TARAWERA ERUPTION

Taranaki Daily News, 10 June 1930, Page 7

TARAWERA ERUPTION

ANNIVERSARY TO-DAY GREAT VOLCANIC UPHEAVAL. TERRIBLE DISASTER RECALLED. Forty-four, years ago to-day occurred the eruption of Mount Tarawera, near Rotorua, which was the greatest volcanic upheaval in New Zealand history or Maori tradition. One hundred and fifty-three persons, six Europeans and 147 Maoris, perished in the three viL lages, Wairoa, Te Ariki and Moura, which were buried by ash and mud thrown out from the raging volcano. The eruption also resulted in the obliteration of one of natures supieme masterpieces, the Pink and White Terraces, on the north shore of Lake Rotomahana. ■ : The terrifying nature of the phenomena attending the eruption is indicated in a record of .what occurred which was written just afterwards by Amy Robinson, a girl of 12, who was living‘at and about twenty miles from the scene of the eruption,‘with her parents, who Awahou, seven miles from Rotorua had charge of a native school. Miss Robinson afterwards married Mr. J. Paterson and is now living at Waikaka. At 1.30 a.m. on ‘June 10, 1886, the inmates of the schoolhouse were awakened by a rumbling noise, louder than thunder, the house being “in a tremble all the time.” The writer says that when they looked out of the door an awful but grand sight met their gaze. There was a very dark cloud in the southern skies, with lightning and fire flashing out round and through it. . Terror-stricken , people, who had hastily abandoned their homes in Ohinemutu, on the shores of Lake Rotorua, began to arrive at Waihou between 3 and 4 a.m. “We heard voices on the road, so called out,- Who is theie runs the account. “They did not answer us, but came on to the gate; so we went out and there found a gang of men, women and children with nothing ■but blankets round them, their faces wearing a most dreadful frightened look. Upon hearing the roar and seeing the flashes of fire they jumped to .the conclusion that they were all. going down to the lower region. They jumped out of bed, picked up blankets and made out here, calling to all the. others ■as they ran along, the road to get away as soon as they could.’! At seven o’clock there was no sign of approaching daylight and “we began to despair of light for a few days. We did get a little, day light’ but it turned, dark again, although not quite so dark as before, which was a comfort to us. All sorts of reports came to us and we really did not know what to believe.” The next terrifying phenomenon was a dense cloud of sulphurous steam; mixed up with mud and ashes, which fortunately lasted only about two hours, when the wind changed, and drove it in another direction. The volcanic deposit, controlled by the wind, fell over an, a.ea of 6120 square miles. The dust cloud swept .over Tauranga during the morning, causing darkness. The thunder of the explosions was heard as far away as Christchurch, a distance of 420 miles;