CHRISTMAS DAY

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28160, 26 December 1956, Page 6

CHRISTMAS DAY

LITTLE TRAFFIC ON ROADS

MANY PEOPLE VISIT BEACHES

The quiet of Christchurch yesterday was in sharp contrast to the crowded bustle of the city on Christmas Eve. when thousands of harassed shoppers and holidaymakers invaded stores to complete their Christmas shopping. Although the hot nor*-westerly wind on Christmas Day kept most of the intending bathers on the beach or in their cars in the afternoon, it did nothing to dispel the traditional atmosphere of content and excitement which is typical of a Christmas morning, as children commandeer the footpaths to test new toys. Tricycles and bicycles competed with dolls’ prams and roller skates in a promenade that extended from Cashmere to Harewood, from Hornby to New Brighton. Except for cars and caravans leaving the city for holiday resorts, traffic was light until about an hour after most dinners had been eaten. Many cars and busloads of people then left for the beaches, but the driving sand and inhospitable aspect of the sea made most people reluctant to enter the water. Hundreds of cars lined the road overlooking the beaches at Sumner and New Brighton. Taxi drivers had no time for such inaction, either on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve. One firm only just managed to keep abreast of the demand for transport on Monday, another found that the demand exceeded the supply of cars to such an extent that delays in service were up to an hour and a half in the evening. Christmas Day was a little better, but there was no respite for the drivers.

A solitary bus sent to Kaikoura. Blenheim, and Nelson by Newman Brothers, Ltd., carried only about a dozen persons from Christchurch, and although the firm was busy on Monday, the heaviest demands on its buses were made on Friday, when many people took advantage of the week-end to begin their holidays early. Midland Motorways, Ltd., also had a comparatively slack day yesterday and, running to its normal Sunday time-table, the firm found it had fewer passengers than usual. The National Airways Corporation s Christmas Day flights were patronised to varying degrees. With 16 departures and as many arrivals, a total of 246 passengers passed through the Harewood airport terminal.