Bay Harbour: August 15, 2018

PAGE 22 Wednesday August 15 2018
BAY HARBOUR
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The big tsunami of 1868
Fire rages, homes at risk
On this day
150-years-ago, a
2.4m tsunami hit
Banks Peninsula.
Historian
Annette Bulovic
describes the
event on her
Discover The
Delights of Peeling Back
History Facebook page, a
daily record of historical
events in Canterbury
IT WAS around 3.30am on the
morning of August 15, 1868,
when a few Lyttelton residents
were awoken by a strange noise.
One local, Mr Mitchell, even
sensed a small tremor, coming to
the quick conclusion there had
been a small earthquake.
Those working around the port
that morning were also alarmed
by the strange noise, sounding a
bit like thunder.
As they looked to the skies,
they saw nothing but stars and
the air was still and calm. But
then they noticed something
really odd – as the early morning
light broke out against the sky,
nearby ships seemed to be listing
on their sides.
Upon closer inspection, the
harbour was almost empty of
sea, bare earth exposed in some
places.
Alarms were soon raised.
Just half an hour later, an
immense 2.4m wave, sounding
like a rushing wind, came
bowling into Lyttelton Harbour.
It snapped anchors and chains,
tossed boats up in the air and
smashed them into each other.
Boats that were moored to
wharves were torn away and
wrecked against the shores.
The manned steamship
Novelty, which had been at
anchor, managed to gain control
quickly as it was being washed
inland.
In a small victory against
mother nature, the steamer
powered against the wave and
managed to avoid damage, apart
from the loss of its anchor.
What was later referred to
in the Lyttelton Times as an
“Earthquake Wave At Sea” it
continued on towards the heads
of the bay, flooding into the
bottom farming paddocks of
HOT SPOT: Banks Peninsula has been hit by multiple tsunamis over the years. As well as the 1868 tsunami, in 1960 water poured
into the dry dock at Lyttelton (above) during the surges caused by a quake in Chile. (Below) – In 2016, the Kaikoura earthquake
caused a tsunami in Little Pigeon Bay, damaging a property.
PHOTO: ARA ENCYCLOPEDIA
Samuel Manson.
Two seaside homes and a 91m
jetty were destroyed, as well as
many sheep being drowned.
Countless types of marine life
were later discovered stranded
on numerous beaches around the
harbour bays.
The Manson family, who had
been farming at Teddington
since 1845, would later speak of
that day to others, saying how
those paddocks affected were
useless for years after.
The water continued to fall and
rise for days afterwards, causing
whirlpools in many places.
Other areas of New Zealand
also reported damage, including
Wellington, Nelson, Kaiapoi,
Oamaru, Timaru, Dunedin and
Bluff.
New Zealand wasn’t the only
place in the tsunami path –
Hawaii, Japan and Australia also
felt the brunt.
Ships weighing several tonne
were reported to have been
pushed inland 800m.
Some ships were never seen
again.
In fact, ships that arrived
in Lyttelton Harbour over the
following days fished many items
and parts belonging to those
unfortunate wrecked vessels.
Now referred to as the Arica
Earthquake, it struck an area
that was then a part of Peru
around 9.30pm on August 13
(Peru time), 1868.
It is regarded to have been
between magnitude 8.5 and 9.0
and lasted between 5-10min.
Hundreds of aftershocks
followed in the days after.
DEVASTATION:
Arica in Peru
(now part of
Chile) was
laid bare
after the 1868
earthquake and
subsequent
tsunami.
PHOTO:
WIKIPEDIA
Tsunamis on Banks
Peninsula
•There were eight reported
tsunami events on Banks
Peninsula between 1840
and 1982
•The only other area to
report more was Wellington
which had nine.
•The most extensive
earthquake to affect New
Zealand was in 1868, known
as the Arica earthquake.
It brought 2m waves to
Banks Peninsula and killed
one man on the Chatham
Islands.
•The most powerful
earthquake of the 20th
century was magnitude 9.5
which struck off the coast
of Chile on May 22, 1960.
On May 23 and 24, the first
of many tsunamis began to
arrive on the east coast. At
Lyttelton Port the tsunami
came in at 2.7m above the
tide level, damaging boats
and electrical gear.
•A hotel and several
houses were flooded, and
200 sheep drowned.
•In 2016, the magnitude
7.8 Kaikoura earthquake
generated a 1m tsunami in
Lyttelton, but at Little Pigeon
Bay a 3m wave destroyed a
house.