Volcanic dust Shower in Napier 14 Dec 1896
From Trans. of the NZ Institute: On a Volcanic-dust Shower
in Napier by H. HILL, B.A.  Read before the Hawke's Bay 
Philosophical Institute, 14 Jan 1897

I wish to place on record a storm of volcanic dust which fell
in Napier on the night of the 14th December and early in the
morning of the 15th December last. A strong wind had been
blowing from the north-west on the previous day, and clouds had
been seen coming from that direction, but nothing unusual was
expected from this circumstance. The evening of the 14th was
rather boisterous, but it was not until early in the morning
of the 15th that the falling dust was noticed, except in one
or two cases where clothes were being taken in from the drying
line late at night. In these cases it was noticed that the
clothes were covered with a fine grey dust, but it was supposed
to have resulted from the dryness of the ground in the vicinity.
Early on the 15th those who were up noticed dust falling on their
clothes. This was especially noticeable on the western and
north-western side of the town, where the quantities that fell
enabled several bottles to be filled from the roofs of the 
houses. Mr Arthur McCARTHY, who lives on Battery Point, brought
me some of the specimens collected, as did also Mr YUILL. These
were gathered from different localities, but they are similar
in every particular. One of the officers of the borough prison
gathered some of the dust, and I also gathered some at the
Atheneum rooms and at my own house. The specimens I have are
exactly similar to the fine dust which fell on the deck of the
steamer "Southern Cross" as she was passing along the Bay of
Plenty on her way to Napier on the morning following the Tarawera
eruption in July, 1886.

In order to obtain the fullest information concerning the
distribution of the dust, I wrote a few lines to each of our
local papers asking for information, but no one outside Napier
appears to have noticed any dust except Mr PETERS, who has the
mail-contract for the coach-line between Moawhango and Tokaanu.
There had been telegrams announcing volcanic explosions at
Tongariro, and he informed me that Te Mari had burst out in a
fresh place, and that a number of dust-showers had occurred. The
country extending from Roto Aira to the Wai-o-ho-nu Stream, in
the direction of the Onetapu Desert, had been covered with
volcanic dust to the depth of 2in., and most of the vegetation
had been destroyed. He stated that the dust-storm had reached
Tokaanu, and that he noticed the wind, when it changed to the
west and north-west, carried an immense black cloud in the
direction of the Kaimanawa Mountains, and he supposed that
portions of the cloud, which was full of dust, reached Napier.

I have not been able to find out whether the district has been
visited by a similar storm within the memory of any living
colonist, but the recent shower is a full testimony as to the
truth of the statement made by me in a paper that was read
before our Society in 1886, entitled "Traces of Volcanic-dust
Showers at Napier and Petane", wherein it is stated that "in
and around Napier a large percentage, in fact the larger
portion, of the soil is of volcanic origin."

The last eruption of Te Mari was in November 1892. It was visited
by me on the 1st January, 1893, and a description of it appears 
in the Transactions, vol xxvi., art xliii.