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Salient. Official Newspaper of Victoria University of Wellington Students Association. Vol 40 No. 14. June 13 1977
[Introduction]
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In March 1973, Wellington was rocked by an earthquake. Damage to the city was minimal, but in the case of Victoria University's Hunter Building, the damage was sufficient to arouse contention, to say the least — some would say major controversy.
"The earthquake of March 1973 caused some cracking of the brickwork of the Hunter Building, particulars at the junction of the main building and the old chemistry wing. The University's consultants were asked as a matter of urgency to report on the building, and as a result of their investigations certain obvious hazards were immediately [unclear: y] removed, mainly chimneys and disused time cupboard vents".
However, the removal of these hazards immediate though it may have been, was obviously nothing more than a preliminary tinkering with a problem much larger than a chimney or a vent.
Ok, you ask. So what exactly is the problem?
The problem is this: As it stood then, Hunter was one of the worst earthquake risks in Wellington and it is still high on the list of "menacing edifices",
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