Patrick Parsons 1855 Earthquake

It started with a hunch and some curosity as to whether the 1855 earthquake of the Waiarapa actually had any lasting effect on Hawke's Bay. There appeared to be nothing reported in the newspapers of the time idicating that it had reached Hawke's Bay. However upon researching further into to there were indications it may have been felt as far north as Wairoa. A journey with Richard Schumacher and Bob Bruce out the back of Raukawa show some scarring on the landscape that had not really been noticed before. Mick Stewart then proceded to show me
some large landslides in Valley Road, where 1/2 the hillside had slipped leaving a harsh cliff face remaining. This must have been a result of a major force. Glen Ares Valley show similar scenes and scarring of the landscape. Was this caused by the 1931 earthquake? After talking to the locals, Tom & Lenora McCormick who was raised in Valley Road, He was there in the 1931 earthquake and these crevases were already there. Stories of the Locals and locals before them indicate it was the 1855 earthquake.
At a Tsunami Conference in Napier in March 2002 at the War Memoraial Centre, Gaye Downs an Australia Proessor who has subsequently retired in Wellington, asked about the 1855 Quake and the William Colenso letters held in Kew, telling of the shake in Hawke's Bay. Gaye sent copies to Patrick Parson, the first hard evidence that the quake was felt in Hawke's Bay and the severity of it.
William Colenso letter to Butler:
.. 23 February 1855
Re 1855 Earthquake
We have recently been visited by violent shock of an earthquake on 23 January 1855.
The first shock ocurred 11pm with a very severe jolt sent us spinning, I was as usual sitting down reading at my desk. The jolt and resulting shakes and swaying sent us into a panic. I
ran around the table throught two doors to the outside door. It was only just in time as my bookshelves came tumbling down and all 4500 volumes, my specimen jars, glasses pistols
and all. I thought the chinmey had come down too...
Seeing the eartquake and nature at it best first hand was to be admired... feeling safe about
it was beyond my ability....
... the rocking motion like that of a steamer shuddering, and swaying and the tall weeping
willows with there long weepy branches lashing about the earth and then sweeping the sky
withh post fences rattling and creaking... the rivers angry mood with river levels rising and
falling looking to spill over to the stream of pale light in the sky with fire tails leaping nor more than 3 or 4 feet about the ground, bright bule and white and hurting my eye to look at it...
When I finally found my way back inside I found my table and chair hard snack against the chimney, bookshelves thrown in all directions all the volumes on the floor from the Encyclopaedia Britannica to my Diary, all my china, jars and glasses smashed.
Wellington as usual had big losses, huge damage to buildings, all brick work had come down.
Few buildings were left standing..."
and so it went on.
Following this another visit to Raukawa and Valley Road. Ian McPhee and Tess White daughter of the McFarlands had huge slips 1/2 hour out the back of the farm. On the west side there
were long clean breaks and huge slumps few metres down. He said its visible all the way along
and you just need to be able to read the landscape.
Poppy White said she rode up the valley after the 1931 earthquake and the massive slips and crevase were already there and had been for years. In fact there was very little change to the valley from the 1931 earthquake.
James Padman in Wairoa said in a letter that the river level had risen several metres during the earthquake.
It is now quite apparent that the 1855 earthquake had a lasting effect on no only the people but the landscape too. Patrick is recording his findings as an official document.

Earthquakes: Our ten Big Ones

Earthquakes: Our ten big ones
Here's a list of 10 significant earthquakes recorded in New Zealand's history. Nine of them are magnitude 7.0 or more on the Richter scale. (Last night's quake east of Gisborne measured 6.8).
Others in our nation's past have been higher than 7.0, but have occured in non-populated areas or offshore.
1848 - MARLBOROUGH(M 7.5, 16 October.) The earthquake that shook Marlborough on Monday 16 October was the largest in a series of earthquakes to hit the region that year.
1855 - WAIRARAPA(M 8.2, 23 January.) The 1855 earthquake is the most severe earthquake to have occurred in New Zealand since systematic European colonisation began in 1840.
1888 - NORTH CANTERBURY(M 7.1, 1 September.) In 1888 the Amuri District was shaken by a large earthquake that reached intensities of MM 9.
1929 - MURCHISON(M 7.7, 17 June.) The massive rumbling of the 1929 Murchison earthquake was heard as far away as New Plymouth
1931 - HAWKE'S BAY(M 7.8, 3 February.) The 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake caused the largest loss of life and most extensive damage of any quake in New Zealand's recorded history.
1934 - PAHIATUA(M 7.6, 5 March.) The 1934 Pongaroa earthquake shook the lower North Island on March 5 1934 and was felt as far away as Auckland and Dunedin.
1942 - WAIRARAPA I(M 7.2, 24 June.) This earthquake severely rocked the lower North Island on June 24, 1942, causing extensive damage to local buildings.
1942 - WAIRARAPA II(M 7.0, 2 August.) The shock that struck the Wairarapa Region on the 2nd of August was nearly as severe as the disastrous June 24 earthquake five weeks earlier.
1968 - INANGAHUA(M 7.0, 24 May.) The 1968 Inangahua earthquake caused widespread damage, and was felt over much of the country.
1987 - EDGECUMBE(M 6.1, 2 March.) The shallow origin of this earthquake made it very destructive, despite its magnitude of only 6.1.
* source: geonet.org.nz

1855 Earthquake

Te Ara Report
n 1855 a magnitude 8.2 earthquake – the most powerful ever recorded in New Zealand – rocked the southern part of the North Island. Caused by movement along a fault in Palliser Bay, it altered the landscape of the Wellington region and affected its subsequent urban development.
Intensity of the earthquake
The evening of 23 January 1855 was the end of a two-day holiday, the 15th anniversary of Wellington’s founding. Shortly after 9 p.m. a violent earthquake began; in Wellington the main shock lasted for at least 50 seconds. People fled outdoors, where they remained for the night in tents and makeshift beds, as incessant aftershocks rocked the area – one person counted 250 in the first 11 hours. The aftershocks would continue for months. For the first day after the main quake, as far away as New Plymouth an almost continuous vibration could be felt by people sitting, or when leaning against walls.
Rebuilding
After the 1848 Marlborough earthquake, many Wellington buildings had been rebuilt in wood. Some new commercial premises, however, were constructed of brick because of fire risk. The 1855 earthquake damaged many of these, including the jail and the bank. The local council chambers and adjoining government offices, both two-storey wooden buildings, collapsed. However, single-storey wooden houses survived: although many were damaged by falling brick chimneys, or shifted on their foundations, few collapsed.
Fatalities
The number of fatalities caused by the earthquake is estimated at five. The sole casualty in Wellington was Baron von Alzdorf, who died when a brick chimney in his hotel collapsed. Two people died in a fissure in the Manawatū. In the Wairarapa, several Māori (their reported number varies from two to six), were killed when a whare collapsed. Surprisingly few people were injured. The quake was fekt as far South as Christchurch & Kaikoura to New Plymouth and Wanganui in the west to as far North as Palmerston North, Hawke's Bay including Wairoa.

Effects on land and sea
In the Hutt Valley, slips blocked roads and large fissures opened up in the ground. Numerous landslides scarred the slopes of the Rimutaka Range. The earthquake caused a tsunami in Cook Strait and Wellington Harbour; some buildings on Lambton Quay near the shoreline were flooded by tsunami waves.

The shock was felt across almost the whole country, and was highly destructive in Wellington 8.2 and severely damaging in Wanganui and Kaikoura. Between seven and nine people were killed in the earthquake, and five others sustained injuries that required hospitalisation.
The earthquake originated on the Wairarapa Fault and caused extensive faulting and uplift in epicentral areas. The latter was most dramatic at Muka Muka, on the western side of Palliser Bay, where the ground was raised by 2.7 m. Significant uplift also occurred in Wellington city, most noticably around Wellington Harbour, altering the city's shoreline considerably. Today, Wellington's Basin Reserve sports ground sits on land lifted by this earthquake; the area had previously been part of a waterway that led into the harbour. The ground level at Pauatahanui, Lowry Bay, and to the east of Lake Wairarapa was also raised, but it is possible that this was caused by material being deposited, rather than tectonic uplift.
The earthquake triggered extensive landsliding on both faces of the Rimutaka Ranges, along the Kaikoura coast and in Wellington, where access to Petone was cut off when a large landslide containing ~300,000 m3 of material cascaded down to block the coastal track north. The slip is still visible today along the Hutt Road. The shaking also created numerous slump cracks in flat areas of Wellington, the Hutt Valley, Wairarapa, and in the Manawatu district. In these areas the earthquake also triggered sandblows and the eruption of groundwater at the surface, the result of massive pressure increases underground that were caused by the shaking.
The earthquake was followed by many aftershocks, some of which were very damaging. There is strong evidence that the earthquake generated a local tsunami and it is also possible that small tsunami accompanied some aftershocks.