Waiau’s Terrifying Experience

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26779, 24 May 1948, Page 4

Waiau’s Terrifying Experience

The earthquake came during a cold, wet week-end, and, with chimneys down, many of the townspeople in the centres affected. are unable to light fires. The loss of chimneys will also make cooking difficult, as most residents depend on ranges. There is no town water supply,* and some of the worst damage is to water tanks. Mr H. F. Baird, director of the Christchurch Magnetic Observatory, who visited Waiau and felt some of the later tremors, said: “It seemed as if the centre was right underneath Waiau.” There were several unusual features about the shocks, he said. One was that tfhe chimneys were brought down by each of four widelyseparated shocks, and the second of the shocks, at 7.25 a.m., appeared to be the most severe. Usually the first tremor was the worst, and was followed by others of lessened intensity. Mr Baird said the earthquakes were probably associated with the big earth movement at Cheviot in 1901. To-day a worst tremor was force 8 on the RossiForel scale.

Probably the greatest damage was done to the Waiau Hotel, the licensee of which is Mr W. Hogg. All the chimneys were either rocked down or had to be demolished for safety, and practically every room had cracks in the plaster walls. Much of the cement facing on the outside was broken away, and the floor in the kitchen fell in in one place. The whole building will

have to be thoroughly examined. There were about a dozen people living at the hotel, mostly Post and Telgraph Department linesmen, and the staff. They hurried outside at the big jolt and remained sheltering under shop verandas for about an hour and a-half. Some dressed hurriedly, and others threw coats over their night clothes. It was raining and blowing hard, but though shelter was offered by a neighbour most were reluctant to go indoors.

The earthquake struck hardest in the area of Waiau known as "The Terrace.” Here practically all chimneys were wrecked. Mr R. A. Stove, a cartage contractor, and his wife were wakened by the first tremors about 7 a.m., and Mr Stove dressed when the big shock was felt. They heard glass tinkling, and rushed to the front room to remove mirrors, china, and crystal. They heard ominous rumblings in the kitchen, and a china cupboard, standing about nine feet high, fell forward until stopped by the mantlepiece, and' the contents burst the doors open and crashed to the floor. In the pantry Mrs Stove found dozens of jars of preserved fruits and pickles in ruins, and in the front room a pile of bricks and soot cascaded out of the fireplace on to the carpet, while two chimneys crashed outside. A new concrete 400gallon tank outside was wrecked. Wreckage was piled almost knee deep in Waiau’s three general stores.