LANDSLIDE AT TAUPO.

Otago Witness, Issue 2924, 30 March 1910, Page 23

LANDSLIDE AT TAUPO.

— TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES. ! SEVERAL NARROW ESCAPES. | AUCKLAND, March 22. j Further patriculars in regard to the land slide at Waihi show that Tamawhana, among others, was making a wild rush for safer ground, when a big boulder struck him and knocked him down. He recovered himself, and renewed his flight, but the body of the landslip overtook him in a few secondsj and he was overwhelmed. The last seen of him was his legs dangling out of slushy mud. A young woman named Hoko just managed to get clear of a part of the slide. She sank senseless, but was removed to safety. As the mass pitched into" the lake a tidal wave rose some 10ft, and swept to the opposite shore, where some children were playing. They.were swept off their feet, but were rescued by adults with difficulty. The boats and canoes on the Jake were washed away. The Natives all left the village and took refuge at Pukawa. The slip started 1000 ft above the lake level, a mile and a-half from the shore. Walls were cut out of the country 200 ft deep. The mud is 30ft deep, and covers the road from Tokaanu to Waihi. A GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION. (Fr.on Oera Own Correspondent.) AUCKLAND, March 26. A graphic story of the disastrous landslide at the email Maori village of Waihi, on the shores of Lake Taupo, early on Sunday morning last, was given to a Herald representative by Mr J. Hanlon, of Whangairei, who was fishing at' the Tongariro River, a short distance away, at the time. " It was at about 11.30 on Sunday morning," said Mr Hanlon, " that I was standing at our camp talking to the cook. Suddenly we heard a terrific roar, leading the cook to exclaim, ' That's thunder.' But I thought differently. ' That's not thunder,' said I, and, looking round in the direction from where the noise came, I saw a. great column of dust, like steam, ".use 1300 ft, followed by a great crack in the hillside at- Waihi. Then .1 saw the bu;;h disappearing into the cavity. Suddenly it shot up again, and then, with a. mighty' roar, rocks, soil, and bush rushed clown the valley towards the lake, tumbling and rolling over.and over like great breakers on a beach, until the slide reached the mouth of the valley, where it spread out a quarter of a mile wide on the flat land on the shore of the lake, sweeping away the Waihi village in its course*. I" then went on for about 250 yards into the lake, creating about 16 or 18 acres of new land above the lake level. The slide also covered the Waihi-Takaanu road to a depth of from 6ft to 25ft for about a quarter of a . mile. In its course it destroyed the potato and maize crops and a large area of grazing land, and buried cows, horses, and pigs, as it went along. It was the eight of a lifetime," continued Mr Hanlon. " It was most aweinspiring. Huge -rocks were ground into small pieces and hundreds of tons of others were broken into slabs 3ft or 4ft long and about 2in thick." Mr Hanlon stated that the tidal wave which followed . the slide washed up huge quantities of .carp, which now .strew the road for hundreds of yards. n It was a melancholy sight that greeted our eyes after the slip,!' said Mr Hanlon. "The scene of desolation was terrible. Crops and plantations were everywhere destroyed, and wharves were swashed into matchwood. One house, strange to say, had been shifted bodily without any more damage than a broken chimney." Mr Hanlon stated that the -slide, which traversed a mile, only lasted three minutes. Had it occurred on a week day a heavy death, roll must have been the result, as the Natives were digging their potato crops, which have now entirely destroyed. The next morning the creek, which runs into the Te Rapa, had found its way along the side of the debris, and was flowing under the Patiki and down to the flat, whence it found its way into the lake about half a mile to the south of the former outlet of ' the Te Rapa. The creek now being banked up will form a considerable menace for some time to come, as its waters will collect and form a lake in the valley behind the slip. The slide at present is very boggy, but capable of being traversed, though risky. Mr Hanlon, however, went over it. Bushmen whom . Mr Hanlon spoke to about the occurrence advanced an 'nteresting theory as to the cause. The outlet of a -number of large springs in the 'district got stopped up a year ago, and in their opinion caused the water to spread in the rock, and thus caused numerous fissures at the base of the hill, which in conseauence i became so weakened that it could not I support the immense weight above it. I According to Mr Hanlon, the place does not at present look at all safe, and in his opinion another slip may occur at amy time. The hillside for a Jistance of about a quarter of a mile is covered with hot springs, which it is feared may yet be . the cause, of a disaster far greater than that which has already occurred. Even now there are several yawning cracks on the hill. Oh Wednesday the Natives were digging for the body of Wi Tamaiwhana, the victim of the catastrophe, but without success. They were going to have another try, but Mr Hanlon thinks it is useless. It was about 9 o'clock on the fateful morning, said Mr Hanlon, that the Natives heard a noise in the hill, and immediately got very excited, wondering what was going to happen. Wi Tamaiwhama and some companions on the flat land subsequently heard some portions of the bush come down in the valley, and proceeded to investigate. Wi Tamaiwhana went out farther than his companions, when suddenly the big slide 'started to move. The others called out

to him to run for his life, but lie appeared to be fascinated, and paid no attention to their entreaties. At last. however, when th slide was within 60 yards of him he turned and ran; but it was too late, and be was overwhelmed. He tumbled and fell, but rose again to his feet and staggered forward, but it was not for long, for a huge boulder, hurling through space, struck him in the back, and he fell to rise no more, the last eeein of him being his feet sticking out of the moving mass, and shortly afterwards he disappeared 1 from sight. His remains are now believed to be some 20ft beneath the surface. SeveraJ narrow escapes were recorded. A Hindoo pedlar was walking along the road when ha saw the slide approaching him. That man ran as he had never ran before, and at length reached what he considered a position of safety, and sank exhausted to the ground. His troubles were, however, not over yet, for when the land slipped into the lake a tidal wave 6ft high pursued him. Another sprint, and the pedlar was at last safe, for though the water did overtake him it up to his knees. Some girts were pick-: ing maize in the plantations. When they heard the crash they fled to safety, but one of them went off in such a dead fainft that at first it was thought she had ex* pired. Two boys were in the valley try* ing to catch horses that had bolted up tho hill. By following the horses the boy* escaped just in time, though they wsr# cut off and were at first thought to hav# been killed. A little boy thought he wag cut off from safety and was doomed.. Dropping on his knees he turned his fact to heaven and uttered a prayer, but his father had rushed out and, seizing him, dragged him from the advancing torrent only just iiftime.' An English visitor who goes to the locality every year to fish decided to fish in the Te Rapa Creek, near Waihi, on the morning in question. At the last moment, however, he changed his -mind. The place where he intended to fish is now 200 yards inland, covered by 3.oft of debris.

Whon asked as to the probable cause of the landslide which tpgulphed the Maori village of Waihi on the 22nd, Mr T. F. Cheeseman, curator- to -.the Auckland Museum, explained " that the village was situated on a level stretch of land on the foreshore of the lake, with a range of hills behind it. " Along these hills," he said, "run hundreds of boiling springs, which ha.ve boiled the harder materials soft, and so have caused the collapse. Waihi i 3 situated on the site of the village of To Rapa, which was destroyed in 1846, and marks of that catastrophe can still be seen. There is a great scar on the hill from where thj earth broke away, and its track is visible. at Waihi last I thought that there would -, bo another landslide before long, and therefore thi6 nevys. has in no way come as a surprise to me. Waihi, as I last saw it, was a prettiiysituated village, containing in all some 20 whites."