This film was recorded in 1931 and is part of the Thomas W Whetton collection of films. It shows the immediate aftermath of the Napier earthquake which occurred on the 3 February 1931, killed 256 people and left thousands homeless. Whetton left notes of his filming which have been used to catalogue the footage.
“Section 1. The Destruction of Napier, (North Island, New Zealand) by Earthquake & Fire on February 3rd 1931.”
“Scene 1. Doctor Moore’s Private Hospital.”
Large concrete building leaning to one side – fractures in concrete façade. Cyclists ride past.
“Scene 2, Scene 3, Scene 4. General Destruction.”
Large civic buildings with collapsed roofs and facades
Terrace housing with collapsed facades – beds and household furniture visible inside exposed rooms. Piles of bricks and debris at base of buildings.
Police officer climbing over rubble and debris that chokes street.
Brick buildings and houses with collapsed walls and ceilings.
“Scene 5. Shows Napier Cathedral one mass of bricks with the exception of a small portion and a brick garage.”
Masses of bricks and bent corrugated iron and brick wall of Napier Cathedral.
“Scene 6. Is typical of the whole of Napier after the destruction, much resembling the ruins of Pompeii.”
Fire-damaged cars and burnt out wrecks outside large buildings with damaged facades and collapsed roofs.
“Scene 7. Shows the very large Masonic Hotel as a mass of debris underneath which many people were buried alive. Opposite the hotel is the collapsed Band Rotunda.”
Collapsed walls and roof of the Masonic Hotel, cars parked by the band rotunda with a collapsed roof.
“Scene 8. Another glimpse like Pompeii.”
Exposed brick walls and columns of brick and masonry building.
“Scene 9. The Bluff. This scene shows the great hill, The Bluff, shaken down over Marine Parade. One house and several motor cars with their occupants were buried beneath it.”
Pile of rubble and rocks blocking coastal road below tall bluff.
“Scene 10. Shows rough and ready coffins awaiting at the morgue.”
Men standing outside wooden house near some coffins and caskets.
“Scene 11. A bevvy of planes left Wanganui with Doctors, Nurses and Medical supplies. It is only a two hours flight between the city of Wanganui and Napier. Amongst them were planes which had been accompanying G. Menzies (the man who flew solo from Australia to New Zealand) on his tour of New Zealand.”
Various biplanes taxiing on grassy field and taking off [from racecourse].
“Scene 12. Refugees stopping by the way for refreshments, relief cars may be seen in the background.”
Group of men standing on roadside drinking from bottles and mugs, cars in background.
“Scene 13. Cattle and sheep were driven away to a place safety. Many sheep were lost in crevices.”
Flock of sheep being mustered along rural road. Sheepdogs herding sheep, man leads horse past cars and barrels on roadside.
“Section 2. Hastings (North Island, New Zealand) destroyed by earthquake on February 3rd 1931.”
“Scene 1. General destruction. Scene 2. Roaches two storey concrete building (a drapery establishment) collapsed on sixty people and afterwards caught fire. The majority were killed.”
Collapsed buildings and piles of rubble, scorch marks and signs of fire visible on exposed brick walls.
“Scene 3. General destruction. Scene 4. Brick buildings collapsed like packs of cards. Scene 5. Scene 6. Scene 7. Scene 8. General destruction.”
Collapsed roof of large building sagging over pile of rubble and bricks.
Steam tractor parked near large piles of rubble which block street.
Collapsed corrugated iron roofs standing above piles of rubble and brick – pedestrians and cars move past.
Piles of rubble and collapsed building facades.
“Scene 9. The Farmer’s Building. This is the only building in Hastings which escaped totally undamaged. It is not even out of plumb nor has it a plate glass window broken or cracked but everything inside is thrown all over the place and a great deal of the stock was damaged by pitching about. The building is a new one and is ferro-concrete.”
Farmers department store building on corner of Market street and Queen street, nearby buildings have collapsed awnings and facades and broken windows.
“Scene 10. Scene 11. General destruction.”
Buildings and houses with collapsed facades and walls – furniture and household items visible inside.
“Scene 12. Hundreds of new sedans were crushed like this one and in some cases people were inside. Scene 13. General destruction.”
Car sitting underneath pile of rubble and collapsed building façade.
Piles of rubble below building and damaged awnings.
“Scene 14. Shows upstairs dining rooms where the dinner tables were being prepared just as the side of the building was shaken out.”
Terraced houses with collapsed facades – furniture and household items visible inside.
“Scene 15. Trees were oscillated so fiercely that they came over by the root.”
Roots of uprooted tree and large hole in ground.
“Scene 16. In this scene may be seen the dentists parlours showing his chair, basin and table. Both Dentist and patient were pitched into the street and killed by falling masonry.”
Building with collapsed façade – dentists surgery visible inside building.
“Scene 17. A close up of the dentist’s chair.”
Building with collapsed façade – dentists surgery visible inside building.
“Scene 18. An improvised hospital or dressing station in one of the wooden buildings on the Hastings race course. As every plane of glass had been shattered it was necessary to arrange tarpaulins around to shelter the patients.”
Men resting in camp beds inside room with tarpaulins lining the walls.
“Scene 19. The terrified residents of the district could not be induced to enter or live in anything else but a tent. This scene shows only a fraction of the tents in use.”
Large number of tents erected in field – cars parked nearby.
“Section 3. Port Ahuriri (North Island, New Zealand) Destroyed by earthquake and fire on February 3rd 1931.”
“Scene 1. The most awe inspiring portions are the numerous crevices. Some are of great depth and vary from 6 inches to 4 feet 6 inches in width. They extend northward along the coastline for a distance of 60 miles.”
Cracks, fissures and crevices along rail line besides wharf. Collapsed warehouses and other buildings in background. People stand near great fissures in ground.
“Scene 2. In this scene, besides more crevices you see H.M.S Man-of-War “Veronica” locked in the port through the rising of the ocean bed. Scene 3. General destruction.”
Enormous cracks and fissures in ground near rail line at port. Sailors visible near rail wagons. Bridge and funnels of HMS Veronica visible behind rail wagons.
“Scene 4. Shows the harbour Board buildings built of brick and concrete destroyed, whilst the wooden ones are only partially destroyed.”
Large wooden buildings and piles of rubble and masonry standing lining wharves at port.
“Scene 5. This scene tells its own story. Also, strange to say the “Shell” benzine tanks remain intact, despite the terrific quaking and destructive fire.”
Exposed brick walls and chimneys standing amongst piles of rubble, twisted corrugated iron and debris – fuel tanks stand in background.
“Scene 6. Curiosity overcomes fear. Studying a perfectly round boulder fallen from the hills beyond the Port. Practically the whole of the hillside for miles had fallen away disclosing perfectly round boulders varying in size from six inches to six feet in diameter.”
Men and women standing examining round boulder.
“Scene 7. Shows a refugee who has shown the devastated area a clean pair of heels. As he could not obtain a tent he carted away his wooden garage on his lorry to a place of safety 160 miles away occupying two days for the journey. He is here seen arriving on the outskirts of Wanganui where he will pitch his wooden tent.”
Small truck driving on road carrying small garage resting atop its cab.
“Section 4. Te Aute, 40 miles from Napier.”
“Scene 1. Te Aute College. Fortunately no one was hurt.”
Piles of rubble and debris below the Julius, the Jellicoe and Fergusson Blocks of Te Aute College.
“Scene 2. Shows the Main South Road, 60 miles away from Napier, sunken. All the roads are broken away after this style in every direction for fifty and sixty miles around Napier.”
Car driving past broken, fissured and subsided stretch of road.
“Scene 3. Shows a crevice crossing the Main South Road about 50 miles from Napier. It is a foot wide at this point. The crevice extends from the distant hills on the North down through the valley up through the distant hills in the South, a total distance of approximately 50 miles, varying in width from one foot to five feet. Many sheep and cattle were injured through this far reaching crack in the earth.”
Crevice stretching across road and field – crevice marked with cloth atop poles on either side of road. Cars drive slowly over crack in road.