ERUPTION OF NGAURUHOE

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 1009, 10 March 1909, Page 4

ERUPTION OF NGAURUHOE

(Per Press Association.) j Wellington, March 9. | J The Acting-Secretary of the General ; a Post Office has received the following tele- t trains from the Post and Telegraph officers regarding the eruption of Ngaum- .3 hoe: — , , '' From Waioru. —Ngaurtihoe became veiy A active, early this morning. Loud reports . were heard about 2 a.m., and the sky has ■; been overcast with dust and sulphurous t ashes all day, and at present shows no f si-nis of abating: Understand the coach from Tokaanu was unable to leave there j for Waioru. . £ From Karioi.—Not pure whether it is ; ■\<raaruhoe or Tongariro, but think it t \°auruh.be. Early- this morning Kanoi ( ha~d a sli"ht coating of light-colored ash. ; No one heard any report. Large volumes of smoke are going up, and travelling due east toward Kaimana, duo probably to ' change of wind. There is no alarm nor is | clamrer expected. From Apiti—Volcanic dust has been tailing here since 2.30 p.m. to-day. Imports to hand sav Nsauvuhoe is in eruption., From Ohakune—NVauruhoe is in eruption. It started at 5 p.m. yesterday with a rumbling noise lasting three or four hours. The smoke and steam is at present rising two or three thousand feet high, obscuring Ruapehu. Some new geysers appear to have broken out at the foot ot Ituapehu on the Waimarino side. Ohaknne was with dust from the mountain this morning. From Tokaanu—Ngauruhoe burst into eruption at 8 o'clock this morning, throwing forth thick volumes of sand and steam. lt°has been continually in oraptio.ll ever since, with light reports, but no earthquakes. Will wire you -later developments and further details- Lava- is running down Xaaunih.no. The Rangatatira. correspondent of the New Zealand Times telegraphs: Ngauruhoe violently active. Dense volumes of smoke and "ashes are issuing from the crater. Rang.itanra and all the districts to the southward of Ngauruhoe were covered with a thin lay-'r of ashes morning. Tokaanu also reports that Tongariro is in eruption. The inhabitants in the district cannot ece for the smoke, and are much alarmed. A SCENE OF GRANDEUR. (Per Press Association.) Auckland, March 10. The Star's Taupo correspondent wires 1 that the eruption at Ngauruhoe crater was • witnessed for a distance of five miles by - the overland coach passengers with great > interest and not a little fear. M about 1 11 a.m. a huge black column of mixed steam and ashes shot skywards, rolling . over and over till it reached a height of . about 8003 feet above the crater. Soon 2 the already smoky sky was blackened with - falling ash'. Now and again another huge - outburst took place with an audible roar, - scattering the hovering clouds in most fan- - tastic shapes, which drifted to the south- :. east as a light northerly wind was blow- _ ing, leaving a black train of ashes falling h like rain from a high elevation. The voln canic cloud was ever-increasing till it ob- . scared the whole of the southern sky 11 in one black pall. Some tourists who £ had seen Stromboli and Vesuvius in action e said Xgauruhoe was superior in effect. They were greatly pleased by the majestic ,f and' sublime grandeur of the eruption. ,3 Falling ash is turning ths pure white snow c of Ruapehu a dinghy black color. At about four o'clock on Tuesday morn- ;. ing the occupants of the Halfway Mouse r- were awakened by heavy rumblings and ,f explosions. At eleven o'clock, when the it upheaval occurred, the western side of the i t crater seemed to be blown clean away. (.. Old residents say that the outburst is the 1S finest seen for years, including the out-. ,1 break of 1869, when lava streams poured j- down the western side.

Wanganui, March 10. The "Herald's correspondent at Waiouri telegraphed: '■.Xgauruhoe was in violen eruption yesterday, throwing ash.es am. rocks a considerable height, the stone, rolling in numbers down the niountaii side. The eruption is not quite so seven to-dav. The Tokaami coach got throng' yesterday.""

The .Herald's correspondent at Itangataura on the Main Trunk between Ohukune and K.arioi wires:—'The falling of volcanic dust still continues nnd has become heavier. Xgauruhoe is smoking furiously. Waimarino residents had an exciting time on Monday night, the rumbling being very pronounced. There are no earth tremors and apparently there is no need for alarm, as Xgauruhoe is evidently acting as a safety" valve. The country is enveloped in smoke."

A message from itaclilii states that the place is not alfected. The cll'cjts of the Xgaurulioe. eruption are In-ing felt in Wangaimi. 60 iriihu distant Inmi Ihe mountain. A thick haze is 'hanging over the town, and the air is distinctly "charged with sulphur, while the country to the north is completely hidden from sight. A LOCAL MOUNTAIN KKK'S FXPKRIKXCK. • In view of the unwonted activity of Xgaurulioe. cue of our representatives this mornnii'- had ;i conversation on the subject with Mr W. G. Grave, who has taken the keenest interest, in mountains and th:"ir inner workings, and who, two years ago, was one of a party who ascended Xgaurulioe. and who ventured down into the crater—an expedition, undertaken by very few. The mountain at some period or periods in pant ages has been very active indeed, as is evidenced from the depth of the scoria which lies on its shies, through which streams of lava have seared. I heir way. Prior to the visit made to the mountain by Mr Grave's party the crater had been for long quiescent, and though it was at that time emitting dense columns of steam, it was generally regarded as being quite tame and: harmless, though still interesting as an example of the live volcano. The interior is shaped somewhat like a saucer with a hole in the bottom, there being in reality two craters, one within th;> other, the smaller one being isome 200 feet across. While Mr Grave was standing alone on the edge of this, good it that the clouds of steam should clear temnorurily, and he was favored by a view of a lake of steely-blue matter 500 feet omvn in the bowels of the earth. Dr Marshall, of Otago University, who has ascended Xgaurulioe some 10 times, had looked down into the depths of the crater many times, but had never seen that lake until Mr Grave called his attention to it, and Warbrick, the native truiide, whose duties have taken him a great many times up the- mountain, pooh-poohed the idea of the existence of such a lake. Yet there it was, and there it was seen by ten. members of the party. Only a. few weeks after this Xgaurulioe was in active eruption. The theory is that the lake gathers there as a prelude to an outbreak, hut whether it is the cause or the effect of the upheaval an opinion is not hazarded. Mr Flower, of Christchurch, who also was of the number that •razed into the depths of the mountain, and who has since visited' Italy, declares that Xgaurulioe compares favorably in point of view of interest with that greatest of show volcanoes Vesuvius.