THE TAIERI PLAIN/FLOODED.

Otago Witness, Issue 1917, 17 August 1888, Page 14

THE TAIERI PLAIN /FLOODED.

TOWNSHIP OF ,OUTHAM IN DANGER. JREPOETED LOSS OP LIFE. SEVEN" MILES OF RAILWAY UNDER WATER. Saturday Mobning. On Friday there was a continuance of the heavy rain which commenced on Thursday, 'and in the morning another slip occurred near the Furakanui signal house, a small tree coming down with some debris and falling across the metals. The surfacemen did not take long to clear the rails, and the ordinary traffic remained uninterrupted. Most of the trains, however, were a few minutes behind time, as the drivers had all received instructions to slacken speed when passing the more dangerous parts of the line. The heavy rain has caused a number of slips in and around Port Chalmers, and on Friday forenoon one large slip occurred on the south side of the Port Chalmers tunnel. The 0.10 p.m. and 2.30 pm. trains from Dunedin were compelled to stop at Mussel Bay, the passengers walking into the Porb. The workmen cleared the line in time for the 4.7 p.m. train to leave the Port station as usual. It was noticed on Friday that there was danger of a large slip coming down on the Dunedin side of the Chain Hills tunnel. DuriDg the afternoon the slip had got fairly under way, and the lower portion of it just touched the sleepers. The rain continuing, it came right ever the line during the evening, and the goods train from the South was blocked. The slip is of considerable dimensions, extending back beyond the railway fence, part of which it carried with it. The railway authorities were indefatigable, however, in their efforts to clear it, and enable traffic to be carried on as usual. The Taieri river was in high flood on Friday. In the evening the Outram branch line was flooded. The rain, which began to fall on Monday (says the Palmerston Times), culminated in one of the heaviest floods that has been experienced in this and the Waikouaiti district for some years. Happily, the rivers were not so high as they have been, and as a consequence very little damage has been done, but in the township of Palmerston and along the Main road at Hawksbury the water rose to an unusual height, and at the latter place all the houses on the lagoon flat where the land was low had from Ift to 2ft of water in them; and the butcher's shop of Mr P. Duncan had a large stream of water running through it on Monday, while the Main road from there to the foot of the hill beyond Mr Henderson's, bootmaker, presented the appearance of a miniature lake. Some damage has been done to the lagoon road there, which was covered with water to the depth of a couple of feet. Monday Morning. The flood in the Taieri river, which reached its highest point on Saturday night, is the most serious that has occurred since the great flood of 20 years ago ; and, considering the greatly improved drainage system that has been developed during the past few years, the present flood is, perhaps, in some respe.cts as great as the one which occurred in the beginning of February 1868. On that occasion the damage to property in West Taieri alone was estimated at from £15,000 to £20,000, exclusive of the damage to roads and bridges ; but then the crop 3 had not been harvested, and a great many sheep and cattle were drowued. Unfortunately, also, on that occasion the flood was accompanied by loss of life — a son of Mr Grant, of Granton, and a foreigner, named John Chapmans, having met their deaths by drowning; while the main road was also impassable, and the mails were carried for some distance by Mr Amos M'Kegg in a boat, which sometimes bumped against the tops of fences. The storm on that occasion was one of wind as well as rain, and caused the wreck of the s.s. William Miskin at Timaru, and of the vessels Star of Tasmania and Water Nymph at Oamaru. In both cases there was loss of life, five persons being drowned at Oamaru. Like the present occasion, the bad weather in 1868 did not extend much beyond the Taieri to the South. It will also be remembered that in the floods of August 1886 scarcely any rain fell south of Waihola. Probably the flood of 1868 was the most serious that has occurred in the Taieri district, and it is interesting to recall that on account of it a day was set apart for humiliation and prayer. The system of drainage and river embankment which has been inaugurated since then has no doubt saved the plain on more than one occasion to a considerable extent. The farmers, too, nowadays are better prepared for a case of emergency, and as they always know of an approaching flood they manage to get their stock out of the low-lying paddockg on to high ground, and so the loss caused by a big flood now is not nearly so great as it used to be in days gone by. In the present instance the bad weather — in Otago at all events — seems to have been severest in the basin of the Taieri river, though the severity of the flood in that river is caused not so much by the rain that has fallen as by the melting of the snow which fell in such great quantity a few weeks ago. Strange to say, the Clutha river has been but very slightly affected. At 9 o'clock on Saturday morniDg it was reported to be rising slightly at Clyde, but at Balclutha the river continued low. In town, though a good deal of rain has fallen, little or no damage has been caused. A few slight slips have taken place, but they are of small extent. The North-East Valley and the Flat have also escaped. On Saturday a member of our staff drove out to Greytown to ascertain the extent of the flood. On the way out a large slip was noticeable on the main road at Hillside, just opposite the Carisbrook cricket ground, part of the fence and the footpath and a large section of the. road having fallen away. Steps had been taken to ensure safety to traffic by fencing off the dangerous portion of the road, but there seemed some likelihood of another slip taking place lower down. Very little of the nature \of the flood on the plain could be seen from Saddle Hill owing to the thick drizzling rain which was falling, but on proceeding some distance along the main road in the direction of Henley the serious aspect of matters was at once apparent, for one almost unbroken sheet of water extended over the plain as far as the eye could reach, and the railway line appeared to be submer{§ed for miles, the water in Borne places being high over the fences. Arrived at Greytown, the people were found making preparations for the worst. A telegram had just been received from Naseby giving warning of the sudden rise in the river and predicting a further rice within 24 hours. The water was running over the approaches to the CJreytown bridge and fafct making 'ita way

towards the railway station and the Crescent Hotel. The landlord of the hotel was taking precautions to have everything secured in the | event of his house being flooded, and the railway ' stationmaster was taking similar precautions. The river was said to be still rising; and at Hope Hill, where measurements were taken, a rise of lft in about two and a-half hours was reported. The water was, however, still about 20in lower than on the occasion of the big flood which occurred on the 18th of this month two years ago. On that occasion the Crescent Hotel was flooded te a depth of about 4in, and the railway station buildings were also flooded. Looking towards Mosgiel, the water appeared to be very high, and the steadings of Messrs Shand and Kirkland were only accessible by means of a boat. It was thought, however, that the water had not reached the houses, which are situated on rising ground. So far as could be ascertained no serious damage had been done, and the farmers had taken warning and removed nearly all their stock to the high land. ' On Sunday our reporter again drove out to the Taieri, proceeding to Outram via Grewtown, returning thence and going as far as Henley. A steady rain continued all the forenoon, but the weather then began to clear and a capital view of the flood was obtained. From the centre •of the plain opposite Springbank down to Greytown was one unbroken stretch of flood water. At Greytown the water had risen a good deal during the night, and the hotel was now flooded. The stationmaster's house was also flooded, and its occupants had abandoned it early on the previous evening. The railway line was covered, and the station, which was surrounded by running water, could only be reached by clambering along the fence. The goods shed was also flooded, and the water was running several feet deep over the approaches at either end of the bridge. A crossing was only effected at some slight risk, for in one place the water was almost over the wheels of the buggy. AN ANXIOUS NIGHT AT OUTRAM. On arriving at Outram it was found that the people were just quietening down after haviug spent a very anxious night. The telegrams received from up country caused considerable alarm, and when it became known nhat the water, which was within l^ft of the top of the embankment, had actually broken through in two or three places the alarm increased. At 7 o'clock the river was still rising, and an increase of 4in or sin in depth was chronicled in three hours. As there was no telling how much higher the water would rise, precautionary measures began to be taken. The cattle and sheep were driven on to higher ground, and Constable Mackenzie warned a number of residents who would have been in imminent danger had the river come over or broken through the embankment. Several families left their house?, the Buckeye Hotel receiving an unusually large number of lodgers for the night, and others remained up all night in dread least the river should come over. Men Tyere at once set to work where the water was rushing through the embankment to strengthen it with bags of sand, and all night long the lanterns of the watchmen could be seen moving up and down the river side. Up stream a bit the Glen Mills- w^ere flooded to a depth of about 3ft, and there was a depth of 13ft of water running over the northern approach to the West Taieri bridge. It was also reported that some damage had been done to the bridge on the Outram branch railway line. During the evening a break occurred in the embankment several miles down the river at Henley, and this relieving the pressure up above, the river began to fall slowly in the neighbourhood of Outram, There was still, however, an enormous pressure of water on the embankment, and still great risk of the river breaking through, but the fears of the inhabitants were greatly allayed, and by morning the waters had fallen some 6in or 7in. News was also received from Strath-Taieri that the river was falling there, so that it appeared the worst was over. A considerable flow of water, however, continued to come through at the foot of the embankment all day Sunday, but as the water was much clearer than when it first started to come through it was judged that the township was not in any imminent danger. The water is still coming through in five or six places, and there is a considerable subsidence of the ground in the old river bed some distance from the foot of the bank. There has apparently been a good deal of damage to the Otago Central line, and the contractors will no doubt suffer a good deal. Nearly all day on Saturday railway sleepers, planks of timber, and wheelbarrows continued to come down past Outram, thus showing that the river must have risen rapidly in its upper reaches. It wasjreported here that the Henley bridge had been carried away, but this was afterwards ascertained to be an untrue statement. Returning to Greytown and proceeding along the main road to Henley, several damaged culverts and one or two slips were noticed on ' the road. From a high part of the road, a few miles from Greytown, a splendid view of the lower portion of the plain was obtained, and the sight was one to be remembered. For miles and miles across the plain and on in the direction of Berwick and toward Waihola there was one ' broad expanse of dirty water reflecting the gray of a sombre sky, with here and there a solitary* steading or a clump of dark gum trees rising above the flood, and beyond all the black clouds coming once more down the bleak and blacker slopes of Maungatua — a dreary but impressive scene, which it was certainly worth going a long way to see. Near at hand was a lin9 surfaceman's house, flooded of course, and the line engineer with two other men was wheel- ' ing a trolly, on which was a boat, along the line to try and ascertain where any damage had b?en done. Mr Allan's house on ! the flat appeared to be flooded to a considerable degree, and people were seen coming from the direction of the house on horseback. A number of cattle were wandering aimlessly aloug the bank of the river, but so far as could be ascertained none had been drowned. From here down to Lake Waihola there was little dry land to be seen, and the houses of Messrs T. Shand, Walsh, Anderson, Bruce, Lawrence, and M'Kenzie were completely surrounded, and it seemed likely that the water got into more than one of them during the night. At O takia the water had been very high — higher, it was said, than the '68 flood, but the bursting of the bank lower down the stream had caused a rapid subsidence, and all danger was over. The water, however, at about 4 o'clock was still in someof the cottages, and a little farther on the road line was submerged for about a quarter of a mile. As there was no current, little difficulty in get'ring over this part of the road was experienced. The farms occupied by Messrs J. Palmer and H. Palmer had a great deal of water on them, but the stock had fortunately all been removed in time. The water, however, was tearing up the soil and doing a great deal of damage on Mr H. Palmer's land. 'The O takia railway station was quite inaccessible. A little lower down could be seen the gap in the embankment just above the railway bridge, extending for about two or three chains. It is evidently rather a serious break, and it will take a good deal of money to repair the damage done. Proceeding on to Henley it was found that the bridge bad stood, the strain well and re*

mained uninjured The pressure upon it was of course greatly relieved by the breaking" of the embankment further up stream. Mr Stevenson, who had been doing all he could to prevent damage, stated that the embankment stood well, and did not give way till the water began to flow over it. He explained that the break was probably caused by the railway embankment constituting the approach to the bridge damming back the water, and no doubt the pressure on the bank would have been greatly relieved had there been a viaduct instead of an earth bank forming the approach to the bridge. The break of course caused a great flow of water on to the land lying in the direction of Berwick, and several buildings which were submerged nearly to the roof could be seen by the aid of a field-glass near the centre of the plain. Messrs Hodge, Reid, and Home, settlers on the Blair trust lands, were flooded out ; but the houses on the Henley estate being built on slight eminences seemed to have escaped pretty well. Mr Stevenson had succeeded in clearing off over 1100 head of cattle to the hills, and he only knew of one cow being drowned. She got in among the tall flax, and, refusing to be driven out, met her doom. Lower down the water appeared to be just getting into Mr Fleming's house, and Mr Hutchins' house was also likely to be flooded. In consequence of the overflow at the railway bridge the water on the plain to the westward was gradually getting deeper, and just below Henley it was 2§ft higher outside the embankment than the level of the river. Mr Stevenson had men at work during the greater part of Sunday cutting gaps in the bank to let the water flow back into the river. Boats had also been used during the day, and proved of great service in removing families to safer quarters. By 5 o'clock the water had fallen a good deal, and it was thought that all danger was over. Tuesday Morning. The bad weather which has been experienced for the past few days cleared off on Monday morning, and the flood on the Taieri plain began to subside rapidly. At Greytown at an early hour the water had fallen 15 inches, but the railway line was still covered in several places, and was impassable for traffic. The principal damage to the line is a few miles south of Greytown, where it has been badly damaged for a distance of about 14 chains. At one place the ballast had been swept clean away, and a large volume of water was runuing through the {itip during the whole of yesterday. Tho Henley station is still inaccessible as tho road leading to it is submerged to a depth of 4ft. Tho passenger traffic was kept up on Monday with the assistance of drags, which ran between Mosgiel and Waihola. His Excellency the Governor was brought as far as Waihola in a special train. From there he travelled in a carriage to Mosgiel, where another special train was waiting and took him as far as {Dunedin. He left for Christchurch in the evening by another train. There is still about 4ft of water on the Outram line, and there is not much chance of trains being able to run from Mosgiel before Wednesday. The Main South line will also be repaired by that time as the river is falling rapidly. Agricultural operations all over the Taieri will be greatly retarded in consequence of the flood, but so far as can at present be ascertained the actual damage to property is not so great as might have been anticipated. As timely .warning of the flood had been given, little or no stock has been lost. At the West Taieri the damage is very trifling, as though there was a great depth of water in some places there was hardly any current. The flood was fast subsiding in the neighbourhood of Messrs A. and J. M'Farlane's property, near Outram, ou Monday, and they expected to have their cattle back in the byres before nightfall. It will probably be found, when the flood has cleared away, that the most serious damage has been done in the vicinity of Otakia and Henley where the water was running very strongly in places. The fences and ploughed land in these localities are sure to have suffered considerably. The break in the river embankment at Henley is also of a serious nature, and it will cost a good deal to repair the damage done. The Northern express was able to come right through, the Pareora bridge having been repaired.