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Inangahua Earthquake landslip
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DescriptionIn comparison, this slip makes the recent one on the Coast Road look tiny. It happened as a result of the Inangahua Earthquake. It stretches from the clouds to the bed of the Buller River and blocked the flow of the river causing a huge lake behind it. Because of this a decision was made to evacuate the whole of the Inangahua area below it as there was a worry the "dam" may give way and flood everything below it. Fortunately this did not happen and the river gradually cut through the spoil as this photo shows. The slip is opposite Dublin Terrace.Date of PhotoBetween 1st January 1968 and 31st December 1968Map[1] Contributor Geoffrey Bell
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Category TagDisaster
From Facebook
Linkhttps://www.facebook.com/photo.php?.....6849180285&type=3&theaterCommentsAlec Birch Have a bit of a chuckle over the drama round slips and washout today. Was only the 60s and early 70s when a really good run meant not having to stop to shift rocks or small trees to get past, or putting the boot to the floor to beat something you've spotted moving.
Don Hutton Great historical photos Geoffrey Bell. My wife and 2 infant children were in Greymouth at the time, but I've told the story before.
Dianne Patchett My late Dad always carried a shovel in the boot of the car, just in case of mud slush, or rocks on the roads..back in the late 50'& 60's.. Shovel came in very handy one time in the Upper Buller Gorge, came across a slip, he got out in the teaming rain, & made a wee track through, so we could get to Murchison....
Arthur Bass The good old days when Roadmen were employed. Another lost service to cut a lot of problems like blocked culverts, blocked drains etc cleared before they became a bigger problem.
Sue Lyon Remember that slip well and all the others after that big earthquake. Lost our chimney and my dad Doug Lyon had to put new piles under our house.
Dianne Johnson I drove through there as soon as the road opened to visit grandparents in Hokitika. Still have very vivid memories of how it all looked - half hills standing whilst the other half had slipped down. Was incredible to see.
Ian Andrew Jonson Trees on the opposite [ road ] side had their branches stripped from them by flying boulders.
Noeline McCaughan The impetus of the huge landslide triggered by the quake dammed the road which was halfway up on the opposite side of the gorge.
Noelene Longley Remember that day frightened the life out of us
Myron Caldwell They were worried, then fortunate, that the dam did not create the problem for lower down Buller Gorge. Our old house at Inangahua was munted as a result of the earthquake.
Lorraine O'Donoghue Took a long time for that scar to heal.
Dorothy Wills This earthquake will stay in my
Arthur Bass Earthquake Slip opposite Newmans Lookout.
John Martin My Mother was still living at Hector at the time.Having been through the 1929 quake she had a morbid fear of quakes.
Brian Molloy Yes for all the greenies out there if you looked at that site now you would never know there had been an earthquake(and it was not rehabilitated either - the bush just grew back naturally). Nature has an incredible way of restoring itself especially on the Coast.
Pete Doncliff They were actually going to get the Air Force to bomb the dam but it broke through naturally
Chris Moriarty Passed by on a regular basis travelling from Nelson to the Grey Valley ......was quite a scar onthe landscape. Haven't seen it recently......any regrowth yet?
Craig Ross Our house down Brown creek rd was also wrecked. I will never forget the morning of 24th may
Geoffrey Bell An Iroquois helicopter flew two of us into the Junction that morning. Because of the concern that the dam caused by the slip would let go we became part of the Civil Defence Team to evacuate all the locals back to Reefton.
Chris Lemon My Dads earliest memory was the quake
Jim Galloway Worked beside that for many months
Jim Galloway I am not sure how many of you remember the Native Forest Action Council and their protests and shenanigans back in the day. Some will remember the Maruia Declaration (a petition to show their support), well one Saturday morning I encountered a group of students at New Brighton collecting signatures for this document. They had a poster sized version of the above and were busy telling everyone that this was the result of native logging on the West Coast. When it was pointed out that this was indeed the slip in the Buller Gorge and was the result of the earthquake and that there had been no logging, the indignant group became quite belligerent. A classic "don't let the truth get in the way of a good story"
Don Hutton Great historical photos Geoffrey Bell. My wife and 2 infant children were in Greymouth at the time, but I've told the story before.
Dianne Patchett My late Dad always carried a shovel in the boot of the car, just in case of mud slush, or rocks on the roads..back in the late 50'& 60's.. Shovel came in very handy one time in the Upper Buller Gorge, came across a slip, he got out in the teaming rain, & made a wee track through, so we could get to Murchison....
Arthur Bass The good old days when Roadmen were employed. Another lost service to cut a lot of problems like blocked culverts, blocked drains etc cleared before they became a bigger problem.
Sue Lyon Remember that slip well and all the others after that big earthquake. Lost our chimney and my dad Doug Lyon had to put new piles under our house.
Dianne Johnson I drove through there as soon as the road opened to visit grandparents in Hokitika. Still have very vivid memories of how it all looked - half hills standing whilst the other half had slipped down. Was incredible to see.
Ian Andrew Jonson Trees on the opposite [ road ] side had their branches stripped from them by flying boulders.
Noeline McCaughan The impetus of the huge landslide triggered by the quake dammed the road which was halfway up on the opposite side of the gorge.
Noelene Longley Remember that day frightened the life out of us
Myron Caldwell They were worried, then fortunate, that the dam did not create the problem for lower down Buller Gorge. Our old house at Inangahua was munted as a result of the earthquake.
Lorraine O'Donoghue Took a long time for that scar to heal.
Dorothy Wills This earthquake will stay in my
Arthur Bass Earthquake Slip opposite Newmans Lookout.
John Martin My Mother was still living at Hector at the time.Having been through the 1929 quake she had a morbid fear of quakes.
Brian Molloy Yes for all the greenies out there if you looked at that site now you would never know there had been an earthquake(and it was not rehabilitated either - the bush just grew back naturally). Nature has an incredible way of restoring itself especially on the Coast.
Pete Doncliff They were actually going to get the Air Force to bomb the dam but it broke through naturally
Chris Moriarty Passed by on a regular basis travelling from Nelson to the Grey Valley ......was quite a scar onthe landscape. Haven't seen it recently......any regrowth yet?
Craig Ross Our house down Brown creek rd was also wrecked. I will never forget the morning of 24th may
Geoffrey Bell An Iroquois helicopter flew two of us into the Junction that morning. Because of the concern that the dam caused by the slip would let go we became part of the Civil Defence Team to evacuate all the locals back to Reefton.
Chris Lemon My Dads earliest memory was the quake
Jim Galloway Worked beside that for many months
Jim Galloway I am not sure how many of you remember the Native Forest Action Council and their protests and shenanigans back in the day. Some will remember the Maruia Declaration (a petition to show their support), well one Saturday morning I encountered a group of students at New Brighton collecting signatures for this document. They had a poster sized version of the above and were busy telling everyone that this was the result of native logging on the West Coast. When it was pointed out that this was indeed the slip in the Buller Gorge and was the result of the earthquake and that there had been no logging, the indignant group became quite belligerent. A classic "don't let the truth get in the way of a good story"
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West Coast New Zealand History (13th Sep 2019). Inangahua Earthquake landslip. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 4th Apr 2026 09:51, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/17442