PERSONAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19947, 15 November 1926, Page 10

PERSONAL.

Ministerial. The Hon. W. Downie Stewart (ActingPrime Minister) arrived in Dunedin from the north on Saturday evening. He expects to bo in Dunedin from 10 days to a fortnight. The Rev. G. Digby Wilson, vicar of Dunstan, has been appointed to the cure of the parochial district of Palmerston. Mr W. G. Compton, who has been on a visit to Invercargill, was a passenger by the express on Saturday, en route to Auckland. The Hon. A. E. Hawke, M.L.C., was a passenger from Invercargill by Saturday’s express, en route to Auckland, where he will attend the Royal Show. Mr T. R. Eades, the well-known Friesian breeder at Edendaie, was a passenger by the express on Saturday, en route to Auckland, where he will attend the Royal Show. Mr L. Etherington, solicitor, of New Plymouth, has (reports our special correspondent) accepted a position on the literary staff of the New Zealand Herald, and will leave at the end of the month to take up his new duties. Mr Ethoriagton has been prominently associated w ith lawn tennis and golf clubs. A Wellington Press Association telegram reports that the Rev. James Aitkcn (Gisborne) was chosen by the General Assembly as Moderator-designate of the Presbyterian Church. The ballot resulted; Mr Aitken 113, Rev. A. Bruce Todd (Wellington) 90. Mr Aitken’s election is a tribute to the fine work he has done in the interests of children.

MORRINSVILLE VISITATION. DAMAGE IN SHOPS. WOMAN STRUCK BY BRICK A GEOLOGIST’S VIEWS. (Special to Uails Times.) AUCKLAND, November 14. Telegraphing from Mornnsville yesterday morning', a correspondent said that Mnrrinfiville spent an uneasy time last night, when tremors kept up all night and up to 8-40 this morning. Many people are planning to desert the town if the shocks continue. Residents have fairly “got the wind up,’’ and many did not go to bed at all last night. Many more slept, or tried to sleep, fully clothed. No tremors were felt from 2.30 p.m. till 6.45 p.m. yes terday, and people had just finished their evening meal and were congratulating themselves that the had ceased when another sharp shock shook the town, followed by an almost imperceptible one at 7.10 p.m. When the 6.45 shake oc curved people rushed out of their houses, many trembling with fright. The series of ‘quakes” yesterday has already caused many residents to become almost nervous wrecks. Some women fainted and others went into a hystrica! condition. Many housewives were frightened to enter their houses at all during the day, with the result that quite a number of bus bands were instructed either to have their lunches in town or to take home a “hot dog.” Many lunches were partaken of on lawns. When people did pluck up sufficient courage to go inside to investigate the damage many found deplorable wrecks. Bottles of jam, pickles, and pre serves lay in confused heaps on the floors Ornaments, clocks, and pictures lay shat tered, and hardly a home escaped with out some kind of damage, either to the structure or to the contents. In some houses the plaste- has come from the ceilings and the walls in large lumps. Several adults and children bad narrow escapes from being caught by flying bottles and ornaments. One farmer who was driving cattle, saw his animals jump and career madly round in terror when the biggest shake was felt. Numerous chimneys are down, while from others bricks have been dislodged from the top. Several brick buildings show distinct cracks. One wall of the Morrinsville Joinery Company’s store was in danger of collapse, and a support had to be erected. One wall of A. M. Hum phrey's building is badly cracked. The scene in many shops is one of ruin. Practically everything on shelves was thrown down and mixed up on the floor in indescribable disorder. B. J. Sarich, grocer, is one of the heaviest of the losers, and conservatively estimates the damage to his stock at £IOO, as well as having four plate-glass windows cracked.

H. Sander, grocer, suffered nearly as badly. A remarkable feature is that the “quakes’ were only slightly felt in the surrounding districts, with the exception of Piako and Tatuanui, which are to the north-east and which apparently felt the shakes as badly as did the town at Morrinsville. When the most severe shock was felt the school childien were terrified, and many gathered round the teachers. Some went almost hysterical, and children were then sent home. The people are still uneasy this morning, and at every rumbling sound they start nervously. Some have already left the town, whjle others contemplate catch ing the middav train, if the shocks con tinue. Already 20 shocks have been ex perienced since 9 a.m. yesterday. Advices by telephone from Morrinsville this afternoon stated that everything was normal again, and no more shocks had been experienced to-day. The small boy who described an earthquake as “the thing that knocked our chimney down” expressed himself in an elementary manner, but it is surprising how little the layman cares about seismographic matters except when the obvious occurs—a shake that makes doors and windows rattle, and, as happened at Morrinsville, is of sufficient intensity to alarm the people to the extent of making them leave their houses. One who is competent to express an opinion on the subject is Mr J. A. Bartrnm, lecturer in geology at the University College, and, in brief, his opinion is that the Waikato people have no undue cause for alarm. In an interview, Mr Bartrum said that through the Auckland province there were a number of fracture lines, roughly, in a north-east to a south-south-west direction. There was a well-defined fracture zone in the vicinity of Taupo, where a few years ago a number of rifts and uplifts occurred. The recent shakes appeared to have travelled along the north-east, south-south-west line, which was bounded by the Hauraki plains, and N the movement felt at Morrinsville was merely a recrudescence of a kind that might be expected on a fracture line. The hot springs at Matamata and Okoroire were an indication of the geological fault below, and indicated an open line of weakness that had not been sealed.

Proceeding, Mr Bartrum said that the city of Auckland was outside the boundary of any serious fault line, although comparatively close. At Papakura there was a fault extending in a north-easterly to a south-easterly direction, and the depression : n Papakura Valley was due to an earth movement many years ago. Further afield there was a fault line somewhere out at sea to the east of Gisborne, and it was believed that a number of fault lines converged on Cook Strait. Mr Bartrum said that it was a matter of regret that there was no seismograph at Auckland to record earthquakes, and he was hopeful that as quickly as possible such an instrument would be installed, although, as ho pointed out, in order to get the best results it would have to be used in collaboration with similar instruments elsewhere. The modern seismograph, a thoroughly up-to-date machine necessary to get the results desired, was extremely sensitive and would record earthquakes at places far distant from Now Zealand as well. If Auckland had had the necesasry instruments on hand, the Waikato shocks would have been recorded, but more important still the instrument would be of great value in recording tremors, and possibly if they were over any extended period would give people a warning in advance. Continuing. Mr Bartrum referred to the fact that the Government intended to appoin a volcanologist, whose observations would be of great value, particularly if correlated with observations from other parts of Now Zealand. There was a verywide field for observation, and the results achieved would bo of great value from a scientific point of view.

SEVERITY OF THE COMMENT PREMATURE. (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, November 13. Dr Adams, Government seismologist, said to-day that no records had yet been received by the Dominion Observatory of the earthquakes at Morrinsville, and until they were 't was premature to comment on the severity of the shock. He cordiallv agreed that more widespread distribution of seismolci'kal instruments was desirable in the Auckland district. The farther north one went the fewer the earthquake centres. Very few earthquakes had been recorded as having Morrinsv’ille as centre.