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Flood, 1981; Silverstream Fire Brigade pumping out Dunn's Road railway underpass
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DescriptionMembers of the Silverstream Volunteer Fire Brigade pumping water from the field st railway underpass after last Thursdays deluge. This was the water barrier which, with a floded Heretaunga Square to the north, kept Silverstream and Pinehaven virtually isolated untl afternoon.Firemen had to wait for the level of the nearby trentham stream to drop before they began pumping surface water into it and clear the pumps under the median strip. Many of the firemen started work at around 3am, then went to work and later returned to help with the clean up.
Printed in the May 26, 1981 'Leader'. The flooding had stopped a Winchester Avenue, Pinehaven, worker getting to the CBD four times; twice at the corner of Blue Mountains and Chatsworth roads, then at the Field Street (?) underpass, where one army truck was trying to recover another and then at Pempsey Street. He finally crossed Heretaunga Square at 3:30. 2000 Hutt Valley phones went out of action; 400 in Silverstream and Whiteman's Valley.
The May 26 'Leader' said the flood had peaked around 4-30 to 5 a.m. Over 120 mm had fallen in 24 hours over the Upper Hutt area. Te Awa Kairangi / Hutt River had risen 6.2 metres at Birchville by 10 a.m.
A July 21 report on a public meeting of the traffic, woks and bylaws committee heard about changes to the Heretaunga Drain; it was 16-18 feet wide at the top, and eight feet square at the bottom, and had a capacity of 600 cubic feet (17 cubic metres) a second; lining it with concrete would increase the flow to 800. In 1971 the Ministry of Works and Development had been allowed to divert water from the Central Institute of Technology and parts of Trentham Camp into the Heretaunga drain, adding about 16% to the flow.
August 4; a residents' spokesman at a council meeting said the Ministry of Works must contain the flow in the army camp area.
The October 20 'Leader' showed a work skills development team clearing the Heretaunga drain; so far, ten truckloads of branches, logs and weed had been removed. The flood-prevention committee felt that much more would have to be done.
Date Taken21st May 1981
Printed in the May 26, 1981 'Leader'. The flooding had stopped a Winchester Avenue, Pinehaven, worker getting to the CBD four times; twice at the corner of Blue Mountains and Chatsworth roads, then at the Field Street (?) underpass, where one army truck was trying to recover another and then at Pempsey Street. He finally crossed Heretaunga Square at 3:30. 2000 Hutt Valley phones went out of action; 400 in Silverstream and Whiteman's Valley.
The May 26 'Leader' said the flood had peaked around 4-30 to 5 a.m. Over 120 mm had fallen in 24 hours over the Upper Hutt area. Te Awa Kairangi / Hutt River had risen 6.2 metres at Birchville by 10 a.m.
A July 21 report on a public meeting of the traffic, woks and bylaws committee heard about changes to the Heretaunga Drain; it was 16-18 feet wide at the top, and eight feet square at the bottom, and had a capacity of 600 cubic feet (17 cubic metres) a second; lining it with concrete would increase the flow to 800. In 1971 the Ministry of Works and Development had been allowed to divert water from the Central Institute of Technology and parts of Trentham Camp into the Heretaunga drain, adding about 16% to the flow.
August 4; a residents' spokesman at a council meeting said the Ministry of Works must contain the flow in the army camp area.
The October 20 'Leader' showed a work skills development team clearing the Heretaunga drain; so far, ten truckloads of branches, logs and weed had been removed. The flood-prevention committee felt that much more would have to be done.
Date Taken21st May 1981Depicts or relates to
OrganisationSilverstream Volunteer Fire BrigadeSubjectFloods
SubjectFloodsPart of
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Reference1981 05 26 01FormatGreyscale printSize202 x 151 mm
FormatGreyscale printSize202 x 151 mmScanned byDon McLeod
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Flood, 1981; Silverstream Fire Brigade pumping out Dunn's Road railway underpass. Upper Hutt Libraries, accessed 21/08/2026, https://uhcl.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/26615