522 EEPOKT— 1891. 



Earthquake of 1855. 



On the 23rd January, at 8.50 p.m. As in 1848, it appears 

 to have had a direction of froi^ii north-east to south-west, com- 

 mencing with an extremely continued shock, accompanied by a 

 fearful noise. The motion was violent, and sharply changed at 

 right angles, or from north-east to north-west. Still increasing, 

 it partook of both motions, with a sensible upward impulse. 

 The duration was about a minute and a half. The vibration 

 continued at intervals throughout the night from north-east 

 to south-west, and slight shocks were frequent until the 

 11th April, on forty-seven days. The first shock was felt a 

 hundred and fifty miles from the coast, and affected New Zea- 

 land from the extreme south to the East Cape, about 360,000 

 square miles, or three times as large an area as the British 

 Isles. An area of 4,600 miles was estimated to have been 

 raised from 1ft. to 9ft., the greatest elevation being on the 

 west side of the Wairarapa Valley, the vicinity of Porirua 

 Harbour not being affected, and the west side of Cloudy 

 Bay, north of Blenheim, having actually been depressed to 

 the extent of 5ft. 



An Account of the Earthquakes in Neiv Zealand. 



[Extracted from " The New South Wales Sporting and Literary Magazine 

 and Racing Calendar," from information supplied by Mr. W. (since 

 Sir W.) Fitzherbert. (Abstract.)] 



During the whole of the last winter (1848) the district of 

 Wellington experienced much less wind than usual, and during 

 the same period the wind came principally from the east, which 

 was a very unusual circumstance. The rain during the same 

 season had been abundant. For eight days previously to the 

 16th October heavy rains were constant, the wind being in the 

 south-east, and blowing a gale ; and the highest floods known 

 for three years occurred in the town. 



The earthquake consisted of three grand shocks occurring 

 at intervals of about thirty-six hours, and followed by a suc- 

 cession of minor shocks that extended, according to the latest 

 dates, over a period of one month. 



The first shock was felt at about 1.40 a.m. on the 16th Oc- 

 tober — estimated in Wellington to have lasted two minutes, 

 oscillatory, not rapid, unaccompanied by noise. It was at- 

 tended by a most remarkable phenomenon — viz., the instan- 

 taneous suppression of the gale" which was blowing at the 

 time, and which sprang up again with redoubled fury on 

 the termination of the earthquake, as if it had been "bayed 

 back." 



* Same in 1855. 



