THE EARTHQUAKE

Waipa Post, Volume 42, Issue 3262, 19 February 1931, Page 5

THE EARTHQUAKE

> frtSBA FLOOR LIFTED. RISING OF SEVENTY FEET. : /Ry Telegraph. Press Association. 1 v J ; WELLINGTON, Friday. 0r Henderson, Director of the Geological Survey Department, reports that there is no apparent uplift at Kairoa, but that a great slip one mile south has lifted the sea floor loctfjjy by seventy feet. MOHAKA RIVER BLOCKAGE. WORKMEN TO CUT CHANNEL. GISBORNE, This Day. By means of an aerial survey, the cause of the blockage in the Mohaka river, which had occasioned concern to settlers, has been traced to a slip 24 miles inland, and it will be reassuring to residents at Mohaka to know that there is little, if any, danger when the river finds its way through the obstruction. Since the earthquake last Friday ' the flow in the'river has fallen rapidly, until to-day there is scarcely more than a trickle in the river, and in some places the bed is quite dry. Settlers have feared the possibility of the pent-up waters breaking and flooding the countryside. / Mr Guy Field, of the Hawke’s Bay Aero Club, followed the course of the river from Mohaka inland, until he discovered the obstruction about 24 miles inland, the river having been blocked by an extensive slip about three or four miles below the big bridge on the Taupo Road. From the air it could be seen that the river was banked up behind the dam for a distance of about 1 h miles. Should the dam, give way, the waters would expend their force before reaching the township. . It appeared possible to the airman that the river itself would find its way through the obstruction, but it is understood that a party of men from the Public Works Department has set out to r cut a channel through the slip if necessary.

REBUILDING NAPIER. INITIATIVE OF CITZENS. NAPER, Wednesday. A meeting called by Mr C. O. Morse, chairman of the citizens’ committee, for the purpose of ; discussing demolition and clearing up work and the proposed rebuilding of Napier, was ' very largely attended. The chairman said it was desirous that citizens should come to an agreement regarding the demolition of buildings and also agree to clean up all debris comprehensively. It wasnot fair to expect the Public Works Department to undertake the job. The committee wanted those present to make arrangements in respect to mortgages, and other restrictions, as soon as possible, so that the work of demolition might be attacked comprehensively. ■ • „ , , It was decided that the Government be requested to carry out the clearing of the devastated area and charge it to individual property owners, the Government to take up the question of payment later. A resolution was also passed leaving in the hands of the relief control committee for immediate action the matter of choosing a suitable site for the erection of temporary tin premises to house the retail shopping centre.

STRANGE PHENOMENA. SMALL GEYSERS AND BURIED FOREST. GISBORNE, Wednesday, v Half way between Taumotu Island and Pah Hill, about a mile and a half on the eastern side of Gisborne harbour, the raising of the foreshore by eight to ten feet, dozens of small geysers with water that tastes fresh, the vomiting of inflammable gas, and the upheaval of a submarine forest, were revealed this morning as the result of the big ’quake on Tuesday W66lc. . Half way out to the island, opposite Sponge Bay, a reef that was formerly covered at low water is now visible at high tide. All round the reef is fearsome looking mud and stone with seaweed and papa. Low tide reveals a large number of stumps of trees, which appear to have been - cut. off or broken off when far under the sea. Some of the stumps in this uncanny forest are from four to five feet high, and are embedded in black, 'vV sticky mud. Strange to say, campers along the Kaiti Beach, between Sponge Bay and Gisborne, harflly felt the big ’quake. WILL ADOPT ORPHANS. WOMEN OF FARMERS’ UNION. £ WELLINGTON, Wednesday. * Mrs H. Mabel Jackson, the Do- , minion president, has telegraphed to the Minister of Health, the Hon. A. J. Sta’lworthy, that the women’s division of the Farmers’ Union offers to adopt all orphans resulting from the earthquake disaster. The Minister, in reply, ./ conveyed the Government’s appreciation of the generous offer, which would gratefully be availed of as far as might he necessary. r > BUILDING REGULATIONS. ENGINEERS AND ARCHITECTS COMPRISE COMMITTEE. WELLINGTON, Wednesday. The Prime Minister to-day announced the personnel of the Building Regulations Committee as follows: Professor J. E. L. Cu’l, chairman, professor.,of civil engineering at Canterbury College; Messrs J. T. Mair, Government architect; W. L. Newnham, designing engineer, Public Works Department; James Fletcher, managing director of the Fletcher Construction Company, Limited; E. H. Rhodes, structural engineer, Fletcher Construction Company; H. Vickerman, civil engineer, Wellington; R. A. Campbell, civil engineer, Christchurch; S. T.. Silver, structural engineer, Wellington; A. S. Mitchell, architect and engineer, Wellington; G. Hart, city engineer, Wellington;

A. G. Bush, borough engineer, Lower Hutt. The is Dr M. A. F. Barnett, of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. ' The inaugural meeting of the committee will be held on February 21. OUTSIDERS DISCOURAGED. NON-RESIDENTS EVACUATED. . HASTINGS, Wednesday. Outsiders in search of work are definitely not wanted in the earthquake area. An official notice issued to-day on behalf of the Napier and Hastings Citizens’ Committe states that all road vehicles are being stopped and the occupants interrogated. Officers are also patrolling the trains. Persons unable to show satisfactory reasons for entering the area are turne back. To-day the commandant of Nelson Park Camp, Napier, conducted a round-up and found 31 non-resident ment without work. These were sent out of the district. Also 35 doubtful cases are being investigated. Steps are being taken to see that men sent away by train go at least as far as Woodville. The reason for these precautions is twofold. Unemployed outsiders in Naier cannot obtain food, except by becoming a burden on the relief organisation, and in Hastings they may be expected to do so. In addition, if they, get work they will make fewer jobs for local men and discourage able-bodied men from returning to their homes, as it is desired that they should do.

VISIT BY ARCHBISHOP. INSPECTION OF DAMAGE TO CHURCH PROPERTY. V HASTINGS, Wednesday. “Our principal needs are to restore the damaged buildings and to find means of providing for the stipends of the clergy during the period of stress,” said Archbishop Averill, upon his arrival at Hastings to-day. The Archbishop spent yesterday at Te Aute College. He will remain in the district until Friday morning, and will then leave for. Auckland. It is his intention to appeal to the church people of New Zealand to raise a substantial fund to assist the diocese of Waiapu in its present need. General Synod has already granted £SOO toward the restoration of the bishop’s house at Napier, and has absolved the diocese from all payments to the provincial funds for three years. Archbishop Averill said he was glad to find that the damage to Te Aute College, though severe, was not ,as bad as had been believed. The central block, the tower of which had fallen, would have to be demolished, but the wings could be repaired and the wooden buildings were intact. It was intended to reopen the college without much delay for the benefit of those scholars on whose behalf a Government subsidy was payable, but the others could not be taken back until accommodation had been prepared for them.

RELIEF FUNDS GROWING. The additional contributions, made yesterday to the Mayor of Auckland’s earthquake relief fund amounted to over £7OO, and included several substantial amounts. The total amount received up to closing time at the Town Hall yesterday was £16,863 15s 6d. The Herald fund now stands at £10,822 11s. The Star’s fund at noon yesterday had reached £3130 8s sd. The Hamilton total is now £5138 ss. i . ' / The Mayor of Christchurcji relief fund now totals £17,604, the Press fund £7030, Sumner Borough £156, Rangiora £433, Lyttel.ton £297. Over £IOO was raised for the earthquake relief fund at a concert held in the Theatre Royal Hamilton. ■ The relief fund at Rotorua totals £1127, including £456 on the Rotorua Chronicle list. Large supplies of clothing and goods have been sent to the affected area. At Palmerston North the donations exceed £IO,OOO and include £250 from the New Zealand Jersey Cattle Breeders’ Association. NOTES. It is pleasing to have the assurance ot the chairman of the Napier Harbour Board that the earthquake damage to the harbour and port facilities is much less serious than at first appeared. The general task of reconstructing the town and reorganising the business life of the community should be greatly facilitated by the fact that with 'comparatively little effort and expense the port can be reconditioned to meet the demands previously made upon it. As there seems little prospect of the High School and Technical School at Napier reopening this term, the Education Department urges parents to send their children immediately; to the nearest school. 1 At a meeting of the Auckland Education Board yesterday it was decided to circularise the schools asking that the children contribute some of their pocket-money to the earthquake relief funds. To take this action it was necessary for the board to depart from a decision' not to allow collections in schools and this was accomplished by suspending the standing orders.

An interesting sidelight in connection with the reconstruction of Napier is the fact that the Napier Daily Telegraph, which on the day following the earthquake appeared as a one-page sheet no bigger than a piece of. ordinary notepaper, appeared on Saturday with an issue of four pages or ordinary newsprint size. From to-day it commenced to issue an eight-page paper. According to the records at the Dominion Observatory, Kelburn, the 'earthquake which occurred at Wellington just before midnight on Monday was not an after shock of the Napier earthquake, but had its centre about 100 miles from Weellington, out to sea on the fault which runs between Stephen Island and the mouth of the Wanganui River. This, it is explained, is a common location of minor shakes felt in Wellington from time to time.

DISTRICT RELIEF FUNDS.

MAYOR’S LIST.

£ s d Already acknowledged 767 17 0 Jno. Karl 7 10 0 J. H. Burns 5 6 0 Thomas Mclnnes 5 5 0 Bourne Bros 5 5 0 Te Awamutu Branch Farmers’ Union - 5 6 0 Mr and Mrs Robert Ross and family 5 5 0 Mr and-Mrs Roger Kay 4 0 0 Burrows Bros 3 3 0 R. J. Shaw 3 3 0 James Mclvor 3 3 0 Mrs Whitford 3 0 0 H. Wellington 3 0 0 Boy Scouts’ Swimming Carnival 2 13 3 Presbyterian Senior Bible l Class 2 5 0 Mrs J. M. Bruce 2 2 0 Mr and Mrs G. 0. Jourdain 2 2 0 Mr and Mrs F. W. Bevin 2 2 0 S. H. Graham 2 2 0 Ivan Giles 2 0 0 Ford and Kite 1 1 0 Thos. Coupland 1 1 0 C. Ohlson 1 1 0 J| B. Clifford 1 0 0 Miss Boler 1 0 0 Mr and Mrs J. Munro 1 0 0 Mr and Mrs J. Foster 1 0 0 Miss L. Newell 1 0 0 F. Karl 1 0 0 Rev. Father O’Flymj 1 0 0 Miss E. Ohlson 15 0 Miss J. Ford 10 6 S. G. Hole 10 6 Miss Z. Mensforth 5 0 Widow’s Mite 5 0 Mrs Pryor 2 6 Kathleen Kirkham 2 0 Daisy Kirkham 2 0 Gwladys Kirkham - 2 0 £849 4 9 AT THE WAIPA POST. Already acknowledged 93 0 0 T. H 2 0 0 M!r and Mrs N. Rossiter. 10 0 Miss A. M. Barnett 10 0 MissW. H 10 6 Miss Thelma Patterson 5 0 T. Neylon . 5 0 £97 0 6