Massive earthquake hits Wellington region

The magnitude 8.2 earthquake was to have a profound impact on the development of Wellington city. Land raised from the harbour – along with additional reclamations – forms much of modern Wellington’s CBD.

Wellington is susceptible to earthquakes because it is in a zone where two tectonic plates meet. As a result, three major fault lines run through or very close to Wellington city: the Ōhariu Fault, the Wairarapa Fault and the Wellington Fault.

The earthquake was caused by movement on a fault in Palliser Bay. It lifted the southern end of the Rimutaka Range by a staggering 6 m. About 10 minutes after the main shock a 4-m-high tsunami entered Wellington Harbour, sending water surging back and forth and flooding Lambton Quay. Buildings in a Wairarapa boat harbour were washed away, a ‘gigantic wave swept the beach’ at the mouth of the Wairau River in Marlborough, and waves up to 30 cm high came ashore near Christchurch. The main shock was felt in Auckland and Dunedin.

The main earthquake struck as two days of celebrations to mark the 15th anniversary of the founding of Wellington were winding up. The shaking began at 9.11 p.m. and lasted for 50 seconds. Panicked residents fled outdoors and remained there for the night. Many camped outside for days, and frequent aftershocks continued for months. On the 24th people as far away as New Plymouth (where chimneys were damaged by the main shock) felt continuous vibrations when sitting or leaning against walls.

A significant earthquake in 1848 had ‘more than half destroyed’ the settlement, and according to some accounts had seen many colonists turn ‘their backs permanently on Wellington’. Following this quake many buildings had been re-erected in wood. In 1855 the local council chambers and adjoining government offices, both two-storey wooden buildings, collapsed, but most single-storey wooden houses survived. Many were damaged by falling brick chimneys or shifted on their foundations. Soldiers of the 65th Regiment cleared much of the debris.

The uplift caused by the quake led to improved transport links. Parts of the road between Wellington and Hutt Valley had been impassable at high tide, but this route was now safe for vehicles and (later) trains. Dangerous sections of the coastal route to Wairarapa were also raised. The earthquake also drained the notoriously swampy lower reaches of Hutt Valley and enabled the creation of the Basin Reserve cricket ground in Wellington.

Despite its strength, the quake killed only a few people – one in Wellington, two in Manawatū and up to six in Wairarapa.

Image: Te Ara