It was one of the fiercest gales ever experienced in Dunedin.

It blew for approximately six hours on the morning of the 20th. The gale sprang from the north-east at 6am. One hour later the wind was almost gale force in the city and gradually veered round towards the west. At 10am the wind was blowing from the north-west accompanied by a dry heat and two hours later the wind blowing with slightly less force from the south-west. At 12:30pm it dropped to a light breeze.

The gale left a widespread trail of damage in town and in the outlying districts.

Wind gusts damaged fences, wireless masts, roofing iron, chimneys and outdoor property which was not securely fastened.

At Logan Park, nearly half the length of the big grandstand roof was swept away. One man was trapped in the doorway by the wreckage.

At the university ground, most of the glass on western end of the stand was shattered and steel frames were badly twisted.

At Bowler's pavilion in Union Street, practically all the iron from flat portion of roof was blown off with some landing nearly 300 yards away.

At the Dunedin Jockey Club, the roof of the lawn grandstand was blown off, the southern end of building was blown out and just before 9am the northern end also went. The club also lost a number of panes of glass from other stands and there was damage to several fences and gates.

On Castle Street, the brick wall of an unoccupied house collapsed shortly after 9am and crashed through the roof of a store and dairy, completely wrecking the dairy and a bedroom. On the same street a large plate-glass window of a fruit shop was blown in.

Anderson's Bay, Musselburgh, St. Kilda and South Dunedin had reports of dwellings being totally or partially unroofed.

At Opoho, a small outhouse was blown over completely onto telegraph wires then fell to ground.

Octagon Sports Depot had one big front window blown in.

Messrs Ross and Glendining's premises at the rear of the Arcade had a brick wall collapse and half-fill a shop under construction with debris.

Nearly every shop was filled with clouds of driving dust.

First Church had several large pieces of masonry fall from the spire.

Roslyn Presbyterian Church had tiles lifted from the roof and small stained-glass windows were also broken.

At Kaikorai School, the ventilator blew out of the roof, approximately 200 slates dislodged from the roof and a brick wall on the grounds blown over.

Maori Hill School had several patches of roof slates blown off.

High Street School had two outhouses completely lose their roofs.

There were a few cases of hoods being blown off cars and some cars had fabric stripped completely from the framework.

In the suburb of Roslyn, a gust of wind caught the hood of an express van along City Road and turned the vehicle completely over.

At Ravensbourne Boat Club, the shed on the waterfront was almost completely demolished and one dinghy inside it was damaged.

One yacht was blown from its cradle and one launch was blown onto the rocky beach.

Two houses were unroofed in the borough with one's upper storey almost carried away.

At Macandrew Bay, two launches were blown up on the foreshore and one was sank at its moorings. One house had its roof torn off.

From Anderson's Bay, all down the lower road, waves washed right across the inner bank.

At Pukehiki, one hundred huge Pinus insignia trees were uprooted, completely blocking the back road.

At Victoria wharf, the wind caused a tanker moored at the oil berth to drift off. Part of wharf the bow line was tied to was wrenched away but there was no damage to the ship.

At Mount Cargill and Kilmog, the trees fell on telegraph wires but communication was quickly restored.

A number of trees were blown over or completely uprooted, several chimneys collapsed and there was damage to fences and sheds.

Shaw, Savill and Albion Co. had the iron roof torn from their wool shed and the skylights shattered.

A heavy fence near Port Chalmers School was flattened with two pupils narrowly escaping injury.

At Pudding Island, a bathing shed was hurled approximately 50 yards along the beach.

At Flagstaff, a house had its roof blown away, window in a clerk's office was smashed and a verandah was carried away.

At Carey Bay, a glass verandah was torn adrift and deposited in an orchard 20 yards away. A glasshouse was completely shattered.

The ferry steamer 'Rangatira' was delayed and the passenger steamer 'Marama' broke some lines attached to the wharf.

Telephone and electric light wires were blown down in several places.

It was one of the heaviest gales ever experienced.

There was damage to several houses. Windows were smashed, roofing iron and a verandah was blown away and trees were uprooted.

Tents in the camp were ripped, collapsed or blown down.

Many trees were uprooted and there was damage to sheds, fruit trees and gardens.

It was one of fiercest gales ever experienced at Taieri Plain.

Telephone wires were severed.

Clouds of dust filled the air.