Wellington's mysterious hum – noise police poised to swoop
"I've been hearing it on Oriental Parade since late on Saturday night. No idea myself, but it is very real and definitely not the wind or fans."
Featured commentWellington city council is poised to dispatch noise police to citizens complaining about the capital's hum.
Since Sunday morning, council officers have received at least 20 calls from people living in the Mt Victoria, Mt Cook and Newtown areas complaining of a low hum.
Council spokesman Clayton Anderson told NBR ONLINE he is at a loss to figure out exactly what the noise is or where it is coming from.
He says more calls came between 4am and 5am yesterday asking for council staff to check it out.
The noise has been likened to someone blowing across the mouth of a bottle.
Mr Anderson says the council has eliminated early morning construction activity but has not yet ruled out the infamous Wellington wind being the cause.
He lives in nearby Kilbirnie and says he has yet to hear the noise.
There have also been a handful of emails, some of which have offered theories about the hum, including a suggestion it may be from early morning bakery extractor fans, he says.
One Auckland woman wrote that she had heard the noise when visiting Wellington recently, but had also heard something similar in the super city.
NBR ONLINE’s efforts to hear the hum or to find people who have heard it continue.
Strangely, a similar unexplained low hum was reported in parts of Auckland and the North Shore in 2006, leading some people to think it was a desperate concentration of declining bee activity.
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Comments and questions26
Frightening stuff!
Its probably their mad mayors bicycle needs oiling.
Good, its a bike and not the grey matter needs oiling or a jump start like Auckland,Christchurch mayors,past and present.Take, exception that she is mad are you a clinical shrink to make a diagnosis like that.Or just an attempt at humour.? Oh,yeah the "Hum" is genuine,no real explanation so far,just keeping us awake.So,hence the "no laughing matter"tag.
It is Serepisos putting his thinking cap on and getting his grey matter working so he can think up the next get rich quick scheme
It could be a large container ship in the harbour running its engines on idle for electricity - but haven't heard it in the CBD
I've been hearing it on Oriental Parade since late on Saturday night. lots of theories, like a ship running the motor, geological stuff, HAARP etc. No idea myself, but it is very real and definitely not the wind or fans. Look up The Hum on Wikipedia.
Heard this hum in the Western Hutt for about six weeks,rang the Hutt council noise control,no other complaints according to them,keeping me awake to the point of wearing earplugs when I try to sleep.Other people in the house can hear it to at night,like a truck parked outside with its engine idling,then other times its like the rumble before an earthquake hits.Weird,seems same issue on the North Shore awhile back,anyone(seriously) knows what it maybe let me know.No comedians or quips,due to sleep deprivation my humour is at a low point,so don't go there.
the sound heard on the north shore was likely a ship's engines - its not that frequent as it depends which way the exhausts are facing (north vs south) and obviously whether its in dock
It could be the Governments vacuation aircraft on auto test warp speed thrust, and the craft maybe experiencing turbo burn out, subject to aggressive launch override or maybe some operatives are suffering from chronic over work under paid syndrome wellingtons mysterious hum drum...
If parliament was in session and it was centred around the beehive then it could be a "desperate contrentration of declining mp activity"
But Wellington is always humming
Didnt Chch residents mention this hum a couple of years ago/
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one."
If the noise police are anything like the normal police or GCSB we are stuffed.Someone will get their stereo confiscated or a boy racer his "sub" disarmed.
The aliens have arrived...
Its John Keys spin doctors working overtime.
It's the money hum .... as the capital hovers up all those taxes into the giant gubmint blackhole, formerly known as wellington.
Doubtless the HUM comes from the strain of our politicians trying to think of ideas to save our economy;we wish!
liberte
Its us wellingtonians reading the bilge spouted on here from right wing Jaffas and humming as we try not to laugh because it'd be impolite
I'll turn it off now. Sorry about that.
ALIENS ARE HERE
its them doing the new tunnel and r going to tell u at the last moment thats whaqt someone told me but not sure if that right
Was it like this?! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNI7d0wGQ1g
Its been happening in Russia and America even on live tv during a baseball game, where it got too loud that the batter played a foul ball
I heard a ridiculously loud low freq hum / rumble on lambton quay a bit before 6pm Oct 10. Then it drove past me. I could feel it as much as hear it. Sounds like a powerful sub system and a downshifted audio track. A station wagon, dark red I think is what you're looking for. Good luck catching these guys!
I don't want to scare anybody, but you will find the noise will get louder as we get closer to December 21st. Deep within the crust is an army of land dwelling star fish with ambitions to enslave the humas race, led by General Patrick.
That is all.
According to Scully the Taos hum was caused by ELF (extra low frequency) sound waves.