CHARLESTON
streets. A portion of it was the site now occupied by the floating basin; some of it was on the beach, and some where the present cattle-wharf stands.
On 14th July, 1863, the question was put to the Provincial Council: “Whether it was the intention of the Government to lay off a township at the mouth of the Buller River; and, if so, when it purposes to carry that intention into effect?” The reply was that surveyors would go down by next steamer to complete the survey of the town and, on completion, allotments would be offered for sale. The survey was made and, in October of that year, 1863, a sale of sections was conducted at Nelson, many being bought for speculative purposes. It is recorded that prior to then, “the settlers camped on the north bank of the river, on the Maori block that was later known as Gladstone Street.” Until destroyed, Gladstone Street remained the main thoroughfare and was the business centre of the settlement. In December of 1865 sections in the new township were put up for sale, and eighty, of a quarter acre each, were sold within a fortnight.
On 4th and 11th December, 1869, two disastrous fires destroyed much of the town, including thirteen of the principal places of business and six hotels, the loss being £11,420.
In 1870 a tidal wave swept away a portion near the beach and flooded the town. An eye-witness states that a wall of water 40 feet high struck the shore and rushed up the river, and that when it receded the river “nearly ran dry.”
In this year, 1870, an agent, reporting upon the condition of certain sections, described No. 33 as being “Amphibious,” Nos. 902, 905 and 909 as “having breakers on the surface,” and Nos. 919 and 920 as being “navigable by ocean steamers.”
During 1872 or in 1873,[1] the river, after weeks of heavy and continuous rain, changed its course, broke through the lower part of the town and caused havoc. Wharves were demolished, buildings flattened or carried to sea, and the
- ↑ Whether the Buller changed its course during the flood of 1872 (recorded in Warden’s report) or during the flood of 1873 (described by Westport Times) is not clear. Each caused havoc but, almost certainly, the latter was the more destructive. There were several other serious floods during the period 1870-1873, particularly one in 1871. The available records are few and, in some details, contradictory.
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