John Rochfort ate his evening meal with great relish at the Star Hotel, Kihikihi. It was early March 1893 and the 60-year-old Government surveyor had come into the township a few days previously for fresh…
John Rochfort ate his evening meal with great relish at the Star Hotel, Kihikihi. It was early March 1893 and the 60-year-old Government surveyor had come into the township a few days previously for fresh…
“Volcano spewing smoke” is my least favourite volcano headline phrase. Why? While the term ‘spewing’ is not my favourite, volcanoes just do not emit smoke (excluding when hot volcanic rocks and lava flows set things…
We are a family of animal lovers. Over the years our children have had pet rats, pet mice (not my favourite), rabbits, a dog, cats and chickens. I have written before about our Maine Coon…
During the Great Strike of 1913 mounted troops from the Waikato were sent to Auckland, including C squadron from Te Awamutu. The troops comprised men who were enrolled from rural areas as special constables. They…
I love a good action movie, and if they have an eruption or some other geological disaster as a plot line I am in. With field work at Mount Doom (Ngāuruhoe) last week and making…
A little over a fortnight ago I experienced shooting pains in both arms and hands which caused some sleepless nights and then became so unbearable one early Thursday morning my wife took me to the…
The day this comes out I will be in the field with PhD student Amilea Sork, looking at huge rocks that were violently thrown out of the Ngāuruhoe crater during the 1950s and 1970s eruptions….
Ko Taupiri te Maunga (Taupiri is the mountain) Ko Waikato te Awa (Waikato the river) Ko Potatau te tangata (Potatau the Man) Waikato taniwha rau (Waikato with its myriad taniwha) He piko, he taniwha! (At…
In my line of work “I have a dumb question” is usually followed by a great question that has a complicated answer. “How do volcanoes erupt?” is one of these, and really should be explained…
On 19 February 1975 Ngāuruhoe, our most active volcano at the time, produced one of the more violent recent eruptions in Aotearoa. The seven-hour event launched an ash plume of pulverized rock and hot gases…
