Item 04: Memoirs of a Colonial Boy by Robert Joseph Stewart, ca. 1971 - Page 435
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[Page 435]
(2)
I was almost knocked off my feet by a tremendous, almost silent, bump that seemed to knock the big jetty a few feet sideways. For a moment I thought that a big ship had crashed into it. Then followed a violent back and forward horizontal motion for nearly ten seconds. Small clouds of red dust were rising in the city from the toppling of brick parapets and pediments. Seagulls were circling and screeching in alarm. Tall flagstaffs above the end of the jetty sheds were waving around like whipsticks, and mud from the bottom of the sea was swirling around on the surface. Ships which were moored bow-to-stern alng both sides of the jetty were bucking and tugging at their mooring lines, and the chain-supported jibs of the big cargo-handling cranes were noisily flapping up and down in a most alarming manner. Within half an hour the news came through that a very severe earthquake, centered in Hawkes Bay, had wrecked and set fire to Napier and greatly damaged its sister town, Hastings; about a hundred and sixty miles to the north-east.
After a few months of fruitless interviewing, it became very apparent that the effects of the big depression, now almost worldwide, were markedly discouraging all capital expenditure in New Zealand. So I decided that I had better get into the Shell job, even if temporarily, or return to Australia. The first alternative would give me an opportunity to see something of New Zealand, as it involved considerable travelling. The salary was not mch, but there was an unlimited expense account for entertainment and staying at the best hotels: also a very liberal private-car allowance, plus as much free petrol and oil as one desired for private use.
I was vetted and approved by the General Manager, given a very searching medical examination, and formally engaged. Then followed a fortnight's briefing in the office, after which I set off northwards on a tour of duty, lasting about three weeks, in a recently acquired Morris Major sedan car.
It was an exceptionally congenial occupation, motoring all over the southern half of the North Island and making many new