Gallery
A collection of images from New Zealand's large historic earthquakes.
The damaged builders' premises at Tawa Street.
This house on East Bank Road was one of several whose brick chimneys collapsed in the 1987 Edgecumbe earthquake.
A cow shed off-ramp on McCracken Road was badly damaged in the earthquake.
The earthquake opened a spectacular rift in the landscape, shown here cutting McCracken Road.
A scientist stands in a spectacular rift that opened in a paddock near East Bank Road during the Edgecumbe earthquake.
The main rift created by the earthquake. The people standing nearby show the scale of the rupture.
These sand boils are some of many that formed near Powell Road, as a result of the extensive liquefaction caused by the earthquake.
Railway lines and a locomotive affected by the Edgecumbe earthquake.
These railway lines, originally straight, were left buckled after the earthquake, distorted by the intense ground motion.
Serious cracking in an old 2-storey brick building.
Strong earthquake pulses in the NW-SE directions caused collapse of several old brick parapets oriented at right angles to that direction. Casualties would have resulted if the earthquake had occurred an hour or two earlier when there were many people on the streets.
Foundation uplift inside a brand-new 5-storey apartment building on very soft soil adjacent to the Turanganui River.
Slip at Bluff Hill caused by the Hawke's Bay earthquake.1931.
Buildings ruined by the 1931 earthquake, Napier.1931.
The charred ruins of Emerson Street buildings that were destroyed by the earthquake and subsequent fire.
Extensive fissuring of the ground surface at Port Ahuriri.
Port Ahuriri, Napier, before the earthquake.
Ahuriri, Napier, after the earthquake.
Severe surface damage left this road almost impassable after the 1931 earthquake. Note the dislodged power poles in the background.
Workers remove debris from Main Street, Pahiatua. The two women in front of the building are Ivy Oates and Irene Oates.
The Masterton Opera House in Lincoln Rd. The photo is by Fred Daniell, a Masterton architect.
Queen Street, north of the Lincoln Road intersection, taken from the Post Office tower.
Queen Street, looking south, probably from the top of C.E. Daniell’s hardware shop.
As well as buckling railways lines, the force of the earthquake was enough to derail this train, causing it to topple over.
The surface of this road gave way when the earthquake caused a mine drainage tunnel to collapse.
Geologists measure the vertical movement across this road. The side they are standing on has moved downwards relative to the rest of the road.
These railway lines, originally straight, were left buckled after the earthquake, distorted by the intense ground motion.
At Whitecliffs, a limestone bluff collapsed, crushing a farmhouse and killing two people. The material deposited in 1968 is still visible at the base of the bluff, covered in vegetation.
Geologist John Foster stands at the destroyed road over the Reefton Saddle.
Sketches showing the damage to buildings sustained in the 1848 Wellington earthquake
The force of the earthquake ruptured the ground surface and left these power poles listing heavily.
The earthquake triggered over 10,000 landslides. One of them, just 5km from Murchison, occurred in the Matakitaki Valley and contained 18 million m3 of sediment. It is still visible in the landscape today.
Earthquake-damaged business premises of H. J. Hodgson & Co. in Murchison. 1929.
Cracks in a road in Greymouth, after the 1929 Murchison earthquake. 1929.
Nelson College building damaged by the Murchison earthquake. 1929.
The White Creek Fault scarp, shown cutting across a road in the Buller Gorge.
This surveyor stands at a fence that crosses the Hope Fault near Glynn Wye Station. The fence, originally straight, has been kinked to the right by the sideways movement of the land in the 1888 earthquake.
The Glynn Wye house above Kakapo Creek. The lower story has been warped, and its collapsed chimney is visible to the right of the cottage.
Photograph of crowd outside Christ Church Cathedral with earthquake damage to spire, Christchurch.
Although most of the movement on the Hope Fault was horizontal, some was vertical, raising the land and creating the scarp surface..
The uplifted 1855 shoreline visible today at Turakirae head
Contemporary painting of the Hutt Road landslide
The large landslide shown in C. E. Gold’s painting is still visible on the Hutt Road today. Now covered in vegetation, the slip is distinguished by its slope, which is shallower than the surrounding hills.
Lambton Quay, Wellington, looking south from Brandon's Corner 1860.
Damage to the Waiohine bridge after the 1942 Masterton earthquake. 25 June 1942.
Masterton shop front, damaged by 1942 earthquake. 25 Jun 1942.
A soldier stands guard outside the heavily damaged chemist's shop operated by J.V. Gordon, on the corner of Queen and Bannister Streets.
Shop fronts in Masterton, damaged by the 1942 earthquake. 25 June 1942.
St Matthew's Church, Masterton, after the 1942 earthquake. 1942.
Remains of the Wairarapa Farmers' Co-operative Association building after the 1942 Masterton earthquake. 1942.
Brick house damaged by earthquake, Wellington. August 1942.
Earthquake damage, Windsor Hotel, Wellington. August 1942.
