VOLCANIC ERUPTION IN THE NORTH ISLAND.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XX, Issue 144, 18 June 1886, Page 1

VOLCANIC ERUPTION IN THE NORTH ISLAND.

100 LIVES LOST. TWO NATIVE SETTLEMENTS BWEPT_AWAY. THEVILLAGEOFWAIROA BURIED INJVHJD. THE ROTOMAHANA TERRACES DESTROYED. PASTURESJDESTROYED. CATTLE JSTARVING. A terrible catastrophe has befallen that portion of the North Island of New Zealand known as the Hot Lakes District. Those who are acquainted with the locality — and there are many in England and other parts of the world who have visited what has been aptly described as " The Tourists' Paradise " — will not be altogether surprised to hear of the disaster, for the whole region is honey - combed and hollow, abounding in hot springs and geysers, and quite unsafe for any one to travel over without a guide, as a step off the narrow track might lead to the stranger falling through the thin crust of earth and finding himself immersed in scalding water. Tarawera, the mountain which has suddenly displayed such alarming activity, and which gives its name to the Lake on whose border it stands, is situated in an extensive volcanic district some 150 miles in length and 40 in width, White Island, the crater of which has for some time past been in violent eruption, being at the eastern, and Tongariro, a giant among the mountains of the North, at the western extremity. The last occasion on which Tongariro was in eruption was in July, 1870, when great flames issued from the crater, the ground trembled at Taupo, and the explosions were heard at Tauranga, a distance of over 150 miles. No loss of life has been known in the district before except when, 120 years ago, a portion of the Ohinemutu village was submerged in the hot springs, and 30 Maoris were scalded to death. At the foot of Mount Tarawera, which forms a most imposing lonely mass of rugged mountain, were two Maori settlements — Te Ariki and Mouroa — where there were between 80 and 90 natives. The villages and their inhabitants have completely disappeared. Te Ariki is supposed to have been swept by the impetuous torrent of liquid mud which poured down the mountain's side into the Lake, and Mouroa is buried 20 feet deep in mud. Wairoa, a settlement consisting of a number of substantial wooden buildings, including two excellent hotels well known to tourists, an Episcopalian church, and three stores, has been submerged in mud to a depth of from four to six feet. This was about ten miles distant from the .volcano. The whole of the surrounding country, which was unrivalled for its beauty, now presents a most lamentable appearance, being covered with a thick coating of mud and volcanic dust, while the lovely Tikitapu bush has been completely destroyed, enormous trees being torn up by their roots, while those which remain standing are denuded of their leaves and branches by the fearful shower of stones and mud that poured down upon them on that awful morning of the 10th June. It is, however, needless to enter here into a description of the ruin that has been wrought, as the fullest details will be found in the accounts that have been received during the week, and which will be found below. There is one fact that we are most desirous of impressing upon those who may read these lines in distant parts of the world, and who will probably form the idea that the colony of New Zealand is ruined by this outbreak. It is this, that the disaster is strictly confined to one small district in the North Island, which has always been known as the seat of volcanic energy. Even the area over which the earthquakes consequent upon the eruption have been experienced is of a very circumscribed area, not extending in any direction over 100 miles from the volcano. Outside that limit the colony is no more affected than was New Zealand by the Krakatoa eruption, except that the explosions were heard at a distance of some 100 miles in a southerly direction. There are many, no doubt, who are not even aware that New Zealand consists of two Islands separated by Cook's Straits, which at their narrowest portion are some twenty miles in width. But, whatever the configuration of the colony, there

remains the fact that in not one of the more thickly settled parts has the smallest inconvenience been occasioned by tlie eruption, nor is there the slightest reason for supposing that the volcanic disturbance will extend beyond its present limits. As an introduction to the telegrams and narratives which follow, we publish two accounts of the scene of the disaster, one written by Dr Hochstetter in 1856, and the other from the pen of Froude the historian, who was on a visit to the colony last year. Both of them will be perused with interest by those who are unacquainted with the locality, and will give them a good idea of the district generally. We have also copied from Domett's poem " Ranolf and Amohia " a few stanzas descriptive of the White Terrace.