Pink and White Terraces - Lead Up To Destruction

Lead Up To Destruction

Ferdinand von Hochstetter carried out a geographic and geological survey of the Rotomahana lake and area from 28 to 30 April 1859 producing his Geographic and Geological survey This gave enough data to form the first map of the area.

This map, although not favoured by early scholars, has proven to be more accurate than several later attempts, although, as with other maps of the lake, the height above sea level was significantly incorrect in many locations . The relevant heights between lake levels and mountain peaks were in proportion, but varied as distance between reference points increased. Hochstetter was aware of this problem with using an aneroid device, and he advised several times in his original book Geology of New Zealand that the heights above sea level that he quoted were only as far he could measure due to variation in barometric preasures.

Hochstetter's studies and reports on terrace structuring in the Waipa and Rotorua areas reveal how the Terraces were formed, and he also made comments on the commercial possibilities of Rotomahana.

Around 1973 Stephenson Percy Smith gave the impression that the mountain top was rough but showed no sign of volcanic vents in 1873 when he reported on his findings.

In March 1881 Dr. G. Seelhorst climbed Wahanga dome and the northern end of Ruawhai dome in search of a presumed falling star followed by reports of glowing and smoke from an area behind Wahanga. This ties in with reports of the first explosion at about 2:15 in the morning of the 10th June 1886, and lends credibility to the claim that Wahanga erupted first as suggested by Alfred Warbrick. Alfred Warbrick viewed the same event at the same time from the top of the adjacent hills.

In 1884 a surveyor named Charles Clayton was surveying for work in the Kawerau area and described the top of Wahanga dome as volcanic with several depressions, one being approximately 200 feet deep. This is proven true by recent semifluid magma flows consolidating on top of older scoria in the same area. Stephenson Percy Smith was involved in a pre-eruption survey of Mount Tarawera which was never finalised.

Later revelations were to prove that both were correct although Clayton's report showed that Smith had not investigated the top of Wahanga to the same degree as Clayton. It is known that there were caves on the south west edge of Wahanga and that the symmetry of the Wahanga peak was upset by the 1886 rift.