Be Our Guest entry: Letter, Keith Gibb
Maker
Gibb, Keith Ewan
Production date
13 Dec 2005
Object detail
Brief Description
Letter to the Be Our Guest competition written by Keith Gibb. He writes about his memories of the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake.
Keith had spent the last days of the school holidays staying with the Heeny family. Cyril Heeny had just started work at Bon Marche. February 3 was Keith's first day back at Hastings Central School. He was six years old, and the school had just finished assembly and saluting the flag when the earthquake struck. The gasometers across the road collapsed. The school dental clinic lost its front and back walls.
The family lived in Queen Street East. They spent most of the rest of the day on the front lawn. There was a strong aftershock at 3pm and again at 9pm. That night the fire spread from the Grand Hotel and they had to evacuate to stay in tents in what is now Windsor Park. Lord and Lady Bledisloe visited the camp and a photograph of Keith and his mother appeared in the Auckland Weekly. Later, the family heard that Cyril Heeny had been killed when a shop façade had fallen on him.
Keith had spent the last days of the school holidays staying with the Heeny family. Cyril Heeny had just started work at Bon Marche. February 3 was Keith's first day back at Hastings Central School. He was six years old, and the school had just finished assembly and saluting the flag when the earthquake struck. The gasometers across the road collapsed. The school dental clinic lost its front and back walls.
The family lived in Queen Street East. They spent most of the rest of the day on the front lawn. There was a strong aftershock at 3pm and again at 9pm. That night the fire spread from the Grand Hotel and they had to evacuate to stay in tents in what is now Windsor Park. Lord and Lady Bledisloe visited the camp and a photograph of Keith and his mother appeared in the Auckland Weekly. Later, the family heard that Cyril Heeny had been killed when a shop façade had fallen on him.
Maker
Production date
13 Dec 2005
Production place
Production period
Production technique
Media/Materials description
Handwritten in blue ink on lined paper.
Media/Materials
Measurements
In the Be Our Guest Folder No 2.: Height x Width: 222 x 158mm
Classification terms
Subject person
Subject period
Subject date
03 Feb 1931
Credit line
gifted by Keith Gibb
Other number(s)
m2006/27/158, 36225
Public comments
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