Wellington Fault Trace at Hutt Road

The slope here was only recognised as the active fault trace of the Wellington Fault in 1967, long after a lot of the housing and commercial development in the area had been established. It can be followed south almost as far as Jackson Street and northwards as far as the junction of Marsden and Pharazyn Streets.
The variable height of the scarp (becoming lower to the north and south of this point) is thought to be due to the fact that it may represent several earthquakes, with different parts being eroded away by the Hutt River or by advance and retreat of sea level in-between events.
There are many areas in the Hutt Valley where there is no visible slope along the fault at all. This is because the scarp has been eroded flat by the meanderings of the Hutt River since the last rupture sometime between 170 to 370 years ago.
Researchers of the Wellington Fault in the "It's Our Fault" project have calculated that the probability of a rupture of the Fault in the next 100 years is about 10%. (2013)

Notice the height difference between the Hutt Road, and the houses alongside. The exact position of the fault will be somewhere between the top and the bottom of the slope. Will the next Wellington Fault rupture be precisely in the same position on the surface as previous ruptures? Not necessarily! Although at depth the fault will always rupture along the same plane, near the surface it could side-step a few metres due to changes in the condition of the near-surface sediments over time.
Take a look at the main front (hill slope) of the Western Hills and estimate how far back it is from the fault? Why do you think there is such a large distance from the actual fault itself and the slope of the main scarp?