[Geysers] Waimangu Geyser and Alfred Warbrick

[Ron Keam]

Alfred Warbrick and H.E. Buckeridge's exploit on Waimangu geyser is 
of almost legendary character and we are indebted to James Cowan for 
seeking out and publishing Warbrick's own account of the event and 
its background.  Some six years ago I attended a commemorative 
gathering on the Waimangu Geyser site fior the centenary of the 
subsequent tragedy when Joseph Warbrick and the three other tourists 
were killed by the geyser.

Alfred Warbrick's reminiscences of this and the many other exciting 
events of his life in the New Zealand thermal region were eventually 
published in the book "Adventures in Geyserland' in 1934.  Although 
Warbrick is given as the author it was in fact Cowan who "ghost" 
wrote it.  Other details of Warbrick's involvement with the thermal 
region including his role in the Tarawera eruption events are 
included in my own publications.

A couple of minor corrections are called for in the "New Zealand 
Railways Magazine" article:  (1) The illustration showing the lakelet 
occupying the site of Frying Pan Flat in the foreground, while 
certainly looking towards the site of Waimangu Geyser, does not show 
that site in any distinguishable way, and (2) the date of 1915 for a 
subsequent fatal eruption that killed the wife and child of E.C. 
McCormack, a later guide, is incorrect because that explosion was on 
1 April 1917.

Relatively recently here have been a few more minor hydrothermal 
outbreaks at Waimangu, the most memorable being in 1973 and 1981. 
Fortunately noone was around when they took place.  Monitoring 
instruments captured the 1973 event and a small study of this was 
later published.

Ron Keam

>Here's an interesting account of Waimangu Geyser.  Apparently, a 
>daredevil named Alfred Warbrick rowed a boat across its pool in 
>between eruptions.
>
>http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nzetc.org/etexts/Gov03_08Rail/Gov03_08Rail012a(h280).jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Gov03_08Rail-t1-body-d8.html&usg=__rZkC7_8vmOzje-O2gDbJqNj4Xu0=&h=280&w=445&sz=33&hl=en&start=8&um=1&tbnid=lrwmT0uqVamv8M:&tbnh=80&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwaimangu%2Bgeyser%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26um%3D1
>
>Jeff Cross_______________________________________________
>Geysers mailing list
>Geysers at lists.wallawalla.edu
>

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Ron Keam
The Physics Department
The University of Auckland
Private Bag 92-019
Auckland
New Zealand
Phone +64 9 373-7599 extension 87931
FAX +64 9 373-7445
EMail r.keam at auckland.ac.nz
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