A BLAST OF WINTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 3877, 3 July 1928, Page 24

A BLAST OF WINTER.

BAD WEATHER IN THE NORTH. CYCLONIC GALE IN WAIHI. AUCKLAND, June 30. That the cold blast of winter has been felt over a wide area during the past two days is indicated by reports from various parts of the Auckland province: In the King Country rain, hail, and snow was the order The fiercest westerly gale experienced in Waihi for 35 years raged all last night. It reached cyclonic force in the centre of the town, and did hundreds of pounds’ worth of damage to the King’s Theatre. The rear part of the theatre, a large building, was demolished, including the stage. Heavy masses of corrugated iron and woodwork were lifted and hurled into the street. The roof of the back portion went first, and the wind then played havoc with the exposed area. The gale made a‘ clean sweep of many verandas i.n Seddon street, and the iron was hurled into the centre of the main street. Many fences were also razed. Several large trees in Seddon avenue were blown over, and the Association Football Club’s shed, which was recently erected on the recreation' reserve, was lifted from its foundations. and wrecked. GALE STRIKES WELLINGTON. CONCRETE ARCH BLOWN DOWN. WELLINGTON, July 1. The back arch of the centre unit of the Wellington Show building, which is in the course of construction at the John street site, was blown down by the wind late on Friday night or early on Saturday morning. The piece of work which was demolished wag a concrete section about 50 feet in length, 22 feet in height, and 14 inches in thickness. It weighed about 20 tons, and wag reinforced with steel. The section, which was built with two others on the level of the top floor of the new building, occupied the centre position, ami comprised three arches. The section had been completed, and was stayed in it r place awaiting the erection of the roof principal. The force of the wind was so great that the entire section broke off at its base, and fell outwards, damaging in its fall a large quantity of floor timber which was stacked close by. It is reported that the wind in the vicinity of the works last night was exceptionally heavy, and that pieces of timber were caught up and whirled in the air. This morning a gang of men was employed in breaking up the concrete which had fallen in large pieces and clearing away the debris. It was fortunate that the material fell outside the building, otherwise the damage done would have been much more severe. Mr R. H. Nimmo. chairman of the Wellington Show Association, said that the accident was a great disappointment to members of the association, who sympathised with the contractor. It was estimated that the damage would run into four figures. It seemed to him almost incredible that the wind should have attained such a velocity as to cause the damage. It was impossible to estimate what delay there would be in the completion of the show building. Mr Nimmo said he sympathised with the builder, who had been pushing ahead with the work at the utmost speed, and who desired to complete it at the earliest possible date. Steps had already been taken to reconstruct, the work. Portions of the temporary work at the building were also damaged by the wind, but these have been t epaired.