THOUSANDS THRONG CITY BEACHES

Press, Volume C, Issue 29706, 27 December 1961, Page 8

THOUSANDS THRONG CITY BEACHES

Yesterday was a hot day, and it was also a public holiday, so most Christchurch people went to the beach—at least, most" people did who were not already out of town. The suburbs, apart from the beach suburbs, were almost deserted, while the beaches were thronged by thousands. Many Christchurch residents were at Waikuku or Pines Beach for the galas there, but big crowds were reported at the city beaches. Surf patrolmen were on duty from an early hour. There was a good surf in the morning with the incoming tide, giving way to a choppy sea after the tide turned. All the patrolmen praised the behaviour of the public, the day having been quiet with few anxious moments. There was one little excitement, however, for children whose parents had chosen to take them into the sandhills between New Brigh. ton and North Beach. About 3 p.m. a blaze started in the scrub at the edge of Marine parade, and the fire brigade was called to put it out Further north a big crowd, apparently possessed with a common desire to find somewhere quiet, converged on Spencer Park beach, and for a time there was no parking room for cars at the end of the road. The park itself was crowded. The ice-cream shop on the park opened yesterday for the first time this season, and it did a roaring trade. At Brooklands there were relatively few bathers, but water ski-ing and speedboating were in full swing Stewart’s Gully, a favourite resort for Sunday afternoon trippers, was almost deserted The tar-sealing of the road between Stewart's Gully and Brooklands, completed since lasi season, opens an attractive “round-trip” from the Waimakariri bridge through Kainga. Brooklands, and Spencervil'e to Marshland. but apparently this also is for a Sunday afternoon rather than a hot public holiday as there were few cars on the route yesterday. Road Traffic Heavy The biggest flow of cars out of the city during the morning was probably norlh up the State highway over the Waimakariri bridge, as traffic officers said the number of cars was well above normal, even for a public holiday. Roads to the city beaches were also crowded In addition, however, there

were smaller but still substantial numbers of vehicles heading out into the country by various routes. Traffic on the Main West road was quite heavy, mainly with visitors to favourite picnic spots on the rivers. The Waimakariri and Selwyn were both popular. The focal point of summer afternoon interest within the central areas of the city —the boat sheds, the paddling pools, the tennis courts, and the bowling greens—were all rather quieter than on most Boxing Days. At the Antigua street boat sheds, there was a queue for craft most of the day, but no-one had to wait very long, and extra staff brought on at the tea kiosk by the paddling pool in the Botanic Gardens proved to be mostly unnecessary. The luncheon started this year at the kiosk was well patronised. however, and the auxiliary booth put up to relieve pressure on the icecream counter was also very useful Baths Popular Somewhat surprisingly, th* s city swimming clubs which opened their baths also drew quite large crowds of children, possibly in large part those whose parents were working or otherwise occupied. although some visiting children were attracted. The pool at Abberley Park, a popular -pot on warm Sundays, drew only two or three families. Tennis courts were deserted apart from one or two small parties, and there were few cars outside city bowling greens. In spite of the heat, cinemas open for a special 2 p.m. session found quite a number of patrons, whose cars were parked thickly in ertain areas of the city. There was another little cluster round the Christchurch Hospital, which, in common with other hospitals further from the centre of the city, had a special afternoon visiting hour. A bigger group of cars was in the showgrounds for the first day of the Shirley Rugby League Football Club’s carnival. Many of those who were at the east-facing beaches went home fairly early, as between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. a cool easterly breeze set in which made it no longer pleasant to sit on the beach Some sought a warmer corner among the sandhills, or took refuge in the water In front of the Waimairi surf pavilion, a patrolman measuring the surface water temperature at 4 p.m. recorded 68deg at knee depth and 70deg at neck depth.