BACHES FROM TRAMS

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28800, 22 January 1959, Page 16

BACHES FROM TRAMS

Settlement At Tapu “The Press" Special Service THAMES, January 21. Owners of old Auckland tramcars which have been converted to baches on the Thames coast are determined that they will not become seaside slums. Many of the baches are well kept but some are in a state of disrepair and the surroundings so disorderly as to suggest that the place could well become an eyesore if the baches continue to deteriorate. / “This is not going to become a slum area,” said Mrs R. A. Johnston, of Waitoa. “We are very proud of our tram.” Mr and Mrs Johnston have reason to be proud of the care which they have expended on their temporary home. They even have water laid on. Some of the other trams which form a small, compact settlement at Tapu, however, could benefit from a coat of paint and an improvement of the surroundings. At Waikawau Bay, further up the coast, there is another collection of gaily-painted trams. Nearly all the original owners who established them there about three years ago are still in possession. They have maintained their baches well and taken a lot of trouble to brighten the surroundings.

One of the disadvantages is that the sites are so small that they soon become cluttered up with holiday gear. “Everybody looks after the trams pretty well,*’ said one man. “The ones th&t don’t do so usually want to sell them. Some of the baches have far too much junk around them.”

Some owners have tried to screen their allotments from their neighbours with trellises over which passion fruit and other creeping plants are growing. Others have painted the baches bright colours and have decorated the surroundings with gardens and