THE EARTHQUAKE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 144070, 15 April 1913, Page 3

THE EARTHQUAKE.

MASTEfiTON POST. OfFIGE DAMAGED. For Press Association. WELLINGTON, April W. The Post Office advises that the earthquake at Masterton damaged the upper portion of the Post Office tower. Qnly one piece—an ornamental one—fell, but the balance is a good deal cracked, CHRISTCHURCH, April 14. The Masterton earthquakes were recorded on the Christchurch seismograph as follows:—April 12, beginning at 7.12 p.m., large waves commenced and lasted till 7.13 p.m. The maximum motion was at 7.14 p.m., and had an amplitude of 1.6 millimetres. Further minute ’ tremors occurred from 7.38 p.m. to 7.43 p.m. April 13; Beginning at 3.6 p.m., and lasting till 3.7 p.m. The maximtum motion was at 3.6 p.m., with only a \ slight movement.

EXPERIENCES IN MASTERTON. ,

Writing of the earthquake, the Wairarapa Age says: ‘ r Gno of the most violent and alarming earth convulsions that have ever been experienced in the Wairarapa took place at ten minutes past seven o’clock on Saturday evening. The shock in Masterton created intense '

excitement, and was, unhappily, at- ■ tended with loss of life. The night was ■ intensely still and the atmosphere oppressive. An ominous cloud, with a flaky-white lining stretched across the western canopy.; otherwise the sky was clear.' A loud rumbling noise as _of distant thunder startled the inhabitants. This was immediately followed by a quivering of the earth. Then; as if a tremendous explosion had occurred, the place was seized by a violent oscillation. Buildings ■ creaked and rooked to and fro; crockery rattled and was thrown about in confusion; telephone bells commenced ringing l ; clocks were stopped; children- screamed in terror; women fainted; bricks came tumbling down in parts; occupants of shops and -private houses, after recovering from the first staggering sensation of alarm, rushed into the streets; the whole community was struck as by a terrible . panic. It was an alarming experience. DURATION OF’THE SHOCK. The duraiion-of the shock iswarkfasly estimated 'at from , twenty to thirty , seconds. The violent oscillation was followed by a sustained tremor, -and she movement.of crockery lasted for 1 several 1 minutes. The direction of the shake /■was apparently from east-’to west. A TBA6IO INCIDENT. The crowds in- the main ■ thoroughfare 'i had hardly recovered from their alarm | than they wore horrified to learn that J a tragedy had occurred in the neigh- i bourhood of the Post Office. In. a.few i -moments hundreds of peopte had , as-t 'semblcd at the corner of Queen and'l Hall Streets, where an unfortunate*!; Maori youth was lying lifeless, with; blood oozing from his head and* .face. It appears that the youth, who-' is named Hoani Ngawhiro Marafcaia, f and is the only sou of a well-known j Hamua Native, had left the Post Of- /! flee hurriedly when he first felt tho j .shock, and was standing in tho street . about five feet from the footpath, si .Suddenly a huge knob of concrete, .ij which had adorned a parapet in the ■ j ■front of .the Post Office, came, tom- ; ■ bling -down, and tho youth was-amit-■ten to the ground and killed out- | ■(right. The body was carried to the I tportioo of the Post Office, and doctors > were summoned, but: could only pup- j' uounce life extinct. The yo’ntir’s ■ skull was shockingly fractured, and- j the was, otherwise injured about the ■ body. Death must have been instantaneous. - The body was removed to , the morgue, and subsequently to the iLansdowno pah, where an inquest will be held at ten o’clock this morning. The deceased was a well-known Native; who went under the name, of f(Watchjiurn,” and was a grandson of* tho late Hamua chief,’ Nireaha.

A PITIFUL, SCENE. The scene after the fatality had occurred was painful to behold. There j were dozens' of Native men and women .in the ■, street at the time of the calamity, a number of them being relatives of the deceased. Tl}oy had become almost frantic witE alarm- at the shake itself; but when they real- ; iscd that one of their number had i been.crushed to death they sat up l -a mournful waiP and clung around-the 1 corpse in a distressful njaimer. The i pathetic chant for the dead was-. non- 1 tinned for fuUy half an hour, until i the body was taken away.,

ALARM IN THE POST OFFICE.

The telephone, telegraph and other j officials in the-Post Office, had a tern- . fving experience. The fall of masonry ,V on to the roof- crqited a feeling of m- ■' tense anxiety. Some of. the Jtelephono girls were paralysed, whilst others screamed . and ran out. , , x ho, telegraph operators left their desks and rushed downstairs. The office was in a .state of consternation; . : Son»' of the telephone girls were so upset at the experience that they bad to be removed to their homes. The lost Office itself appears to have stood the shock remarkably well. The whole ; of the clocks, including the large one i in the tower, were stopped. A few | cracks were, made in the plaster. and . in the brick tower, a concrete knob was shaken off a parapet, and a chimney top was split. Otherwise, very little damage was done. IN THE SHOPS.. Most of the shops in town were busy at the time the shock occurred. Owners, assistants and customers lost no time in getting out,- though in some cases the means of exit were blocked. Inquiries revealed the fact that, although crockery and glassware were vigorously shaken, and in some cases thrown down, comparatively little damage was done. A few pounds will probably cover the whole loss. Bottles came down in one or two of the chemists’ shops, and goods were thrown about in various establishments, but nobody was injured. THE PRIVATE HOUSES. The experience in private houses was alarming, particularly on the .western side of the town- Strangely enough it was on this side that the greatest damage was done in the last big shake some years ago. Some of the- residents suffered severely from shock caused by bricks, falling upon the roofs of thetr houses and down :■ the chimneys, and in several cases ■ women fainted.