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Omoto slip 1954 *PHOTO ALBUM*
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DescriptionStephen Wright:
The first of three scenes from the time of the big slip in October 1954 after the hillside had collapsed onto a section of the road and railway line. The old viaduct is still intact, bypassed by the new section of line. Ethel McGregor's house is obscured by the trees on left. She received 2136 pounds compensation and her house was re-erected as a railway house in Hall Street, Cobden. The three photos were reproduced in "West of the Divide: More Memories of the Midland Line" in 2010 and are courtesy of Nev Roberts of Dobson.
The second photo shows the house that belonged to Mr Gugum which, like Ethel McGregor's house, was badly affected by the slip. By the end of November 1954 it was being demolished, with the owner being paid 1700 pounds compensation for the house and land.
In the third view the hut at far right of photo above the bus is sitting on the foundations of the old Greymouth Brewery. It was lived in by railway employee Ambrose Esmond (Essie/Ezzy) Griffin who drowned in the Grey River in 1961. The site of his drowning is marked on Jim Groom's sketch plan. The buses visible in the photos were most likely used to transport people between Greymouth and Dobson, with people walking across the slip area.
Last pic:
Stephen Wright
One last photo which wasn't in the 2010 book. Does this show Ethel McGregor's house? It is not Mr Gugum's house.
May be an image of road
Alan Sheehan
Stephen Wright I think that’s the railway house at 68 Hall st often referred to as the million dollar house when we lived in it back in the late 70’s.
Kelvin Henham
Alan Sheehan 68 Hall St my old house.Moved from Munro St to 68
Alan Sheehan
Kelvin Henham wow didn’t know mate, we must have moved in when you left.
Kelvin Henham
Alan Sheehan think I moved out in 82 when I came to Aussie for six months, came back then to Wellington
Alan Sheehan
Kelvin Henham ok was after us, we moved to Ray Lanes house from there, memory’s a bit foggy lol
Keith Funnell
Stephen Wright the documented correspondence I have seen describes that only one house was relocated, and seems others here are confirming its identity. Ethel McGregor (my grandmother) had spent a significant amount of money renovating it before the slip, and presumably it wasn’t cheap to relocate ... no wonder it got called the million dollar house locally
Alan Sheehan
Keith Funnell you will be pleased to know the house is still well maintained, we drove by it a week ago while visiting family on the Coast.
Stephen Wright
Keith Funnell thanks, great to find out what happened to your grandmother's house. An interesting piece of local history!Date of Photo1954Map[1] ContributorStephen WrightWest of the Divide: More Memories of the Midland Line" in 2010 and are courtesy of Nev Roberts of Dobson
The first of three scenes from the time of the big slip in October 1954 after the hillside had collapsed onto a section of the road and railway line. The old viaduct is still intact, bypassed by the new section of line. Ethel McGregor's house is obscured by the trees on left. She received 2136 pounds compensation and her house was re-erected as a railway house in Hall Street, Cobden. The three photos were reproduced in "West of the Divide: More Memories of the Midland Line" in 2010 and are courtesy of Nev Roberts of Dobson.
The second photo shows the house that belonged to Mr Gugum which, like Ethel McGregor's house, was badly affected by the slip. By the end of November 1954 it was being demolished, with the owner being paid 1700 pounds compensation for the house and land.
In the third view the hut at far right of photo above the bus is sitting on the foundations of the old Greymouth Brewery. It was lived in by railway employee Ambrose Esmond (Essie/Ezzy) Griffin who drowned in the Grey River in 1961. The site of his drowning is marked on Jim Groom's sketch plan. The buses visible in the photos were most likely used to transport people between Greymouth and Dobson, with people walking across the slip area.
Last pic:
Stephen Wright
One last photo which wasn't in the 2010 book. Does this show Ethel McGregor's house? It is not Mr Gugum's house.
May be an image of road
Alan Sheehan
Stephen Wright I think that’s the railway house at 68 Hall st often referred to as the million dollar house when we lived in it back in the late 70’s.
Kelvin Henham
Alan Sheehan 68 Hall St my old house.Moved from Munro St to 68
Alan Sheehan
Kelvin Henham wow didn’t know mate, we must have moved in when you left.
Kelvin Henham
Alan Sheehan think I moved out in 82 when I came to Aussie for six months, came back then to Wellington
Alan Sheehan
Kelvin Henham ok was after us, we moved to Ray Lanes house from there, memory’s a bit foggy lol
Keith Funnell
Stephen Wright the documented correspondence I have seen describes that only one house was relocated, and seems others here are confirming its identity. Ethel McGregor (my grandmother) had spent a significant amount of money renovating it before the slip, and presumably it wasn’t cheap to relocate ... no wonder it got called the million dollar house locally
Alan Sheehan
Keith Funnell you will be pleased to know the house is still well maintained, we drove by it a week ago while visiting family on the Coast.
Stephen Wright
Keith Funnell thanks, great to find out what happened to your grandmother's house. An interesting piece of local history!Date of Photo1954Map[1] ContributorStephen WrightWest of the Divide: More Memories of the Midland Line" in 2010 and are courtesy of Nev Roberts of Dobson
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Location (city or town)OmotoEventOmoto slip 1954
From Facebook
Date Created28th April 2021CommentsBrian McIntyre
I remember it well
Mike Waghorne
Sometimes, it wasn't a matter of 'walking' across the slip between our two school buses as squelching our way through the frequent mud!
Stephen Wright
One last photo which wasn't in the 2010 book. Does this show Ethel McGregor's house? It is not Mr Gugum's house.
May be an image of road
Alan Sheehan
Stephen Wright I think that’s the railway house at 68 Hall st often referred to as the million dollar house when we lived in it back in the late 70’s.
Kelvin Henham
Alan Sheehan 68 Hall St my old house.Moved from Munro St to 68
Thomas Peter Mulligan
Tough country
Barbara Condon
I would have been just a tiny tot living in Franz Josef then and moved to Hokitika when I was 8.
Margaret McBride
remember it well.it was hell trying to get to school from up country.
Anne Kelly
I remember walking around the slip to get the school bus on the other side.
Lyn N Moe
The brewery place that sat on concrete was taken to Seddon St Runanga. The person who shifted it now lives in Hokitika.
Doug Joan Watson
I was 11 and remember the slip well used to walk across the mud
Shona Ratana
Think during this time we school children attending school in Greymouth had to get out of the bus ,walk over the damaged roadway and board another bus too and from the Catholic and High Schools. We lived in Dobson But bus pupils traveled from Blackball and other areas in those days.
Chris Burles
And they're STILL working on it today.
Keith Funnell
Stephen Wright, and now with moving pictures. Looks to be almost the same date as the still photographs you posted, with what we are suggesting may be Ethel McGregor's house (occupied by Mr Rhodes, the artist, at the time of the slip) on the hill behind. It may be possible that the house was also the old Joyce house, which was last occupied by Mary Joyce I believe. This little movie snippet was taken by my cousin Sam McAra, and is part of the McAra family archives held by his children.
Stephen Wright
Great to see the movie clip and see the railcar on the old viaduct. Comparing the photos I posted I can see that the house believed to be Ethel McGregor's has already been removed in the first photo posted, yet the caption says that it is obscured by the trees! I'm wondering if there wasn't a house behind the trees, further back from the road? Having an aerial photo from the early 1950s would help but I can't see any on Retrolens at this point.
Mary Moffitt
That’s something you never forget - trundling across that muddy puddle twice a day with a heavy school bag. Don’t remember any grizzlies though - just something you had to get on with. We were never ever punished for dirty shoes, after the first couple of times.
I remember it well
Mike Waghorne
Sometimes, it wasn't a matter of 'walking' across the slip between our two school buses as squelching our way through the frequent mud!
Stephen Wright
One last photo which wasn't in the 2010 book. Does this show Ethel McGregor's house? It is not Mr Gugum's house.
May be an image of road
Alan Sheehan
Stephen Wright I think that’s the railway house at 68 Hall st often referred to as the million dollar house when we lived in it back in the late 70’s.
Kelvin Henham
Alan Sheehan 68 Hall St my old house.Moved from Munro St to 68
Thomas Peter Mulligan
Tough country
Barbara Condon
I would have been just a tiny tot living in Franz Josef then and moved to Hokitika when I was 8.
Margaret McBride
remember it well.it was hell trying to get to school from up country.
Anne Kelly
I remember walking around the slip to get the school bus on the other side.
Lyn N Moe
The brewery place that sat on concrete was taken to Seddon St Runanga. The person who shifted it now lives in Hokitika.
Doug Joan Watson
I was 11 and remember the slip well used to walk across the mud
Shona Ratana
Think during this time we school children attending school in Greymouth had to get out of the bus ,walk over the damaged roadway and board another bus too and from the Catholic and High Schools. We lived in Dobson But bus pupils traveled from Blackball and other areas in those days.
Chris Burles
And they're STILL working on it today.
Keith Funnell
Stephen Wright, and now with moving pictures. Looks to be almost the same date as the still photographs you posted, with what we are suggesting may be Ethel McGregor's house (occupied by Mr Rhodes, the artist, at the time of the slip) on the hill behind. It may be possible that the house was also the old Joyce house, which was last occupied by Mary Joyce I believe. This little movie snippet was taken by my cousin Sam McAra, and is part of the McAra family archives held by his children.
Stephen Wright
Great to see the movie clip and see the railcar on the old viaduct. Comparing the photos I posted I can see that the house believed to be Ethel McGregor's has already been removed in the first photo posted, yet the caption says that it is obscured by the trees! I'm wondering if there wasn't a house behind the trees, further back from the road? Having an aerial photo from the early 1950s would help but I can't see any on Retrolens at this point.
Mary Moffitt
That’s something you never forget - trundling across that muddy puddle twice a day with a heavy school bag. Don’t remember any grizzlies though - just something you had to get on with. We were never ever punished for dirty shoes, after the first couple of times.
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West Coast New Zealand History (7th May 2021). Omoto slip 1954 *PHOTO ALBUM*. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 10th Apr 2026 21:20, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/29318