New Zealand Earthquakes

On 17 June 1929 a major earthquake shook many parts of New Zealand, causing most of the devastation in the Murchison area, where 10 people died. The earthquake caused landslides, broken dams and floods and killed a total of 17 people.

In 1931, New Zealand’s deadliest earthquake devastated the cities of Napier and Hastings. At least 256 people died in the magnitude 7.8 earthquake – 161 in Napier, 93 in Hastings, and 2 in Wairoa. Many thousands more required medical treatment. At 10.47 am on 3 February, 1931, a violent shock followed closely by a second rocked Hawke’s Bay for almost three minutes.

On 24 May 1968 an earthquake measuring 7 on the Richter scale, hit the town of Inangahua junction near the Buller Gorge, virtually destroying all its buildings and causing damage from Greymouth and Hokitika to Nelson. Three people were killed in the quake, and 3 more in a rescue helicopter. 50 year-old Frederick John Jackson, while trying to get help for his wife, walked 15 km on a broken ankle.

Christchurch - New Zealand

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand. The towering peaks of the Southern Alps of New Zealand, the sprawling Canterbury Plains of New Zealand and the rich farmlands bordering the Christchurch City's suburbs provide a unique setting for the lively metropolis, the home for 485,000 'Cantabrians'.

On the south-east side of the town the Port Hills form a natural city wall, beyond which the port of Lyttelton, New Zealand and the enchanting bays of Banks Peninsula cling precariously to the coastline. The Port Hills are more than a city boundary. They surround a large amount of the history of the Christchurch City. The Bridle Path is the track over the Port Hills of Christchurch that the original settlers used as their route to the city.

The First Four Ships brought settlers to Christchurch, New Zealand. The tightly-knit group of English pilgrims who hauled their possessions over the hills to fulfill the dream of the Canterbury Association. This dream was to establish a model colonial settlement, a little piece of 'home' in a land where the gentle rolling hills to which they were accustomed were replaced by rugged mountains and forested swamps...