Frankton Tornado, 25 August 1948

Tornado struck near midday on 25 August 1948

On 25 August 1948, a tornado ripped through Frankton on the western outskirts of Hamilton shortly before midday. Three people were killed and about 80 injured of which five were admitted to hospital. During the ten minutes it took for the tornado to cut a path 100 - 200 yards (91-183 m) wide across Frankton, cars were smashed, trees uprooted, telephone and power poles snapped, and 173 houses and 50 businesses destroyed or damaged.  

The tornado then passed by Hamilton's Lake Rotoroa and travelled along the west side of Lake Street. It rose up the hill to the water tower at the highest point of the city, damaging the Braemar Hospital.  On reaching the CBD, it uprooted a few trees on the Hamilton High School grounds, damaged roofs in Collingwood and Anglesea Streets, passed over Clarence Street damaging buildings, and embedded heavy planks in the Hamilton Courthouse lawns. It rose over the Waikato River and touched down again in Hamilton East in Wellington, Grey, Albert and Nixon Streets, tearing up trees. damaging two houses on Naylor Street and causing minor damage at Hillcrest School. Then the tornado moved southwards over farmland where it dissipated near Tamahere. 

Wind speed between 180-250 km/h

The Frankton tornado "was caused by a cold front which passed over Auckland before reaching Hamilton. By the time it reached Hamilton it had developed into a violent electrical storm".  (Source: Papers Past:  "500-ard wide path cut",  The Press, Vol LXXXIV, Issue 25583, 26 August 1948, p. 4)

The  tornado was rated an F2 on the Fujita scale, a standard six point scale used for measuring the intensity of a tornado or severe winds. According to NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research), an F2 rating indicates wind speeds of between about 180–250 km/h.  (Source: Stuff.co.nz: "Twister terror: 60 years since NZ's deadliest tornado", 31 Jan 2009)

Newspaper reports told of how the tornado picked up one house and spun it around, before dumping it across the street. A mother and her two children who were in the house, escaped uninjured.  As recounted by the Metservice, "One woman and her two young children got up from the lunch table in the kitchen to watch the approaching black cloud. They got as far as the front hall when the house was picked up, spun around and slammed into the house across the road. The back of the house, including a bedroom, the kitchen and the bathroom were completely smashed. Most of the roof was removed and the remaining walls fell out. The only part intact was the hall, were the woman and her two children lay, unharmed."   

Eyewitness accounts

Police sergeant Sergeant Bonnington described the following: 

"Everything was flying; bricks, roofing iron, fences, wire, tiles and great baulks of wood. I saw telegraph poles snapped off cleanly like carrots. The air was full of rubbish of all kinds. A light trailer, newly built by a man living 100 yards away from the police station was whirled past and smashed to scraps against a building handy to the police station." 

Debris from the tornado was strewn as far as Hautapu, near Cambridge:  "When Mr E. L. Houlton, of Hamilton, was at a farm at Matangi yesterday ten miles from Frankton, he saw pieces of timber, sheets of corrugated iron and other debris which had evidently been blown from Frankton. Wreckage fell close beside him. Trees were damaged by the falling wreckage. One piece of iron was found at Hautapu, within two miles of Cambridge. There was rain, with thunder and lightning at the time."

 Source:  Northern Advocate: "150 Houses ruined In Hamilton tornado" (26 August, 1948, p.5)   

More than 170 houses were damaged, including 78 seriously. According to NIWA, the main area affected was on Kent St and part of Norton Rd, Frankton: "Lake Road was seriously affected and every home on the Frankton station side of Keddell Street was totally destroyed."  (See NZ Herald, "Fatal storm - the tornado that tore up Hamilton and killed three people", 25 Aug 2017). One house in Lake Road was found to have shifted approximately 20 feet and turned round about 80 degrees (see Archives New Zealand Flickr photo).

A Hamilton Ministry of Works file records 13 houses and one small foundry that were destroyed. The buildings that were lost were in Lake Road, Keddell Street, Collingwood Road, Queens Avenue and Rawhiti Street.  (See Archives New Zealand Flickr image).  

The main business area of Frankton was severely hit and around 50 business premises were badly affected.  Onlookers saw the verandah fly away and walls cave in from the grocery store owned by of Mr. A. Murdoch on the corner of Kent Street and Norton Road. The Maoriland Company's timber mill in Kent Street lost a machine shop and suffered serious damage to plant and machinery. The fences were also flattened during a dairy cattle sale in progress at the Frankton sale yard.  

The Northern Advocate (26 August 1948, p.5) reported:

"HEAVY LOSERS:  Many businessmen are heavy losers. Mr Kemp, a furniture dealer, had his warehouse and one shop completely wrecked and his other shop badly damaged. Associated Builders, in Kent Street, who manufactured prefabricated houses, lost everything. Their stocks were scattered over an acre. Mr J. Leslie, owner of a box factory opposite, crawled under a truck to escape falling roof timbers. Mr W. A. Hayward, when the tornado struck, left his stationery shop in Commerce Street unroofed and water pouring on the stock, and with neighbours began rescue work next door."

Corrugated iron was wrapped round power lines, power lines snapped, and railway signals were partly cut through the uprooting of poles and damaged wires.  Communications between Frankton, Rotorua and the East Coast were interrupted until 4.45 p.m. (ibid)

The aftermath

A retrospective report by the  Waikato Times described Frankton after the vicious storm as "desolate and pitiful":  "People wandered aimlessly about collecting what remained of their belongings, their minds hazy as to what the future held for them, their wits shattered by the catastrophe which had descended suddenly upon them."   (Source: Stuff.co.nz: "Twister terror: 60 years since NZ's deadliest tornado", 31 Jan 2009) 

The newspapers reported the names of the three people who died and those who were taken to hospital (see extracts in NZ Herald, 25 Aug 2017).  

In their book New Zealand's worst disasters, Graham Hutchins and Michael Young wrote, "Amidst all the grimness, there were occasional flashes of humour. Not long after the tornado passed, a woman was seen at the top of a ladder trying to retrieve her washing that had been whipped away to lodge in one of the trees that hadn't been snapped off or uprooted". (See Chapter 17; Harper Collins, 2016) 

Government & community support

Prime Minister Peter Fraser and the local members of Parliament, Mrs Hilda Ross (Hamilton) and Mr A. C. Baxter (Raglan), flew from Wellington to Hamilton that afternoon to meet with Hamilton Mayor Harold Cayo and view the damage. Parliament labelled the rebuilding of Frankton the top priority building job for New Zealand. 

Support was provided by police from Hamilton, Waikato and Auckland; Army personnel from the Hopuhopu Military Camp; Airforce officers from the Te Rapa Airforce Base; and Public Works relief gangs. (See Trove: The Canberra Times, 26 Aug 1948, p.3).   As well as working in shifts with the police in salvage operations, the Airforce and Army personnel also kept a protective eye on shops and houses to prevent any possible looting. 

Hamilton residents offered temporary accommodation to those who had lost homes and several local halls were converted into temporary hotels. 

Relief funds were also set up by Councils in other towns and cities, which can be viewed on Papers Past - for example: Ashburton, Tauranga, and Auckland.

Quick relief from Red Cross & Salvation Army

The Northern Advocate reported: "Within an hour of the tornado striking Frankton, Mrs C. W. Armstrong, president of the Hamilton sub-centre of the Red Cross, and Major G. Spillett, of the Salvation Army, had a canteen going to supply tea and other refreshments to residents and relief workers. The Red Cross Society financed the project and local, firms gave foodstuffs, while another firm made available premises which were used when the St George’s Hall canteen was closed."

Source: Northern Advocate, "Repair work at Hamilton",  2 Sept 1948, p.4

Rebuilding Programme

During his visit to Hamilton, Prime Minister Fraser had advised that "cable messages had been sent to Australia to explore the possibility of getting extra supplies of some of the materials required".  (Source: Gisborne Herald,  26 August 1948. p. 6)  

A survey conducted by "Hamilton City Council staff  yesterday of tornado damages showed that 78 houses were badly damaged, said the city engineer (Mr. T. J. Palmer) in a report to a special meeting of the council today. Fifty-seven dwellings were classed as less badly damaged, and 38 as slightly damaged, a total of 173. The surveys did not include inspections of the interior of houses which did not appear badly damaged from the outside, but might have suffered considerably inside. Mr. Trevor Smith, assistant engineer in chief of the Ministry of Works, said that repair work was being placed under Government control. Mr. O. G. Thornton, district engineer, has been placed in charge... Mr. Smith said that the Director of Housing (Mr. R. B. Hammond) was coming to Hamilton to view the position."  (Source: Wanganui Chronicle, 27 August 1948, p.6)  

The damage to property caused by the severe whirlwind and heavy torrential rain was estimated at more than £1 million.  Owners of the homes that were destroyed were able to sell to the Crown, or to claim compensation for the improvements and rebuild (see Archives New Zealand Flickr image).   A local committee "was established to determine terms and conditions where owners were required to find some part of the costs of restoration, and to decide any other matters involved in placing people back on their feet again:— Messrs. H. D. Caro, Mayor of Hamilton;  H. M. Hammond, member of the Hamilton City Council; J. H. W. Barber, district rehabilitation officer; E. C. Day. member of the rehabilitation loans committee; E. P. Exelby, Frankton Ratepayers and Citizens’ Association; and A. R. Ibby. secretary of the Hamilton Carpenters’ Union."  (Source:  Gisborne Herald. "Properties to be restored to value before tornado".  Vol LXXV, Issue 22730, 31 Aug 1948, p.6)

A shortage of labour at the time for the rebuilding programme was offset by the deploying of Returned Services trade trainees to assist. Fletcher Construction in Auckland provided several materials, along with other firms and organisations. (See G. Hutchins & M. Young, New Zealand's worst disasters, Chapter 17. Harper Collins, 1916.)  

The Gisborne Herald (31 Aug 1848) reported:  "Amazing progress was made with the restoration during the week-end by 300 workmen and hundreds of volunteers." 

Forlongs, a furniture and furnishings store, had opened its business two years prior. The tornado had damaged stock and their site was inundated with debris. However, they were able to reopen after "two days of frenzied cleaning" and held their first sale under the banner of “Tornado Sale”. This brought widespread public awareness for their business and led to their shifting to larger premises in the early 1950s. The business grew to become one of the biggest retail operators in the area well-known for their catch-cry  "Forlongs of Frankton".  (See article by Wares New Zealand.)  

Delays in finishing jobs 

Two months after the tornado struck, the Northern Advocate reported: 

" A deputation which waited on Mrs G. H. Ross. M.P., yesterday expressed dissatisfaction at delay in securing the completion of a number of properties that were damaged by the tornado which struck parts of Frankton on August 25. Inspection of the area was made. At a meeting which followed, the president of the Frankton Businessmen’s Association (Mr A. Robinson) said that there were many repairs which should be completed. Fifty-eight unfinished jobs required attention.  Mr Robinson said the Ministry of Works was having difficulty in coming to terms with regard to the wages and conditions o‘f work required by plumbers. In some cases lower wages were offered than those permitted by the Price Tribunal. The Ministry had declined to repair shop verandahs, and contended that replacement was not essential. About a dozen remained to be replaced. Some had. been rebuilt by the shop-owners. Mrs Ross said she would take up the question with the Minister of Works (Mr Semple)."

Source: Northern Advocate,  "Slow repair of tornado damage", 2 Nov 1948, p.2 

Find out more:

'Killer twister hits Frankton', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/killer-twister-hits-frankton-junction-hamilton, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 9-Jul-2020 

NIWA: NZ Historic Events Weather Catalogue:  August 1948 Waikato Tornado, URL: https://hwe.niwa.co.nz/event/August_1948_Waikato_Tornado]

Northern Advocate: "150 Houses ruined In Hamilton tornado" (26 August, 1948, p.5)   

Hamilton City Libraries: Frankton Tornado, URL: https://hamiltonlibraries.co.nz/heritage/discover-stories-and-articles/73rd-anniversary-of-the-frankton-tornado/

CD Civil Defence; Waikato Region Emergency Management: Tornado, URL: https://www.waikatoregioncdemg.govt.nz/info-and-resources/information-resourceshazards/tornado/ 

(This DigitalNZ Story was compiled in 2019)