Wairarapa Earthquake 1855
Wairarapa Earthquake 1855
Text: Niki Partsch | Design: Jonathan Howard
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On Tuesday 23 January 1855 Wellington was battered by strong winds.
Heavy rain lashed down until early evening and then the weather cleared.
But the calm did not last, and at 9.11 pm a huge earthquake hit. It was so big it caused a 90 km break along the Wairarapa Fault. This break released an enormous amount of energy—1,000 times more than the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
On Tuesday 23 January 1855 Wellington was battered by strong winds.
Heavy rain lashed down until early evening and then the weather cleared.
But the calm did not last, and at 9.11 pm a huge earthquake hit. It was so big it caused a 90 km break along the Wairarapa Fault. This break released an enormous amount of energy—1,000 times more than the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
The earthquake lifted the eastern side of the harbour higher than the western side, and this created large waves inside the harbour.
Highlighted (in red) is Te Aro Pā.
Because it happened at high tide the waves flooded homes and shops along Lambton Quay. Just a few minutes later, a tsunami about 4 meters high hit the south coast and created a big wave that rushed into the harbour and up the Hutt River.
The earthquake, which was around 8.0 - 8.2 on the Richter scale, caused serious damage on both Te Ika-a-Maui the North Island and Te Waipounamu the South Island and was even lightly felt far away in Tāmakimakaurau Auckland and Ōtepoti Dunedin.
.The next morning, at Te Aro Pā (highlighted in red) people saw that the land on the harbour edge had lifted one and a half metres. Boats were stuck, and millions of shellfish were left rotting in the hot summer sun.
An account of the Wairarapa earthquake was published in the national newspaper Te Karere Māori. Four people were killed in the Wairarapa when their whare (house) collapsed.
Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume I, Issue 2, 1 February 1855, Page 30. Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers
Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume I, Issue 2, 1 February 1855, Page 30. Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers
It also caused landslips like this one.
Many strong aftershocks, some as large as 6.5 in magnitude, shook the area. These aftershocks kept happening, though less often, for almost a year.
Given the widespread damage to buildings, it is surprising that the next day the Wellington newspaper, The Spectator, was able to print and report on the extent of the damage suffered.
This ink and wash drawing looking toward the north end of Lambton Quay may date from before or just after the earthquake.
Pearse, John, 1808-1882 :Wellington (Thorndon Flat end) taken from JP's land on Wellington Terrace [1855 or 1856]. Pearse, John, 1808-1882: [Album. 1851-1856]. Ref: E-455-f-032-1. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22301871
It shows the Wellington Hotel where the owner, Baron Alzdorf, bled to death when one of the hotel chimneys collapsed and caused a mirror to shatter over him. He was the only known earthquake fatality in Wellington.
The Provincial Council Chambers and offices were destroyed by the earthquake.
The large waves swept over the shore and flooded shops along Lambton Quay, leaving logs and shop contents strewn about the shore afterward.
Other areas, like Whakatū Nelson and Ōhinehou Lyttelton, were also affected by this earthquake and newspapers reported the next day on the damage .
Acknowledgements
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga gratefully acknowledges the support of Alexander Turnbull Library part of Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa National Library of New Zealand and Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
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