Haiokes Day Philosophical Society. 23 



HAWKE'S BAY PHILOSOPHICAI. SOCIETY. 



FiKST Meeting : ki7fh Mny, 1910. 



Present: The President (in the cliaii), aud a birge number of hidies 

 and gentlemen. 



Jew Members. — H. Hill, W. Fosse}-, and Dr. Simcox. 



Lecture. — Dr. Henry gave a lecture on " Heredity and Disease." A 

 brief discussion followed. 



Frizes. — Prizes were offered to school-children for best collections of 

 shells, insects, and plants. 



Polynesian Soriefy. — The Institute became a member of the Polynesian 

 Society. 



Secokd Meeting : S^th June, 1910. 



Present : The President (in tlie chair), and about fifty others. 



New Members. — Rev. R. I. Coates, J. Fitzgerald, R. Grant, J. King, 

 J. Snodgrass, and J. P. Thomson. 



Papers. — 1. 'Tarawera and Rotomahana soon after the Eruption of 

 1886 and Twenty-three Years later," by Mr. H. Hill, B.A., F.G.S. 



Abstract. 



In this paper the author compares the appearance of the Rotomahana district 

 as known before the eruption and soon after the eruption, with the present appear- 

 ance. 



He visited the devastated area soon after the eruption, and, in company with 

 Mr. Blythe, the officer in charge of road-construction, inspected the rift in Tara- 

 wera, the earthquake flats towards Pareheru and Tikitapu, the sites of Wairoa, 

 Rotomahana, Waimangu to be, and the scarcely known Wai-o-tapu Valley, where 

 they christened the Primrose Terrace. These are described, the desolate dull grey 

 of the country, and the yawning, hissing, steaming abyss which took the place of 

 the beautiful Rotomahana and its terraces, being then very impressive. 



Stones, cinders, ashes, and sand came from the volcanoes, but only bluish- 

 grey mud seems to have come fi'om the Rotomahana crater. 



Destructive effects seemed wanting to the south of the ridge separating the 

 drainage-areas of Rotomahana and Wai-o-tapu, hardly any trace of eruption being 

 noticeable in the latter place. 



The country before the eruption was described by the Rev. Mr. Chapman 

 ("Missionary Record," 1838); Dieffenbach (1841); Rev. W. Colenso (" Tasmanian 

 Journal of Science," vol. i) ; Hochstetter (1859), whose map, published in 1863, is 

 the only authoritative one of the pre-eruption time known to the writer ; Domett 

 (in " Ranolf and Amohia "), Trollope, and Froude. 



Since the eruption Rotomahana increased from 25 acres in August, 1886, to 

 5,600 acres in 1893, and rose from a level of 565 ft. to 985 ft. It is now about 

 7,500 acres in extent. It seems to be fed by undergi'ound springs as well as by the 

 ordinary drainage-water. 



River-basin formation can be well studied in the district. 



The country is now fairly well covered with vegetation, lichens, acacia (used 

 here for firewood), grass, clover, fern, Epilobinm, Gaiiltheria, Veronica, Draco- 

 phyllum, and tutu being mentioned as noticed. 



