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1890-1899 earthquakes and other Natural Phenomena


Pre 1855
1855-1889
20th Century


1890 ... ..	DROUGHT Canterbury				(33)
1890 Feb 20	Offshore - north of Marlborough Sounds		(9)
		Ref: Trans. A.A.A.S., 1891 "New Zealand Earthquakes"

1890 Mar 07	Sharp shock felt at Gisborne, Tauranga, Opotiki,
		Taupo, Napier, Wellington and Palmerston North	(8)
		also Wanganui					(27)
		Several clocks stopped at Napier		(35)

1890 Mar 31	Queenstown and Arrowtown (sharp shock)		(8)
1890 Apr 09	Wellington (sharp shock)			(8)
1890 May 01	Queenstown (sharp shock)			(8)
1890 May 21	METEOR						(26)
1890 Jul 15	Reefton						(8)
1890 Jul 16	Wellington and Rangitikei			(8)
1890 Aug 15	Wellington and Wanganui (sharp shock)		(8)
1890 Aug 18	Timaru						(8)

1891 ... ..	Severe Floods Central Districts			(33)
1891 ... ..	DROUGHT Canterbury and other places		(33)
1891 Jan 13	Wellington					(8)
1891 Feb 17	Rotorua (sharp shock)				(8)
1891 Mar 09	Marlborough		5.0+			(1)
1891 Mar 09	Kaikoura (sharp shock), Wellington		(8)
1891 Mar 10	METEOR						(26)
1891 Mar 31	METEOR						(26)
1891 Apr 07	Wellington					(8)
1891 Apr 17	Aurora Australis				(26)
1891 May 25	Eclipse of Moon at 4am				(26)
1891 Jun 02	Wellington					(8)
1891 Jun 04	Wanganui (sharp shock)				(8)
1891 Jun 23	Off mouth of Waikato River 6.0-7.5		(1)

1891 Jun 24	Thames, Auckland (sharp shock), New Plymouth,
		Wanganui					(8)

1891 Jun 24	Approx 10.53am	(28)

1891 Jun 24	11.30am Hawera - one of the office clocks stopped
		at 11.30am; Liquid in battery jars used for
		recording observation: - the marks left on side
		of cells show approximate direction and severity. (28)

1891 Jun 30	Wellington					(8)

1891 Jul 05	Cook Strait?		5.0+			(1)
		Offshore - north of Marlborough Sounds		(9)
		10.53pm Picton - the house shook and the windows
		rattled; Foxton - crockery rattled about 
		considerably and was preceded by a slight
		premonitory shake; Masterton - postmaster 
		awakened by shock. (29)

1891 Jul 05	Sharp shock felt at Masterton, Carterton,
		Featherston, Greytown, Palmerston North,
		Wellington					(8)

1891 Jul 10	Manaia (sharp shock), Wellington		(8)
1891 Jul 15	Rotorua (sharp shock)				(8)
1891 Jul 27	Rotorua						(8)
1891 Jul 30	Rotorua						(8)
1891 Aug 01	Gisborne, Napier (sharp shock)			(8)
1891 Aug 06	Wellington					(8)
1891 Aug 10	Wellington, Christchurch, Westport		(8)
1891 Aug 12	Kaikoura (sharp shock)				(8)
1891 Aug 16	Wellington					(8)
1891 Aug 17	Hastings, Napier (sharp shock)			(8)
1891 Aug 20	Offshore - north of Marlborough Sounds		(9)

1891 Aug 20	Sharp shock felt at Masterton, Carterton,
		Featherston, Greytown, Wellington		(8)

1891 Aug 25	Gisborne (sharp shock)				(8)
1891 Sep 16	Christchurch, Lyttelton (sharp shock)		(8)
1891 Sep 19	Lincoln						(8)
1891 Sep 25	Wellington					(8)
1891 Sep 26	Masterton					(8)
1891 Oct 04	Masterton					(8)
1891 Oct 09	Masterton					(8)
1891 Nov 19	Te Aroha					(8)
1891 Nov 20	Rotorua (sharp shock), Te Aroha			(8)

1891 Dec 04	Offshore - north of Marlborough Sounds		(9,25)
		Crockery broken and clocks stopped. Most severely
		felt at Otaki, Picton, Havelock, Feilding,
		Woodville, Wellington, Masterton, Westport.

1891 Dec 04	Sharp shock felt at Napier, Wanganui, Marton,
		Feilding, Woodville, Ekatahuna, Masterton, Tenui,
		Carterton, Featherston, Greytown, Alfredton,
		Wellington, Havelock, Pahiatua			(8)

1891 Dec 08	Masterton, Wellington				(8)
1891 Dec 12	Rotorua						(8)
1891 Dec 15	Masterton, Wellington				(8)

1892 ... ..	Severe Flood Canterbury				(33)
1892 Jan 11	Felt in the South Island			(26)

1892 Feb 14	Sharp shock felt at Woodville, Palmerston North,
		Marton, Masterton, Carterton, Pahautanui,
		Wellington.					(8)

1892 Feb 28	Wellington					(8)
1892 Mar 17	Wellington					(8)
1892 Apr 11	Wellington at noon				(8,26)
1892 May 07	Felt in South Island				(26)
1892 May 27	Masterton					(8)
1892 Jul 08	Wellington					(8)
1892 Aug 01	Wellington					(8)
1892 Aug 14	Wellington					(8)
1892 Aug 19	Wellington					(8)
1892 Aug 23	Dunedin						(8)

1892 Aug 24	Havelock, Nelson, Blenheim, Greymouth, Westport
		(sharp shock), Wellington, Christchurch		(8)

1892 Sep 25	Wellington					(8)
1892 Oct 08	Oamaru (sharp shock)				(8)
1892 Oct 11	Ormondville (sharp shock)			(8)
1892 Oct 13	Wellington					(8)

1892 Oct 28	Icebergs at the Chatham Islands			(24)
		One berg was estimated to be 160-200ft in height
		and 400-500 yards long. This was not the largest
		berg observed.

1892 Nov ..	Volcanic outburst at Te Mari, Tongariro		(21)
		"Mr BLAKE of Tokaanu said that the dust darkened
		the air for several hours during the day following
		the eruption."

1892 Nov 09	Wellington					(8)
1892 Nov 19	Tauranga (sharp shock)				(8)
1892 Nov 30	Gisborne (sharp shock), Wellington		(8)
1892 Dec 01	Gisborne (sharp shock)				(8)
1892 Dec 02	Wellington					(8)
1892 Dec 27	Hokitika, Christchurch, Timaru (sharp shock)	(8)

1893 ... ..	Severe Flood East Coast				(33)
1893 Jan 12	Auckland					(8)
1893 Jan 13	Wellington					(8)
1893 Jan 28	Wellington					(8)
1893 Jan 29	Palmerston North (sharp shock)			(8)
1893 Feb 10	Wellington					(8)
1893 Feb 12	Nelson			6.0-7.6			(1)

1893 Feb 12	Smart shock felt at New Plymouth, Palmerston
		North, Wellington, Nelson, Blenheim, Lincoln,
		Ashburton, Westport, Reefton, Hokitika,
		Greymouth, Dunedin				(8)
		Nelson damage					(20)

1893 Feb 18	Wellington					(8)
1893 Mar 17	Rotorua and Wellington				(8)
1893 Apr 21	Napier, Woodville, Wellington			(8)
1893 May 01	Lyttelton (sharp shock), Christchurch, Lincoln	(8)
1893 May 10	Lyttelton					(8)
1893 May 12	Wellington					(8)
1893 May 13	Wellington (sharp shock)			(8)
1893 May 18	Offshore - north of Marlborough Sounds		(9)

1893 May 18	Smart shock felt at Dannevirke & Feilding; also
		felt at Wellington and Lyttelton		(8)

1893 May 20	Queenstown (smart shock)			(8)
1893 May 27	Wellington					(8)
1893 Jun 15	Wellington					(8)
1893 Jul 14	Napier (smart shock)				(8)
1893 Aug 04	Wellington (smart shock)			(8)
1893 Aug 20	Offshore - north of Marlborough Sounds		(9)
1893 Aug 23	New Plymouth (smart shock), Wellington		(8)
1893 Oct 11	Pahiatua (smart shock), Wellington		(8)

1893 Oct 24	Smart shock felt at Marton, Feilding, Shannon,
		Pahiatua, Woodville, Masterton			(8)

1893 Dec 09	Wellington					(8)

1894 ... ..	Severe Flood East Coast				(33)
1894 Jan 11	Palmerston North, Wellington			(8)
1894 Mar 12	Wellington					(8)
1894 Mar 18	Wellington (smart shock)			(8)

1894 Apr 02	Smart shock felt at Shannon, Hawera,
		Featherston, Masterton, Wellington, Greytown,
		Blenheim.					(8)

1894 Apr 24	Dunedin						(8)
1894 May 07	Invercargill (smart shock), Dunedin		(8)
1894 May 08	Thames, Auckland (smart shock)			(8)
1894 May 18	Dunedin (smart shock)				(8)
1894 May 21	Cook Strait		5.0+			(1)
1894 Jul 02	Rotorua	(smart shock)				(8)

1894 Jul 09	Hawera (smart shock), Kaitoke, Woodville,
		Wellington.					(8)

1894 Jul 19	Napier (smart shock)				(8)

1894 Jul 21	Smart shock felt at New Plymouth, Wanganui, 
		Shannon, Hawera, Woodville, Wellington, 
		Nelson, Blenheim, Christchurch.			(8)

1894 Aug 20	Aurora Australis observed at Wellington	(23)
1894 Aug 29	Christchurch, Lyttelton (smart shock)		(8)
1894 Aug 31	Lincoln						(8)
1894 Sep 16	Wellington					(8)
1894 Oct 02	Wellington					(8)
1894 Nov 25	Auckland (smart shock)				(8)
1894 Dec 03	Christchurch (smart shock)			(8)

1894 Dec 04	Masterton, Christchurch, Invercargill (smart
		shock),	also Lincoln, Hokitika, Dunedin		(8)

1895 ... ..	Severe Flood Central Districts			(33)
1895 ... ..	DROUGHT						(33)
1895 ... ..	Exceptional Snowfall Otago-Southland, McKenzie Basin,
		Canterbury and Marlborough			(33)

1895 Jan 12	Greymouth (smart shock)				(8)
1895 Feb 06	Wellington					(8)
1895 Feb 26	Masterton, Wellington				(8)
1895 Mar 10	Ruapehu eruption				(22)
1895 Apr 17	Wellington					(8)
1895 May 27	Wellington					(8)
1895 Jun 03	Wellington					(8)
1895 Jun 08	Dunedin						(8)
1895 Jun 20	Wellington					(8)
1895 Jul 17	Wellington					(8)
1895 Jul 27	Dunedin						(8)
1895 Aug 02	Masterton (smart shock)				(8)
1895 Aug 04	Mid-Canterbury		5.0+			(1)
1895 Aug 04	Dunedin						(8)
1895 Aug 05	Lincoln (smart shock)				(8)

1895 Aug 17	Smart shock felt at Gisborne, Napier, Taupo,
		Palmerston North, Feilding, Wellington		(8)

1895 Aug 18	Taupo			6.0-7.5			(1)

1895 Aug 21	Smart shock felt at Gisborne, Napier, Taupo,
		Feilding, Wellington				(8)

1895 Aug 24	New Plymouth					(8)
1895 Sep 13	Wellington					(8)
1895 Sep 29	New Plymouth					(8)
1895 Sep 30	New Plymouth					(8)
1895 Oct 01	New Plymouth					(8)
1895 Oct 02	New Plymouth					(8)
1895 Oct 03	New Plymouth (smart shock)			(8)
1895 Oct 04	New Plymouth (smart shock)			(8)
1895 Oct 05	New Plymouth					(8)
1895 Oct 12	New Plymouth					(8)
1895 Oct 26	New Plymouth (smart shock)			(8)
1895 Nov 09	Wellington					(8)
1895 Nov 29	New Plymouth (smart shock)			(8)
1895 Dec 05	New Plymouth					(8)

1896 ... ..	Severe Flood West Coast				(33)
1896 ... ..	DROUGHT						(33)
1896 Jan 16	Wellington					(8)
1896 Jan 21	Sharp shock felt at New Plymouth		(8)
1896 Apr 24	Levin						(8)

1896 Apr 25	Smart shock felt at Woodville and Mauriceville;
		also felt at Levin and Wellington.		(8)

1896 May 09	New Plymouth					(8)
1896 May 25	New Plymouth					(8)
1896 May 29	Wellington					(8)
1896 Jun 28	Smart shock felt at Napier			(8)
1896 Aug 14	Wellington					(8)
1896 Aug 15	Wellington					(8)
1896 Aug 20	Smart shock felt at Amberley & Christchurch	(8)
1896 Aug 23	Smart shock felt at Christchurch		(8)
1896 Aug 24	Wellington					(8)
1896 Aug 29	New Plymouth					(8)
1896 Oct 19	Wellington					(8)
1896 Oct 27	New Plymouth					(8)
1896 Nov 13	Taupo						(8)
1896 Nov 27	Wellington					(8)
1896 Dec 07	Smart shock felt at Stephens Is. & Blenheim	(8)
1896 Dec 14	Volcanic dust shower in Napier			(38)

1897 ... ..	Severe Floods Central Districts & East Coast	(33)
1897 ... ..	DROUGHT Canterbury				(33)
1897 Jan 08	Smart shock felt at Gisborne			(8)
1897 Jan 14	Wellington					(8)
1897 Feb 14	Observation of "Marsh Lights"; Takapau District	(2)

1897 Feb 27	Smart shock felt at Wellington, Blenheim, Hokitika,
		Reefton, Ngahere, Greymouth, Westport; also felt
		at Wakapuaka, Kaikoura and Christchurch		(8)

1897 Mar 08	Smart shock felt at New Plymouth		(8)
1897 Mar 20	Wellington					(8)
1897 Apr 10	Rotorua						(8)
1897 May 18	Smart shock felt at Greymouth & Milford Sound	(8)
1897 May 20	Smart shock felt at Taupo			(8)

1897 Jun 09	Smart shock felt at Waipawa and Palmerston North;
		also felt at Wellington				(8)

1897 Jul 08	Wellington					(8)
1897 Jul 13	Smart shock felt at Napier			(8)
1897 Jul 24	Smart shock felt at Waipawa & Woodville		(8)
1897 Jul 26	Rotorua						(8)
1897 Aug 15	Smart shock felt at New Plymouth		(8)
1897 Aug 28	Smart shock felt at Gisborne			(8)
1897 Aug 30	Wellington					(8)
1897 Sep 09	Taupo						(8)

1897 Sep 13	Smart shock felt at Pahiatua & Wakapuaka; also
		felt at Wellington				(8)

1897 Sep 15	Hokitika					(8)
1897 Sep 17	Smart shock felt at Taupo			(8)

1897 Sep 21	Smart shock felt at Matata, Hawera, Wanganui,
		Pahiatua, Masterton, Greytown, Featherston,
		Wellington, Havelock, Blenheim, Wakapuaka; also
		felt at New Plymouth				(8)

1897 Oct 07	Smart shock felt at Taupo			(8)

1897 Oct 14	Smart shock felt at Masterton; also felt at
		Napier, Palmerston North and Wellington		(8)

1897 Oct 17	Smart shock felt at Taupo			(8)
1897 Oct 18	Wellington					(8)
1897 Nov 11	Wellington					(8)
1897 Nov 15	Smart shock felt at Masterton; also at Wellington (8)
1897 Nov 22	Smart shock felt at Auckland			(8)
1897 Nov 25	Rotorua						(8)
1897 Dec 03	Wellington					(8)
1897 Dec 07	Wanganui		6.0-7.5			(1)

1897 Dec 08	Smart shock felt at Auckland, Gisborne, New Plymouth,
		Napier, Hawera, Manaia, Patea, Wanganui, Marton,
		Feilding, Waipawa, Woodville, Pahiatua, Palmerston
		North, Mauriceville, Masterton, Carterton, Wellington,
		Blenheim, Wakapuaka, Nelson, Kaikoura, Christchurch,
		Hokitika					(8)

1897 Dec 08	Wanganui					(9)
1897 Dec 08	Account by H. C. FIELD				(4)

1897 Dec 27	Wellington					(8)
1898 ... ..	DROUGHT Canterbury & other places		(33)
1898 Jan 22	Palmerston North & Woodville (smart shock)	(8)
1898 Feb 13	Wellington					(8)
1898 Mar 10	Wellington					(8)
1898 May 03	Wellington					(8)
1898 May 04	Rotorua (smart shock)				(8)
1898 May 08	Wellington					(8)

1898 May 16	Wellington (smart shock)			(8)
		Offshore - north of Marlborough Sounds		(9)

1898 May 20	Christchurch (smart shock) and Lincoln		(8)
1898 May 27	Invercargill (smart shock) and Dunedin		(8)
1898 Jun ..	Hutt River		FLOOD			(3)
1898 Jun 27	Wellington					(8)
1898 Jul 05	Napier and Hastings (smart shock) & Wellington	(8)

1898 Jul 08	New Plymouth, Woodville, Wellington, Kaikoura, Lincoln,
		Christchuch, Hokitika, Greymouth, Westport. There was
		a 'smart' shock at Wakapuaka.			(8)
		Offshore - north of Marlborough Sounds		(9)

1898 Aug 07	Wellington					(8)
1898 Aug 29	Rotorua						(8)
1898 Sep 16	Wellington					(8)
1898 Nov 10	Hastings (smart shock)				(8)
1898 Dec 04	Taupo and Napier (smart shock)			(8)
1898 Dec 30	Wellington					(8)

1899 ... ..	Severe Flood Canterbury				(33)
1899 ... ..	DROUGHT Canterbury				(33)

1899 Jan ..	Waikaremoana
 "Heavy shocks of earthquake were felt at Waikaremoana last week,
 and every morning the water of the lake was discolored yellow for
 a considerable distance round the edge, and thousands of young
 trout were thrown upon the beach." (7)

1899 Mar 22	New Plymouth 					(8)
1899 Mar 27	New Plymouth 					(8)
1899 Apr 16	Wellington 					(8)
1899 Apr 30	Taupo 						(8)
1899 May 20	Mauriceville (smart shock) and Masterton 	(8)
1899 May 22	Wellington 					(8)
1899 May 27	New Plymouth 					(8)
1899 Jun 26	Ashburton 					(8)
1899 Jun 29	New Plymouth 					(8)
1899 Jul 06	Lyttelton (smart shock) and Christchurch 	(8)

1899 Jul 19	Tongaporutu
 "There was a sharp shock of earthquake at Tongaporutu on
 Wednesday evening" (5)

1899 Aug 06	Wellington and Nelson 				(8)
1899 Aug 11	Dunedin 					(8)
1899 Aug 18	Arrowtown (sharp shock) 			(8)
1899 Aug 29	Newman (smart shock) and Eketahuna & Alfredton 	(8)
1899 Sep 05	New Plymouth 					(8)
1899 Sep 08	Tokaanu - several shocks 			(8)

1899 Sep 29	Wanganui
 "A sharp shock of earthquake was felt at Wanganui on Friday morning
 at 6 o'clock" (6)

1899 Oct 16	Napier (smart shock) and Rotorua 		(8)
1899 Dec 04	New Plymouth & Wellington (General Election day) (8)


(1) An annotated list of New Zealand Earthquakes 1460-1965 by G. A.
EIBY New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics 1967 Vol 11
pages 630-647
(2) Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 1897
Marsh-lights by R. Coupland HARDING
(3) Floods and Droughts: the New Zealand Experience; Chapter 3
Historic floods and droughts in New Zealand by John WAUGH,
Horace FREESTONE and Darryl LEW (1997).
(4) Trans. of the NZ Institute 1897: On the Recent Earthquake
by H. C. FIELD
(8) Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute (Appendices)
(9) Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute: The
Wanganui Earthquake of 8th December 1897 by George HOGBEN
(20) Trans. of the NZ Institute 1893: The Nelson Earthquake 
of the 12th February, 1893 by George HOGBEN
(21) Trans. of the NZ Institute 1893: The Volcanic Outburst at 
Te Mari, Tongariro, in November, 1892 by H. HILL, F.G.S.
(22) Trans. of the NZ Institute 1895: Ruapehu and the Volcanic 
Zone in 1895 by H. HILL, B.A., F.G.S.
(23) Trans. of the NZ Institute 1894: Note on the Aurora Australis, 
as observed at Karori, Wellington, on the 20th August 1894 by G. V. 
HUDSON, F.E.S.
(24) Trans. of the NZ Institute 1892: Notes regarding Icebergs 
at the Chatham Islands by A. SHAND
(25) Trans. of the NZ Institute 1892: The Earthquake of the 4th 
December 1891: Notes thereon by George HOGBEN, M.A.
(26) Trans. of the NZ Institute 1892: General [Weather] Remarks
(27) Trans. of the NZ Institute 1891: On Earthquakes in the
Vicinity of Wanganui by H. C. FIELD
(28) Trans. of the NZ Institute 1891: Notes on the Earthquake of
the 24th June 1891 by George HOGBEN, M.A.
(29) Trans. of the NZ Institute 1891: Notes on the Earthquake of
the 5th July 1891 in Cook Strait: An attempt to define the epicentrum
by George HOGBEN, M.A.
(33) An analysis of the Evidence for Climatic Change in New
Zealand in the last thousand years: Evidence from diverse
Natural Phenomena and from Industrial records by C. J. BURROWS
and D. E. GREENLAND. In Journal of the Royal Society of
New Zealand (1979) volume 9 p321-373
(34) Trans. of the NZ Institute 1890: The Origin of the Earthquake of 
the 27th December, 1888, felt in Canterbury and Westland by
George HOGBEN, M.A.
(35) Trans. of the NZ Institute 1890: Notes on the Earthquake of 7th
March, 1890, felt at Napier, Gisborne, and other places by George
HOGBEN, M.A.
(38) Trans. of the NZ Institute 1896: On a Volcanic-dust Shower
in Napier by H. HILL, B.A.


New Zealand Mail 18 Sep 1891 p30e
Earthquake Lyttelton Sep 16. Two very severe shocks of earthquake
occurred at 11.50am today. They were accompanied by a loud rumbling
noise. Christchurch, Sep 16. Two sharp shocks of earthquake were
experienced at 11.48am this morning.


New Zealand Mail 11 Dec 1891 p38d
Dec 4. Wgtn. Severe earthquake, 20 mins to 5, morning. Low rumbling
noises, followed by very heavy vibrations, accompanied by sharp shock
and circular movement. Also felt Wairarapa, Feilding, Wanganui,
Palmerston North, Woodville, Napier, Marton.