August 1871 Tsunami: Hokitika River, South Island, New Zealand
A tsunami of unknown cause began at Hokitika River, South Island, New Zealand in August 1871.
Where the waves reached
The source of the tsunami. No runup with a place is recorded for it.
- Under 1 m
- 1 to 3 m
- 3 to 10 m
- 10 to 30 m
- 30 m and more
- Height not recorded
The tsunami
- Date
- August 1871
- Source
- Hokitika River, South Island, New Zealand
- Cause
- Unknown
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 42.720° S, 170.960° E
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
"During last week an immense tidal roller rushed up the Hokitika river for about a mile, swamping the passenger boats at the ferry stairs. On entering the river the wave is said to have been six feet high." (Marlborough Express 19 August 1871)
More
Every tsunami in 1871The 1800sTsunamis of New ZealandAlerts in force
Sources
Tsunami events and runups from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI tsunami event 5547.