TARAWERA ERUPTION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19659, 10 June 1927, Page 13

TARAWERA ERUPTION.

FORTY-FIRST ANNIVERSARY. GREAT DISASTER RECALLED. / • The forty-first anniversary of the Tarawera disaster, the greatest volcanic upheaval known in New Zealand history or Maori tradition, falls to-day. To the accompaniment of earthquake and tempest and the thunder of explosions heard as far away as Christchurch, a distance of 420 miles, the mountain which, although in tho line of fault stretching from Ruapehu to White Island in the Bay of Plenty, had been regarded as being as stable as the volcanic cones in the Waitemata isthmus, burst into violent eruption and took terrible toll of life. One hundred and fifty-three people—six Europeans and 147 Maoris—perished in the three villages of Wairoa, Te Ariki and Moura, which were buried by the ash and mud. The once-famous Pink and White Terraces, Nature's supreme masterpiece among all thermal wonders of the world, were so completely buried that even to-day there is doubt as to their exact location. Tarawera, then a forest-claid mountain of three peaks, is 14 miles south of Rotorua, and is 2600 ft. above the level of Lake Tarawera. At the northern end of the lake stood Wairoa, the ruins of which are familiar to all those who have made the "round trip" from Rotorua. At the southern end were the villages of Moura and Te Ariki, seven or eight miles from Wairoa. The eruption commenced after midnight on the morning of June 10, 1886. How appalling must have been the experience of the people beneath the mountain no one can imagine, but the fact that from half-past two o'clock until four o'clock booming reports were heard in Auckland -and were believed to be distress signals from a warship on Manukau Bar, tells Its own story. The lightning was seen in Auckland and Gisborne. Terrifying hours were spent by the people in Wairoa, but what happened in the other two Maori villages will never be known. The settlements were completely submerged. The volcanic deposit, controlled by the wind, fell over an area of 6120 square miles. The dust cloud carried by the south-west wind swept over Tauranga next morning, and caused total darkness. The ash fell at Tolaga Bay and on a steamer off the East Cape, 122 miles from the mountain.