The Abbotsford Disaster

The Abbotsford landslip occurred on the 8th of August 1979 at 9:07pm when Abbotsford hill gave way. The incident caused 44 acres of land to move a distance of 48 metres down the hill in 15 minutes. As a result, 69 houses were destroyed, and hundreds of people were left homeless. A group of 17 residents had to be rescued. There were no casualties and any injuries were minor. Following this event, the state of civil emergency lasted until the 18th of August 1979. 

Following this disaster, there was a report of the commission of inquiry into this event. A member of this enquiry presented seven boxes and 26 books of evidence which was used in the report to the University of Waikato Library.