. , |; A fire at Te Karaka, which started % ' prior to the earthquake, destroyed a \,■ large -building, formerly a boardingisj - - . house, owned by Mrs Malone, and also ' an adjoining shop. p'-_ The structural damage at the hospiSjy';. tal is not extensive, being confined to : the women’s Avard, where some bricks were displaced. The patients from this yji - ward were accommodated on verandahs. Others returned to their beds, v Miss- Negro’s unoccupied shop at Mangapapa Avas badly damaged. ■■ The Post Office Avill have to come i down., Two heavy iron weights on the Rocbuck Road bridge came off, one crashing through a footway. Telegraphic communication Avith the feV ’ south Avas cut off. fe'/;- Only two men were on duty at the p telephone exchange when the quake Kf- - ;: occurred, and the telegraph cable Pg ■ operator was taking a message AA’hen \\ the line was lost. All stuck to their Lv posts, and within a quarter of an , hour a dozen clerks had reported for ! ,duty. Today even those on holiday leave have returned to their posts, y ■ The Post Office building received a h, severe shaking; cracks appearing in Ip several places, and the clock toAver; W-.\_ was badly damaged. tt THE FIRST NEWS. |\ , MANY BUILDINGS CRACKED. I; ” (Special to “Northern Advocate.”) B'V . ‘ AUCKLAND, This Day. The first neAvs receiA r ed in Auckland of the earthquake at Gisborne K'-i was contained in a message sent by the Chief postmaster, Mr S. M. Harxison, by the postmaster at Gisborne, r; The message stated: . ‘‘ A - most severe earthquake oceur- *■ red in Gisborne about 1.27 a.m, to- ,£•' day. *fhis- was followed by several *l/ other severe shakes, and intermittent &/., tremors have occurred since. A Icav f’ .chimneys and parapets are down and £ windows are broken in the town. A good d:eal of damage was done, to breakable stocks. • ’ ■ ; ■ ‘ “Portion of the wall of the Angli-,

can Church foil out. A puporfleial examination discloses some cracks in the parapet of the Customs House. “The shakes at Opotiki were serious. “Advice was also received that all the lines between Wairoa and Gisborne were down and that it would be some time before they were re stored. It was understood that Napier Jbad one circuit to ‘Wairoa.”