THE TERRAGES

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19913, 16 June 1936, Page 9

THE TERRAGES

DO THEY STILL EXIST? HAMILTON RESIDENT’S VIEWS. THE EVIDENCE OF EXPERTS. The fiftieth anniversary of the great eruption that so changed the appearance of the thermal district. in the vicinity of Tarawera has revived the controversy regarding the fate of the famous \Vhite and Pink Terraces. acknowledged to have been one or the most beautiful sights in the world. A resident of Hamilton, Mr E. Phillips Turner, formerly Director of Forestry, was among these who were able to reach Wairoa the day after the eruption, and naturally he has since followed with interest the argu—ments regarding the Terraces. In June, 1886. Mr Phillips-Turner was one of a survey party working on the railway line that was to connect Auckland and Rotorua. The party was at. Ngatira, and two days after the eruption some of them made their way through the bush to Wairoa, where there had been serious loss 01‘ life and widespread damage.

Speaking to a Times reporter yesterday, Mr Phillips—Turner said that a few days after the disaster Messrs 5. Percy Smith. F.G.S., I. Martin. PIGS” Sir James Hector, F.R.Si, Professor Thomas, and Mr G. C. Blythe. Government surveyor, went to the locality and spent a considerable time examining, photographing and writing notes on what had happened. All these highly-qualified persons knew Rotomahana intimately before the eruption. They particularly tried to find evidence of the non-destruction of the terraces, but the accounts written by them all agreed that they were destroyed. In Mr Smith's re--port there was a picture which showed the site of the original lakelet and the terraces to be occupied by an immense pit extending about five and a half miles east and west and roughly a mile and a half wide. The location of this immense chasm was not guess—work, as Mr Smith had with him Mr Blythe to make topographical surveys and take photographs. Photographs Compared. "l have in my possession,” he added, “a photograph taken by Blythe with the is-uperscription, “The site where the White Terrace formerly \vas.‘ I have also two photographs of Mr Martin's which he gave me. They are boih taken from the same spot, as the sky—line proves. 0110 photo shows the terraces before the eruption; the other shows a deep and vast chasm where the terraces for—merly were. I must say that one's position after the eruption could he ilxcrl fairly accurately owing to the flood landmarks afforded by the hill Te liape—o—'i‘oroa and other unaltered topographical features.

“From 1900 to 1903 I was engaged in making surveys of the \\'hole of the country lying between Rotorua, Tara—wera .\lounlain, Roiomahana, W'aiotapu, the Waikato River and Horohoro Mountain. On one of my maps the position of the present Lake Rotomahana is tairiy accurately draughted. if on this map a tracing of the late Mr Henry Mitchell‘s map of the same locality—he made his survey about a year before the eruption—be superimposed it will be seen that the sites of the two terraces are from one—eishth to one-quarter of a mile within the periphery of the new Lake Rotomahana as it was at the time of my survey in 1902. In this connection it must be borne in mind that the waters of the lake occupy a vast pit from 300 feet to 500 feet deep \\hich resulted from a titanic explosion which scattered a huge block of the earth's crust over miievs of the surrounding country.

“I think that of those who have studied the matter there can be only very few who believe that the terraces do still exist; and 1 know for certain that all those with scientillc qualifications who studied the matter at the time reluctantly courluded that the terraces were destroyed."