My own index of J.A. Mackay’s “Historic Poverty Bay and the East Coast, N.I., N.Z.” provides a handy reminder to research events in the history of Poverty Bay.
Mackay reminds me that on this day, April 30th, in 1948 “when Mt Ngauruhoe was active … grey, gritty ash, not quite as fine as flour, drifted over Poverty Bay.”
A series of 4th magnitude earthquakes occurred under and north of the North Island last weekend according to data released by the US Geological Survey.
The earthquakes occurred at very shallow and deep levels as the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates reacted to pressures caused by their continuing collision.
GNS Science announced a reduction in the Volcanic Alert Level at Raoul Island yesterday. The alert level has been reduced from 2 to 1 (signs of volcanic unrest).
Though uncomfortable, it somehow seems fitting that the one day we set aside for remembering the work of our servicemen and women falls during autumn. ANZAC Day is often wet and windy and attendance at the dawn services around the country usually means wrapping up against the weather.
Early reports are that attendances are again up this year, with an estimated 3,000 turning up at the cenotaph in Wanganui.
Two earthquakes have occurred near Porirua, north of Wellington, this morning.
The first quake at 2:16 a.m. was felt in the Wellington region according to data posted by Geonet. It was magnitude 3.8, 40 km deep and was located 20 km north of Porirua. It was followed by a smaller magnitude 3.4 event 70 km deep nearby at 6:07 a.m.
They follow three other quakes in the area in the past week. A magnitude 3.3 event, 30 km deep occurred off the coast 20 km north-west of Wellington on April 17th. It was followed by a magnitude 2.9 quake at 10:13 on the 18th. A magnitude 4.0 earthquake, 15 km deep occurred in Cook Strait 60 km south-west of Wellington on April 21st.
[data from GNS Science and contributing agencies.]
Playing tour guide to visitors to our fair city allows me to indulge in one of my many passions – lurking about in museums.
Whilst its name may be a mouthful, the Museum of Wellington City and Sea provides three levels of displays that can only be described as an “eyeful”. Located in the former Bond Store on Jervois Quay the museum performs a dual role – a centre for Wellington city’s history and a repository of its maritime history.
The Lord of the Rings Exhibition has returned to Te Papa after its world tour. Its return evokes memories of “Wellywood” days when film crews and camera trucks were a common sight on the streets of Wellington while the trilogy of films was being produced.
If you saw the exhibition of movie memorabilia when it first appeared, then its probably worth shelling out the shekels to see it again, as over half of the exhibits are new.
On average, New Zealand experiences an earthquake of magnitude 6 or greater once a year. However, just seven weeks after Gisborne experienced a damaging magnitude 6 earthquake in 1966 New Zealand was, against the odds, to experience another strong shake. What’s more, the second magnitude 6 quake was to occur near two sizeable towns and the country’s second biggest city, causing minor damage.
The Seddon earthquake of 1966 damaged commercial buildings and dwellings on both sides of Cook Strait.
Privacy issues have been in the news recently, with publication of a survey about New Zealanders’ privacy concerns and discussion of RF tagging.
So, I popped in to the website of the Privacy Commissioner to see what the commission had to say about all this. I was stunned…
Earthquake activity in the South Pacific has returned to normal levels during the past week according to data released by the US Geological Survey and GNS Science.
Prior to computerisation, in the days when telephone switching was carried out by electromechanical switches, billing customers for usage was something of a nightmare.
Many different billing methods were employed worldwide, often requiring the electromechnical switches which made speech possible to be overlaid with a separate billing system to collect data.
No, no, no. This is not an item about an old work-mate who liked to have a few beers at the pub before scuttling around the floor biting sheilas’ ankles and eating ashtrays! Those days are no more.
Begone booze barn with your raucous patrons, capacious carparks and cacophonous bands. Welcome to the local pub – a place of conviviality. Somewhere to have a meal, a chat and a refreshing ale before sauntering home.
The Roundabout Pub in Tawa is one of those small local pubs that have been popping up in recent years. It’s been a long time in the making, but is slowly evolving as a meeting-place for Tawa locals.
A new image has appeared on the Geonet site this morning, bringing the number of cameras monitoring White Island to 3.
The new, high resolution image is taken from the crater rim, looking down into the crater. The file size is larger owing to the higher resolution.
Earthquake activity in the South Pacific has eased during the past week.
Although it has not reduced to normal levels, the number of earthquakes recorded near Fiji, Tonga and the Kermadec Islands is down on the previous week.
Geonet have moved the mainland camera that provides a distant view of White Island.
Until recently, the camera was located on the foreshore near Whakatane, providing a distant view of the island and its steam clouds.