"I REMEMBER,"

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14400, 6 July 1912, Page 8

"I REMEMBER,"

OLD COACHING DAYS

If there is one thing more than another in which we have progressed in Canterbury and, in fact, in the Dominion, it is in the methods of transporting mails, passengers, and goods. "Shank's pony," and the universal swag, wherein the traveller carried his worldly belongings, has given place to the goods and passenger trains; while tho mailman, on his hardy pony, or in his light, two-wheeled cart, has been almost displaced by. tho train and the telegraph. Very soon after the initial settlement of Canterbury a system of mail carts and mounted mailmen was esablished.to take the mails out into the districts whic,h were then regarded as the oackblocks, but which are now almost suburban. With the rapid growth of the mails, and the constant tide of settlers and workers on tho land, who wished to journey between Christchurch and the outlying townships, a fairly comprehensive system of passenger and mail coaches was got into working order. Tho famous Cobb and Co.'s lines of coaches plied north, south, and west, and many rival lines of vehicles ran in successful attempts to gather in some of the profits to be obtained from the travelling- public.

One of the earliest of the coaching men wns Mr W. Sansom, who ran the first daily mail cart from Rangiora to Kaiapoi, starting in July, 1862, where ho connected with the coaches; run by Messrs Belcher and Fainveather, who ran between Christchurch and Kaiapoi. "I also ran a line or coaches between Rangiora and Oxford," said Mr Sansom to a "Press" representative, "but gave it up after a year or two, as there was apparently no money in the place. Tho fare from Oxford to Rangiora was five shillings, but most of the travellers seemed to start from Oxford early in tho morning, riding on the loads of posts and rails that were daily being sent down from tho bush, and they would then stop the coach ' when it caught diem up after more than half tho journey had been accomplised, and ride tho rest of tho journey into Rangiora, paying just a. shilling or so. For some time 1 had tho road almost to myself, but then other lines, including Cobb and Co.'s coaches, started running on the North road, and competition grew pretty keen However, I bought Cobb and Co. out in 1867, and another line, run by Messrs Mitchell. Burton, and Lee, in 1869, and tho next year I had the road to myself again. The whole length of the line I controlled was from Christchurch to HaAvkswood Station, over the Waiau river, but from Waiau to Hawkswood tho mails were carried by a horseman, who swam or punted his horso across the Waiau river when it was up. Even in thoso days a paßßcnger could get from Christohurch to the Hurunui in ono day, which was not bad. One coach did not do the whoie journey, but the Christchurch coach met the Hurunui coach at Leithfield, and the mails and passengers were exchanged, and then tho coaches were, driven back over their own tracks. The stages were from Christchurch to Kaiapoi, then tho team was changed, and went on to Leithfield. and the stages the other side were at the Weka Pass and Hurunui. The roads were not bad in the summer time, but often during tho winter they were terribly heavy. There were toll gates erected on White's bridge, on the Kaiapoi bridge, and at the Weka Pass, and tho tolls were a large item in the expenses. 1 see by my note-book that I paid £1.4 3s in tolls at White's bridge for ono month, and about £7 at tho Pass. The tolls at Kaiapoi were not so heavy. Our first big mail coaches were imported from America, and were of the regular "Deadwood" type, being supported on strong leather thoroughbraces, but later on a lighter typo of coach was built locally by Mr A. G. Howland', a very well-known 1 builder of the old days. J handled the ribbons for a time myself, but later on, tho business extended in such a fashion that I had no time for driving, and relegated tho piloting of the passengers; to such well-known whips as J..Miles, Stbbie,' Knox, and West Chamberlain, who were all popular characters on the road. On the whole,-the running was rather Avoid of incident, and I am clad to say that only one accident that was at all serious over occurred, and even then no passengers were badly injured. It arose out of the custom among rival drivers of 'racing' the stages, the passengers often urging -tho men on for the excitement of the thing. The accident referred to occurred on the Kaiapoi bridge; two coaches going neck and neck dashed for the bridge,- and as there was only enough room for one, it became a little exciting, and some damage was tho Tcsult. Our worst trouble was with the rivers—tho Ashley and tho Waipara were both bad—and I shall never forget the terrible timo we had in April, 1869, at the timo of the big flood, when the Ashley came down and covered the country even south of Kaiapoi. Several bridges were washed away, and we had to swim the coachhorses over the rivers behind * boats, "picking up empty coaches on the further side. It was a rough time for everyone, and it is to the credit of the so-called 'weaker sex,' that the only passenger who had the pluck to face tho conditions on the night „of April 3rd, was a Christchurch lady.''