FLOOD PHANTASIES

Northern Advocate, 3 February 1936, Page 6

FLOOD PHANTASIES

Noticed in Water Street at 1 a.m. — A man stepping blithely along kneedeep in the crown of the road. Suddenly he stops. He darts back, and triumphantly waves his rescued shoe.

A horse which lacked its customary sense, was betrayed by a thin crust, which was all that linked the Otangarei Road bridge, over the Hatea River. with the Whareora Road. The grass on the other side of the sevenfcot gap. caused by a washout, looked greener, but its quest ended in a yellow bath and a big splash. The animal had to be hauled out with ropes.

Early on Sunday morning the pouring rain was succeeded by a terrific wind. One of the most spectacularwrecks was the dismantling of ihe large hoarding on.the corner of Manse Street and Upper Bank Street. A hoarding on the corner of Otaika and Maunu Road toppled over also, while the roof of a lean,-to at Lawrence Bros’ store, Maunu Road, was lifted bodily over the higher roof of Fester’s joinery works next door.

Yesterday, owing to a seven-foot washout, the Otangarei Road bridge was impassable to all but pedestrian traffic. The county foreman, Mr Lowe, spent all day supervising the work of refilling the gap to endeavour to get traffic through by the evening.

A young man, the son of Mr W. Kokich, who went to rescue a horse at Kara on Saturday, suddenly found himself surrounded by swiftly rising flood waters. He was forced to take to a tree, and stayed there until his plight was noticed and he was rescued per medium of a row boat.

Row boats were also used in Whangarei—in Zealandia Street. Here Mr T. Wakelin had to use his craft to get from his house to dry land some distance away.

Mair Park presented a sad sight yesterday. The flooded river had swilled its way right across the lawns and gardens, and logs and debris had been left in confused piles. The bridge leading to the ladies’ dressing shed was moved sideways about eight yards, ahd tipped on its side.

Why was the are Dell ringing yesterday meaning? Mr W. J. Dawson, borough electrical engineer, gave the explanation. Short circuits in the alarm apparatus caused several false alarms, but the brigade did not answer the call of “Wolf, wolf.”

A pine tree falling across the high current wires on Maunu Hill caused a danger point for motorists on Saturday night. * * sj» * Slips across the road at Dundas Road and at the Bluff made it difficult . for traffic to get through, large trees being carried down among the spoil. The Raumanga Stream broke Us banks and swirled across adjoining property and out on to the road, joining in with another overflow near the Otaika intersection. Here the surface was much torn about and repair work will be necessary.

There were many visitors to the Whangarei Falls yesterday. The falls were at their best on Saturday evening, when the water was over the road bridge. Even yesterday they presented a grand sight, and clouds of spray were carried some distance by the terrific wind squalls.

The Whangarei pleasure craft were fortunate in having piles and jetties as berthing facilities. The 14-footers, however, did not fare so well, the Sunbeam, Sea Urchin, . Ocean Waif and Whizz Bang all being capsized early on Sunday morning. However, the owners, in preparation for such misadventures, had stripped their .craft of all loose gear, and nothing of value was lost. The boats were undamaged.

The capsizing of the craft when bare proved the severity of the wind, which was at its worst when the squalls came away from the sou’-west. One or to dinghies this morning were also floating bottom up, while big logs were caught in the .piles. Men in dinghies were removing them.

The small keel yacht Avoca was anchored at Onerahi on Saturday, but on Sunday the first glimpse of her was at the mercy of the waves near the Wellington buoy. She had dragged her anchor and was in danger of being piled up on the mud banks. Messrs H. Curtis and J. Baker were quick to the rescue and, after having to part with both anchor and warps, sailed the boat back to safe water.

Throughout the whole borough the wreckage of fruit trees, shrubs and plants has been appalling. Places which were beauty spots on Saturday morning were afloat eight hours later, and are now badly mutilated. Those who are absolutely dependent on the growing of fruit have practically been ruined for the season.