Newspaper Article 1994 – Survivor wants plaque

Survivor wants plaque

Sixty-three years ago Noel Evans had his life thrown into turmoil.
The eight-year-old’s morning play break at Napier’s Te Awa Primary School was interrupted with a jolt he will never forget. At 10.46am on February 3, 1931, Hawke’s Bay was rocked by an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale. The quake killed 258 people – 93 of those were Hastings residents.
Mr Evans’ father was one of the victims. He was working at Napier’s Masonic hotel and died when it collapsed.

Mr Evans’ mother suffered broken limbs. Noel escaped unscathed. But he never forget what he saw.

He remembers seeing the Tutaekuri River, which ran behind his school, disappear. The earthquake lifted the river bed and diverted the water.

Mr Evans, who now lives in Grove Rd, Hastings, still feels sorry for the victims. He also feels sad that Hastings has never created a memorial plaque to pay tribute to those who died within its boundaries.

He says the Hastings District Council should pay for a plaque listing the victims and place it on the clocktower, built in central Hastings in 1935 as a symbol of a new and prosperous future and to remember those who died.

Mayor Jeremy Dwyer said the council had approved the plaque in principle, but it was a matter of finding the funds.

Mr Dwyer hoped a plaque would be installed by the end of this year.

Photo caption – Mr Evans …. most people are too young to remember.