HEAVY GALE

Waikato Independent, Volume XLII, Issue 4003, 18 May 1942, Page 1

HEAVY GALE

POWER SUPPLY INTERRUPTED MINOR DAMAGE CAUSED One of the heaviest gales for months swept the Cambridge district on Friday night, causing interruptions in power supply in almost every part of the district, but fortunately no other serious damage. Many farmers were compelled to milk by hand during the week-end, and several parly-line telephones were out of order. The town itself bore a wind-swept appearance on Saturday morning, ! roadways and lawns being magically j cleared of leaves, which were piled against fences, hedges, or any other obstruction. Small limbs scattered here and there testified to the force of the wind. I, A poplar at the corner of Queen and Hall Streets came down, breaking off a power pole close to the ground. The pole was left hanging by the wires at an angle of 45 degrees. Another tree fell across the road at the corner of Williams and Grosvenor Streets. About 8 o’clock on Friday night a half-hour black-out was caused in the town by the branch of a pine tree in Alpha Street fouling a power line. This automatically tripped the “breaker” at the Leamington substation, which cuts out the whole town. Candles were brought out by those who had them. Those who had not were reminded of the necessity of providing themselves with them in case of an emergency. The hardest-worked men in the district during the week-end were the Power Board’s outside staff, which worked all through Friday night, all day Saturday, and part of Sunday repairing damage and power interruptions in various parts of the district. About seven or eight service poles were blown down, and in other places branches of trees blown off by the wind fouled and broke power lines. The roof of a shed at Mr R. D. Fisher/s farm at Monavale was blown off.