Pastures Past: When wild weather cut off rural towns and roads

Historic articles report on stormy weather from Taihape to Hawke's Bay. Photo / Warren Buckland

Kem Ormond takes a look at rural life back in the day. In this week’s Pastures Past, she’s found newspaper articles from 1904, 1938, and 1944 on weather damage.

Not a great deal has changed over the years; Mother Nature still holds dominion over us.

Floods continue to surge, hillsides still give way, roads require repairing and rebuilding, and debris must be cleared before communities can return to normality.

Despite advances in engineering, technology, and forecasting, we remain subject to the power of the natural world.

Our tools may be more sophisticated and our response more coordinated, yet it is nature that dictates the terms, and we adapt as best we can.

Below is a selection of historical stories from the Bush Advocate (1904), the New Zealand Herald (1938), and the Central Hawke’s Bay Press (1944).

The weather

Railway traffic stopped by slips.

(Press Association.)

Taihape, September 24.

Bush Advocate, September 24, 1904

In Taihape the recent heavy rains have caused land slips to occur.

A serious one occurred near the Mangaweka viaduct on Wednesday night, extending hundreds of yards, and completely burying the railway and stopping all trains. Taihape is cut off.

There are heavy slips on the road between Taihape and Managaweka.

The coach traffic is at a standstill.

The Moawhanga road is blocked and large gangs of men are busy clearing landslips away.

If the rain continues, more slips are expected.

Clearing roads

Aftermath of storm

Restoration work

New bridge at Albany

New Zealand Herald, August 6, 1938

Work has now been started by the Public Works Department in the construction of a temporary bridge to carry traffic on the portion of the main road between the school and the hall at Albany that had to be closed as a result of last Saturday’s storm.

On that occasion, a bank collapsed that had been in existence for 30 years.

Traffic is now diverted via Bush Road, but the temporary bridge when constructed will make this course unnecessary.

The bridge should be ready in a week to 10 days.

On the Albany portion of the main road, where the road was recently reconstructed and permanent deviations made, work is still in progress in removing slips, although traffic can get through.

It is considered that this portion of the highway stood up to the exceptional floods very well.

Much clearing of slips has still to be done on the Dome Valley section of the Auckland and Maungaturoto highway, and it will take a week or two before the position is restored.

In the Waihi Gorge on the Paeroa-Waihi Road, slips were considerable, and the complete clearing of this area, although traffic is using the highway, will take some little time.

£2000 for flood repairs in Patangata County

Central Hawke’s Bay Press, June 20, 1944

Restoration of county roads damaged in the heavy rain at the end of last month would probably cost more than £2000, said the engineer of the Patangata County Council, Mr J. S. Coles, in a report submitted to the council to-day.

He added that further expenditure on protective work where erosion by streams had taken place would be required.

Reviewing the effects of the rain, Mr Coles stated that heavy flooding and numerous slips blocked a number of roads.

Practically the whole of the outside staff had since been engaged in clearing slips and repairing damaged roads.

Communications had been restored and the larger slips cleared with bulldozers, but two or three months would be required to clean up smaller slips, clean water-tables and remetal scoured sections of roads.

Reference to the great assistance voluntarily given by county settlers on the roads was made by several councillors.

It was resolved to place on record the council’s appreciation of the services of settlers in clearing slips during the recent rains in the district.

- Source: Papers Past