HIGHEST BEACON.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 1, 2 January 1934, Page 5

HIGHEST BEACON.

FLARES ON EGMONT. NOVEL WELCOME TO 1934. SPECIAL NEW YEAR ROCKETS. (By Telegraph.—Special to "Star.") NEW PLYMOUTH, this day. Brilliant flares twinkling on the summit of Mount Egmont, 82G0 feet high, was a novel spectacle witnessed, by thousands of people in North Taranaki j at midnight on New dear's Eve. At New Plymouth, which is roughly '20 miles from the peak, the flares had the brilliance of about a star of the fhst ; magnitude. It was claimed to be the | highest beacon ever lit in New Zealand, and was a novel method of welcoming | the New Year.

A party of half a dozen young men made the climb during the night under a brilliant moon. At about six thousand feet they roped themselves together in two parties, and from that point it was necessary to cut steps in the snow all the way. The pyrotechnic display included rockets and flares specially made for the purpose. , At midnight a flare was lit on Paritutu Kock (500 feet) at New Plymouth Harbour, Almost immediately came an answering flare on the distant snowy peak of .Egmont. The display was continued for half an hour and was watched by many New Year revellers. Probably the first fire lighted on the top of Egmont was about the year 1420 when the Maori cliicf Tahurangi, who had a mountain sanctuary, lit a lire to indicate to his tribe that he had con-1 quered the peak. Those who planned the display were j Mr. Roy Sale (North Egmont), the j family of the manager of the North i Egmont hostel, Mrs. H. Nodder, Miss D j Nodder, and Master C. Nodder and Messrs. R. Richardson, D. Rawson, K. Johnson, T. Wright (all of New Plymonth), A. Mace and J. Weston (Kent Road), N. Johnson (Wellington), and W Devereux (Inglewood).