MOUNTAINEERS’ REUNION

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29367, 21 November 1960, Page 16

MOUNTAINEERS’ REUNION

180 At C.M.C. Function About 180 members and friends of the Canterbury Mountaineering Club gathered in Christchurch at the week-end for one of the largest reunions of mountaineers ever held in New Zealand. Many of those present were prominent mountaineers locally and in overseas expeditions. • Guests were welcomed to the dinner on Saturday evening by the club president (Mr C. G. McElroy) and Mrs McElroy Special ly-invtted guests included the president of the New Zealand Alpine Club (Mr R. D. Dick) and Mrs Dick, Mr G. Mannering and Mr A. A. Deans. Two prominent guests at the function were Messrs S. D. Meares and H. W. Gourlay, the only two men present who reached the head of the Waimakariri at Easter. 1925. an event covered by "The Press" by means of carrier pigeon. Mr Gourlay presented the club with a book on botany which contained the' signatures of the 1925 "trippers” on the flyleaf. Much of the pre-war activities were exploratory and in this regard the club has a unique record. Its history was built around mapping, pass-finding, first ascents and hut building, first in the Waimakariri area and more recently on the Mueller Glacier with the erection of the St. Johns Hut. Four of the guests had been active in these projects. Mr A. Morgan worked on the Three Huts project and Messrs I. W. Tucker. « C. W. Evans and C. E. Fenwick worked on the club’s first project —the Carrington Hut in sight of Mount Carrington in the Upper Waimakariri. both named after the club's founder. Others, of the same vintage—the mid-twenties—who sent apologies were Messrs G- Derbridge. T. K. Papprill. W. W. Brassington and Edear Williams. A toast was proposed to the club by Mr C. W. Evans. Mr T. T. Robins replied.

Several motorists were marooned on the Waikaremoana highway last night. A Ministry of Works grader picked up five motorists and brought them to Wairoa tonight. On the journey the grader had to negotiate flooded areas up to five feet deep.

The Mohaka river has risen to equal the record flood level of 1938. In places it has overflowed its banks. The most serious damage to the roading system is on the Waikaremoana highway where a slip estimated to contain 5000 yards of hard papa has blocked the road near Ardkeen. A Ministry of Works spokesman said tonight that it would not be possible to clear the slip until the flooding in the area had subsided. Government Aid Promised (New Zealand Press Association) GISBORNE. November 20. The Prime Minister (Mr Nash) today gave Mr R. A. Keeling, M.P. for Gisborne, full authority to offer the assistance of Government departments to people whose properties have suffered flood damage. Mr Keeling inspected flooded areas near Gisborne today and later reported to Mr Nash. Mr Beeby Elected To U.N.E.S.C.O. Board (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, November 20. Mr C. E. Beeby. the former Director of Education, and the present New Zealand Ambassador in Paris, has been elected to the executive board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation by the general conference which is meeting in Paris. “Mr Beeby’s election for a four-year term of office on the board is a tribute both to the high esteem in which New Zealand is held in this important international agency and to the nersonal qualities of Mr Beeby himself,” said the Prime Minister (Mr Nash).