Cub reporter made mark with quake
IN THE aftermath of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the Buller town of Murchison in 1929, most people fled the area.
But two Evening Post staff were determined to get in and report on what had happened.
Neil Blundell was the greatgrandson of the paper’s founder, Henry, and he was dispatched to the scene with veteran photographer Bill Budd almost as soon as Wellington stopped shaking.
Despite his illustrious forebear, Blundell had not received many favours during his time as a cub reporter. The Murchison quake helped him to prove himself.
Hiring a car in Nelson, Blun- dell and Budd drove through the back country to reach the stricken town across badly damaged roads.
Just how badly damaged can be seen in some of the photographs Budd took.
They found Murchison residents fleeing the wrecked town. Seventeen people had been killed and scores of others made homeless.
Landslides had gouged out the mountains and large swaths of the rural Buller Gorge area were devastated.
Blundell talked to people who had lost loved ones and livelihoods, reported on the evacuation of the town and the pitiful state of many survivors, while Budd captured scenes of disaster in his pictures.
Blundell also wrote about the psychological impact of the quake and aftershocks – familiar descriptions today.
‘‘There are stages of suffering. The first is a primeval fear, an almost hysterical hilarity and expectancy . . . after a few days of it, the waiting feeling grows.
‘‘If it is a still day, it seems a portentous hush ... the detonations are even welcomed after a time, because most of the heavy shakes come silently. It is this waiting, especially at night, which keeps people awake.’’
Blundell kept on in his family business. He became managing director of The Evening Post in 1958 and was in charge when it was bought by Independent Newspapers in 1972. The Dominion Post – 150 Years of News is available via dompost.co.nz or 0800 50 50 90. It is priced at $34.95 + $3 postage and handling or $29.95 + $3 p&h for subscribers.