BIG LANDSLIDE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16705, 24 July 1928, Page 4

BIG LANDSLIDE

PAEKAKARIKI HILL ROAD BLOCKED , SECTION OF HILLSIDE COLLAPSES An enormous landslide, said to be the largest seen in the district, came j down on the Horokiwi Gorge road, between Pahautanui and the summit of the Paekakariki Hill at about 3 p.m. on Sunday. The slip is about 40 yards in length, and at a fairly fate hour on Sunday night was still coming down. The spot is on the main road out of Wellington, and is on a corner known as the "Devil's Elbow," a notoriously dangerous bend about two miles on the Wellington side of the top of the Paekakariki Hill. ■As a. result of the slip, all traffic between Wellington and the Manawatu side of the island was seriously disorganised. Those in cars travelling to Wellington found themselves, on arrival at the slip, faced with the difficult problem of turning on thejia.rrow road and going right back to \Vaikanae, where they were able to go to the city via the Akatarawa Gorge road. This road is excellent so far a.s scenery is concerned, but is not of the best when a large number of cars endeavor to pass over it. It is very narrow and Ml of dangerous and tricky bends. All the service cars' were some hours late in arriving in the city. HILLSIDE COLLAPSES. A resident of the Horokiwi Valley informed a Dominion reporter that from what he could gather the slip was caused through th.e extensive blasting operations which have been carried on by the Public Works Department during the past month. This has been done in order to cut 'back the corner and to get metal for the parts of the road which are under repair. Apparently the continued blasting had weakened the hillside, with the result that it suddenly collapsed. It is understood that a motor-car was driven up to the corner just as the first few boulders started to come down. The driver got out to investigate, and decided to trust to luck and beat the slip. However, by the time he had got the engine started, the slip had come down in earnest, and the driver and his passenger then realised how near they had been to disaster. A nearby resident, who lives in the Wellington side of the slip, was returning home in his icar, and arrived at the scene of the trouble only to find that it was a case of "so near and yet so far." He left his car parked on the side of the road, braved any stones that might still be falling, and walked across the slip to his home.