Lamington volcano eruptions
stratovolcano 1680 m / 5,512 ft
New Guinea, Papua New Guinea, -8.95°S / 148.15°E
Eruption list: 1951-1956
New Guinea, Papua New Guinea, -8.95°S / 148.15°E
Eruption list: 1951-1956
1951 catastrophic eruption on 21 January

A jeep impaled on broken tree trunks illustrates the destuctive power of the pyroclastic surges generated by Lamington's eruption on 21 January 1958. From Taylor (1958)
The administration was heavily accused of having ignored warnings and not reacted fast enough to prevent the scale of the disaster. The Melbourne Argus newspaper writes on its front page on 25 January 1951 "' .. they warned us too late' SAY WOMEN SURVIVORS" and reports some telephone interviews with survivors who felt that they had not been warned and informed in time. Similarly the Sydney Morning Herald's headline read "Delay in official warning criticised".
The strong demand for a public investigation of the tragedy was never granted by the administration. The District Commissioner, Mr. C. F. Cowley (who was killed during the eruption on Sunday) was quoted to have said a few days before the main explosion, "There is no loss of life nor is there any immediate danger." (Sydney Morning Herald, "N.G. DISASTER - DETAILS" 25 Jan 1958).
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