MISSING RIVER

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19132, 29 September 1936, Page 13

MISSING RIVER

UNDER P.B. FLATS

DIVINED BY MR. J. C. FIELD

At the instance of Mr. E. R. Thomas, borough engineer, a further divining demonstration was given by Mr. J. C. Field to-day in support of jus submission to the Borough Council of the existence of a large underground river flowing under the Poverty Bay flats and providing a possible source of water supply for Gisborne. To-day’s demonstration was given at, Kaitaratahi, the “upper reaches” indicated by Mr. Field in his communications to' the council. Mr. Field claims there is an underground flow as big as the Waipaoa River flowing down through the centre of the Poverty Bay flats to Matawhero and discharging into Poverty Bay in the direction of Awapuni. In the course of two years investigations he claims to have traced it right down to the point, of discharge into the sea. The recent demonstration to the members of tho Borough Council indicated the location of this underground river passing through Matawhero and inland to Waereng»-a-hika. This morning Mr. Field carried his tests to Kaitaratahi, a distance of 14 or 15 miles from Gisborne, and in proof of his theory took the engineer and a Herald representative to the site of the old freezing works atWaipaoa, where the river was actually tapped at a depth of 111 ft. and supplied an abundance of water for the works The first place visited was adjacent to the Kaitaratahi railway siding, where Mr. Field indicated a flow measuring approximately 135 ft. in width. This,, lie said, marked the flow of the original river direct towards the sea, eliminating the present bend which the Waipaoa River makes to-day at this point. If Mr. Field’s contention is correct, this underground river passes below the Waipaoa River at its present level no less than six times between Kaitaratahi and Ma tawhero. TAPPED AT WAIPAOA On to tho site of the Waipaoa freezing j works, now dismantled, two demonstra-1 tions were given to indicate a large flow! of water, measuring front £4O to 2501 t. j in width, but the extra distance may j bo accounted for by a diagonal crossing of tho stream. -Mr. Field explained that, j when the Waipaoa works, of which he was a director, were originally planned, he located the existence of this under- ; ground stream and Mr. James, the engineer, placed the buildings accordingly, tho engine-room being located adjacent to the line .of water. Ultimately a 6in. well was sunk, within an Bin. casing, and he was given to understand this well had yielded an almost inexhaustible supply of beautiful water. Subsequently a second well was put down, with equally successful results. Mr. Field I pointed out the original well, the pipes of which still stand adjacent to the demolished engine-room. In the course , of operations an air blast was used and I large stones were discharged from the j pipe, indicating that the water was being drawn from a deep shingle bed I Moving on past the works, the i borough engineer was given another location oil tho main Te Karaka-Gisborno road indicating that the river was coming from higher up the valley, possibly originating in the .mountainous back country. The “Missing. River of Poverty Bay” formed the subject of an article contributed by the late Mr Henry Hill, tho well-known geologist, some years ago.