HAIL OF IRON

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 663, 15 May 1929, Page 1

HAIL OF IRON

CABLE EXPLOSION HOBSON STREET TORN UP GAPING HOLES IN ROAD Hurling pieces of iron over the road for its full width two manhole tops covering a system of electric cables in Hobson Street at the junction of Wellesley Street blew out with alarming reports and vivid blue flashes shortly before midnight last night. Following one another at an interval of several minutes the explosions shook the buildings in the vicinity to their foundations. One blew out just a few yards from the Albion Hotel, and the ground shook almost as though an earthquake had taken place. All the buildings in the vicinity felt the shock, and the explosion was heard as far away as Ponsonby. Sleepers in hotels and boarding houses in Hobson Street were wakened by the detonations. The iron fragments, which were scattered over the street like shrapnel ranged in size from pieces of several pounds in weight to mere splinters. Policemen on duty soon arrived on the scene to guard the gaping holes with torches. Had this not been clone, a serious accident might have eventuated, as there was a fair amount of traffic in Hobson Street at that hour, arid several cars had to be diverted from the scene of the explosion. Policemen on duty thought that an attempt was being on the safe in one of the buildings in that part of the city, but when Constable Campbell discovered the cause of the explosion he advised the Transport Board and Power Board authorities, and relief gangs were quickly on the scene. The tram service was held up, but by 1 a.m. a partial service was resumed, and this morning everything was working again. The electric cables underground feed the overhead wires, and the blow-outs cut off power on the lines from the intersection of Queen and Customs Streets, practically to Pitt Street. Several cars were held up in Customs Street and one in Hobson Street. The engineer to the Auckland Transport Board. Mr, F. E. De Guerier, stated this morning that the explosions had evidently been caused by gas, which had accumulated underground.