Giant Slip

A giant slip, possibly the largest ever to occur in the East Coast area with the exception of the one at Waikokopu some years ago, came down on the night of July 31 and blocked the Mangaorangi Stream, a tributary of the Waimata River, 26 miles north of Gisborne. The slip, on Mr Monck's property, is nearly 2000ft in length, with a vertical height of 600ft, covering 22 acres, with an estimated 3,000,000 cubic yards of material involved. It has completely blocked the stream bed for about 10 chains to a height of 67ft.

Behind the slip a lake 3½ miles formed, which was expected to flow over the top of the slip in about a week, depending on the amount of rain falling in the meantime. It was estimated that the amount of water in the lake exceeded that in the City Council waterworks Mangapoike reservoir.

Visions of a sudden disaster in the Waimata if the dam collapsed are dispelled by an inspection. There is such a mass of earth in the stream bed that it is more likely that the banked-up water will be released slowly as it overflows and cuts a channel through the debris.

Our pictures, taken on August 8, when "Photo News" visited the scene with a Catchment Board work party, show the lake when it still had seven feet to rise before overflowing.