• Magnitudes: M_W 7.2 - 7.4, M_S 7.6
• Casualties: One injured

This earthquake has historically been referred to as the Pahiatua Earthquake, but recent reviews of its epicentre place it closer to the locality of Horoeka. It struck the lower North Island on March 5 1934 and was felt as far north as Auckland. The shaking was also felt in the mainland of the northern South Island, and along the east coast as far as Dunedin. Destructive intensities of MM 8 were experienced in an area that extended approximately 8700 km² over most of the lower North Island, and reached a peak of MM 9 south-east of Pahiatua, between the small towns of Pongaroa and Bideford.

The earthquake was most severe in the Hawke's Bay and northern Wairarapa regions, and caused widespread damage from Porangahau to Castlepoint. Much of this area, particularly towards the east coast, was sparsely populated at the time, but the shaking caused extensive damage in the town of Pahiatua, where a number of poorly constructed buildings were severely damaged or collapsed entirely. Luckily, no one was killed in the earthquake, but one person sustained injuries that required hospitalisation.

The movement also triggered numerous small landslides in the cliffs along the coast from Cape Turnagain to Castlepoint, and deformed the ground surface in a number of localities.