COLLAPSE OF CLIFF

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22399, 22 October 1934, Page 8

COLLAPSE OF CLIFF

A TERRIFYING ROAR THIRTY PEOPLE IN PERIL Three Hawera residents had a nerveracking experience on Sunday last on the beach below the Fairfield golf links as they watched the towering cliffs tremble, and with a terrifying roar precipitate hundreds of tons of earth and debris about them. . ■> The party, which consisted of a married couple and a young man, had been fishing all the morning from a rock vantage point in the sea, and with mild weather and frequent bites on their lines there was every promise of an enjoyable days outing. Suddenly, an ominous rending noise echoed along the eeafront, and all three were horrified to see the earth over a 100 ft face tremble and move bodily towards them. Slowly ut first and then with gathering speed, the cliffside descended in a gigantic slab. Cracks appeared in the slab, and slowly the mass disintegrated and heaved over the narrow stretch of beach, becoming darker and larger, and with a mighty splash it entered the sea. It travelled in a direct path towards the rock and finally spilled over it and around the party, who each clung desperately to their vantage point for protection. An exploration of the top of the cliff later showed a huge bight in the coastline and deep crevasses 10 feet to 15 feet from the brink and descending through the strata to a great depth. It was evident that another section of the cliff was on the " creep." From another angle could be seen, a tall pillar of rock 30 feet to 40 feet high at a point where the earth all around had fallen away. On the top of the pillar was a fantistic cap of green turf and in the centre a small tree. Cracks were in evidence along the top of the cliffs to within 100 yards of the recently completed Hawera Borough sewer outfall. The late Mr John Sturrock, former engineer to the Hawera Borough Council, predicted at one time that tne cliffs in the vicinity of the outfall would collapse, but so fa'r the new work does not appear to be threatened, as the cliffs at that point bear a thoroughly consolidated appearance.