WIND SPOILS HOLIDAY

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28161, 27 December 1956, Page 6

WIND SPOILS HOLIDAY

Little Traffic In Christchurch

A blustery nor’-wester spoilt Ro-xing Day for most holidaymakers in Canterbury. It made conditions at the beaches and sporting events unpleasant. The day was very warm—between

noon and 1 pmi_ the reading at Harewood was 83.8 degrees, the highest for this summer —and the occasional clouding of the sky late in the morning and almost completely throughout the afternoon brought some relief. Showers were forecast for the afternoon, but at 4.30 pm. the wind was still blowing gustily from the north-west, and the temperature was high. The long-distance holiday exodus was over by yesterday. Rail and road services were not very busy. Most of the traffic was holiday traffic, mainly to the beaches and the country.

The only traffic hold-up was at the notorious Candy’s bend on the Otira side of the ChristchurchGreymouth highway. A small slip came down on the road after heavy rain.

Traffic was heavy in the morning on the Main South road and again in the evening, the Ashburton trotting meeting being the province’s main sporting attraction. Between 9.30 a.m. and 11 a.m. 1665 cars passed through Sockburn. Papanui road was not busy between 9.30 a.m. and 11 a.m. The traffic, some of it for camping places, was sporadic.

In Christchurch, the traffic was very light throughout the morning. “If you Lit a cracker, it could be heard all over town—it’s so quiet,” said a police officer. After the rush to afternoon sessions at picture theatres, transport buses had a quiet time. Christchurchhad a complete holiday air. even in the heat, the hotels were not busy.

The main sporting events were: the Plunket Shield cricket match ; at Lancaster Park, the Canterburj’ i lawn tennis championships at Wilding Park, and the Christchurch Bowling Centre’s Christmas fours competition. Players and spectators at these events were troubled by the gusts of hot wind. SAFE SWIMMING AT BRIGHTON Conditions were generally saf? for swimming at the Brighton I beaches yesterday and no acci-! dents were reported. Similar surf; conditions are expected today. ( There was only a small surf.; with a southerly drift which was; stronger at Waimairi than at South I Brighton.. At Waimairi there were holes south of the surf club’s pavilion, and at North Beach there was a hole in front of the pavilion. South Brighton was reported by a club official to be in very safe condition.