Chapter 54

We were sitting in the cafe in the Museum.

"Tell me about your family," Henry said.

"You mean that Rachel hasn't told you all?"

"Far from it."

"Well, my family's easy. The Hollisters came in the 19^th century to work on the railroad. My grandfather was born here snd became a pastoralist in Queensland. He and my grandmother had two sons. My uncle has a vineyard. He, and his wife, the family bigot, have two kids. My dad studied in Queensland and at UNSW, got his Ph.D. in entomology and went to work for the CSIRO. He got sent on a job to Western Australia and met my mum. He was assigned to UWA in Perth and Sarah and I were born and last July the family moved here. My mum's dad was a mining engineer. He ran a nickle mine until he retired, but got called back a few times as a consultant."

"Sarah mentioned that your dad had awards and medals."

"Well, yes."

"And you're nungungi."

"Are you haka? A kahuna?"

Henry laughed. "Neither, I'm afraid. I just listen and think."

"Oh, look! There's my dad!" I stood and waved. He waved back and turned and spoke to the man he was with. They walked over.

"Hi! Dad, this is Henry Unpronounceable."

"I'm glad to meet you. Sarah has told us about you. And this is Gerry Cassis, he's an entomologist here. Gerry, my son Patrick and Henry."

They sat down with us. "What sort of arthropods?" I asked.

"Largely heteroptera. What you'd call true bugs. What are you studying?"

"Law. At Sydney. One more year."

"And you, Henry?"

"Oceanic art at the University of Hawaii. I'm a visitor at the Art Gallery."

"Pardon us," dad said, "We've a meeting pending. It was nice to meet you, Henry." Everyone shook hands and they left.

"And he's the Director?"

"Yes. But he's been running something, CSIRO, UWA, here all of my life. His grandfather came here to work on the railroad."

"What are Rachel's folks like?"

"Oh, her mom's a mom. She came here as a student and married Rachel's dad. He's quiet and modest, but my dad says he's very good. He's in hydrology and worries about the water supplies of the future in Australia. He has several truly notable ancestors."

"Oh?"

"He's Charles Stuart Eyre. His grandfather was one of John Eyre's sons. And his mother's grandfather was one of John McDouall Stuart's older brothers. They've just moved to Canberra; he's head or chief something at CSIRO."

"Amazing. Your folks are so notable."

"What about yours?" I asked.

"My parents both work for the Moana Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation, just south of Hilo. Three of my four grandparents were killed in the 1960 tsunami. My mother's father was in the US Coast Guard. It was said that he had a family on every island. I don't know his name. So, I'm only 75% Hawaiian."

On May 23, 1960, a tsunami destroyed much of downtown Hilo. Tsunami, or seismic sea waves, are generated in several ways: by large submarine explosive eruptions; by landslides where rock slides into or beneath the sea surface; and by large earthquakes that displace rocks below sea level. The waves generated spread outward in all directions and travel across the oceans at speeds between 425 and 500 mph. Most tsunami that cause widespread damage are produced by large earthquakes that cause fault movements of the sea floor, including the one in 1960. These giant waves wreak their havoc first near to, and then far from, the site of the original earthquake.

The earthquake that caused the 1960 tsunami occurred off the west coast of South America and had a magnitude between 8.25 and 8.5. The waves reached the Hawaiian Islands in about 15 hours. This tsunami caused little damage elsewhere in the islands, but the Hilo Bay area was hard hit. 61 people lost their lives and about 540 homes and businesses were destroyed or severely damaged. The wave heights in Hilo Bay reached 35 feet, compared to only 3-17 feet elsewhere. The water washed far inland through the entire present downtown area.