EARTHQUAKE SHOCKS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22432, 29 November 1934, Page 18

EARTHQUAKE SHOCKS

NOVELTY FOR NEW SOUTH . ". WALES WIDE AREA SHAKEN (From Ouk Own Coisrk.si*onuknt.*i SYDNEY, November 22. New Zealanders in Sydney are apt to smile at the great song made by the local press of the earthquake on Monday which gave so many towns in New South Wales a good shaking. They forget that such occurrences in Australia are a distinct novelty. Australians have always been educated to the belief that they live in a land that must for ever be free of earthquakes, and now they are wondering whether the scientists have been leading them astray. In their own defence the scientists say that quake was of minor, importance —that it could not be compared with the big earthquakes of New Zealand or Japanbut, all the same, it was of sufficient severity to cause considerable alarm in the Federal Capital Territory of Canberra and in many country districts. Although people living in some Sydney suburbs reported having felt the quake, it was only very slight in these areas. Scientists agree with the people who live there that the centre of the shockwas the Gunning district, which is not far from Canberra. The people of Gunning are almost as accustomed to earthquakes as the people of New Zealand. They are living on a line of fracture in the earth's crust, and frequent movements in the last two or three years have caused shakes that have been more or less severe. Gunning has experienced at least 50 shocks this year, but Monday's shock is the only one that can be regarded as severe. Even so the damage was slight. Certainly a few chimneys tumbled, and a picture showing cracks in the wall of a house have been published in almost every newspaper. It is explained that the frequent movements of the earth, which cause this succession of earthquakes, act almost as a safety valve, for earthquakes of a severe type generally occur where stresses in the earth's surface are built up over long periods. These statements are far from reassuring to the people of Gunning, who wonder what will happen if they experience a real shake. The' number of earthquakes that have been felt in Sydney can be counted on the fingers of "one hand, and even after last Moday's experience geologists are prepared to say that Sydney is still within the safety zone as far as earthquakes are concerned. They do not anticipate that at any time any portion of New South Wales will receive a thorough shaking. Anyway, the people of Sydney are not worrying, and the absence of worry may be due to the fact that so few of "them have actually felt a quake. That is a treat in store. The residents of Canberra are not so happily situated. When a second earthquake was felt there on Wednesday afternoon many of the Government clerks rushed outside, greatly alarmed. It is quite likely that Canberra and other portions of the State will experience further shakes before the year is out, but it is improbable that they will be severe enough to cause damage to property.