SEAT OF ’QUAKE

Taranaki Daily News, 7 March 1934, Page 7

SEAT OF ’QUAKE

SYDNEY EXPERT’S OPINION

MILES BENEATH SURFACE TREMORS FOR SOME DAYS EVENTS SUPPORT THEORY LITTLE DAMAGE EXPECTED By Telegraph—Press Assn-—Copyright. Rec. 12.45 a.m. Sydney, March 6. During an interesting telephone conversation Mr. J. L. Schmitt, New Zealand Trade Commissioner, had with ather O’Leary, director of the Riverview Observatory, Father O’Leary said about two days ago his seismograph indicated a small disturbance about 1500 miles away, but it was so deep-seated that it was probably 100 or more miles below the surface of the earth.. It was impossible to locate the direction. The disturbance was so far away in the earth that it necessarily spread over a very large area. For this reason he felt it was most unlikely any very serious damage would be done on the surface of the earth. Mr. Schmitt was able to inform r ather O’Leary that he had received a message that the damage in New Zealand was only minor, whereupon Father 0 Leary was pleased to hear his theory had thus far been borne out. He went on to say the possibility of New Zealand having a severe surface disturbance, based on this theory, was extremely remote—perhaps not for many generations. This type of disturbance might cause damage to some old types of buildings,. but little apprehension need be entertained with regard to modem structures.

DANNEVIRKE SUFFERS MANY BUILDINGS DAMAGED. PARAPETS AND BALCONIES FALL. Dannevirke, March 6. . From twelve minutes to midnight Dannevirke and the surrounding districts spent an anxious night, due to a series of earthquakes varying in intensity, me first shock was the worst, and very severe. It lasted a long time, the movement being very violent and the noise in buildings alarming. Many residents temporarily vacated their homes. Fortunately no individuals so far as is known suffered injury. It was fortunate that the. quake, occurred when the streets were practically deserted in Dannevirke, otherwise the probabilities are that there would have been narrow escapes, if ■ not fatalities. An early morning survey of the town disclosed widespread structural damage, though comparatively not severe. The parapet of the Evening News building, which successfully withstood the earthquake in February, 1931, crashed mto the parapet of the De Luxe Dance Hall in Gordon Street, came down through the balcony and littered the footpath. Part of the parapet of the National Bank of New Zealand fell on to a garden seat in the post office square and smashed it to pieces. This is a popular rendezvous during the day-time. The De Luxe Picture Theatre received some damage to parapets at the back portion and buildings in the business portion of the main thoroughfare suffered in various ways, some being cracked, some apparently being slightly tilted and others having the windows broken. Many articles in various places were thrown from the shelves and the contents littered the floors. TOWN HALL BADLY CRACKED. The building which seems to have suffered most seriously is the Town Hall, a big brick building which is badly cracked along the front near the entrance door, and the northern comer. The chimney crashed through the roof of Engleboretsen’s drapery shop, inside of which was a scene of disorder, while a little further along the parapet of Girhard’s butcher’s shop came away and brought the verandah down with it. The brick belfry on the top of Knox church shows signs of damage and may prove to be unsafe. After the Napier disaster in 1931 many parapets in the business buildings were removed and other safety measures were taken. This no doubt considerably minimised the damage in the business area. Many chimneys are down in various parts of the town, particularly along the Terrace though it is noticeable that most of them are old ones which survived previous visitations. Reports from the surrounding settlements show that the main damage was to chimneys, many of which were razed. In the middle of the main shock there was a fairly violent bump. About seven or eight shakes followed before daylight, but they were not as alarming as the first one. The damage must run into hundreds of pounds, but an accurate estimate at present is impossible. Many breakages occurred in private homes. The Commercial Bank, a brick building in High Street, was greatly damaged. The rear part of the south wall collapsed on to the roof, smashing the ceiling of the manager’s office and sending a pile of debris on to the office table and on to the manager’s chair. Gas fittings were wrenched off and hang at fantastic angles. No structural damage of any consequence was caused at the post office. At the public hospital all the chimneys were damaged, one falling through a roof outside the buildings. The patients behaved admirably. Reports from all places in the coastal area show that chimneys are down in all directions.

RECORD TAKEN AT SYDNEY.

EVIDENCE OF TERRIFIC SHOCK.

By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright.

Sydney, March 6.

The Riverview Observatory late last night recorded one of the most disastrous earthquakes in history, 1500 miles from Sydney and in the vicinity of New Zealand. The newspapers here were clamouring last night for news from New Zealand. J . x .. The seismograph began to register the earthquake shocks at 9.52. The needle was almost tom off the face of the instrument and continued to register untu after midnight. Father O’Leary was forced to stand by the instrument in order to prevent the terrific shocks causing damage to it. He said that if the earthquake occurred in any populated area great loss of life and widespread damage would result.

Oysters are not the only delicacy obtainable on Stewart Island, according to Mr. G. M. Turner, a resident of the island, who gave an address at Auckland about life at the extreme south of New Zealand. “Tn the rivers on the : island there are eels up to 6ft. in length, and they are very good to eat, said Mr. Turner.