Bus Service Wanted For Harbour Children

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30498, 21 July 1964, Page 18

Bus Service Wanted For Harbour Children

Nearly a hundred residents of Diamond Harbour and the area from Port Levy to Governor’s Bay attended a meeting in the Diamond Harbour Community Hall on Saturday evening to discuss transport to school for secondary school children:

Among invited visitors were Mr N. E. Kirk, member of. Parliament for Lyttelton, the headmaster of Cashmere High School, Mr T. H. McCombs, and representatives of the Education Department and Transport Department. Mr C. Jones, a Charteris-Bay resident, presided over the meeting. Diamond Harbour children attending secondary schools in Christchurch now go by launch and train. The journey from the Diamond Harbour wharf to Christchurch Railway Station takes 50 minutes, but this schedule can be upset by bad weather. Governor’s Bay children have a bus service to Christchurch. This could be available to Diamond Harbour children, but transport by car would be necessary to Governor’s Bay. At present, 18 secondary school children and eight workers travel to the city from Governor’s Bay each day. Next year there will be 21 children making the journey. Long Journey

Diamond Harbour will have 25 secondary school children travelling to town next year.At present it takes the bus 50 minutes from Governor’s Bay to the city, and a bus service from Diamond Har-

bour would take one hour and 20 minutes for the journey. Many harbour children attend the Cashmere High School as it is the nearest secondary school, but Mr McCombs said that if the numbers from the harbour grew, it might mean that other children in the town area of the school might be blocked from entry. Mr Kirk suggested that the future increase of harbour children going to secondary schools might mean two buses would be required within two years. It might be best to leave the Governor’s Bay service as it. was and run a Diamond Harbour service round the harbour, picking up children at Rapaki and proceeding through the road tunnel, he said.

He warned the meeting, however, that this might mean that children would be restricted to attending one school. Causeway At present only 12 Diamond Harbour secondary school children travel to Christchurch by launch and train to attend school, but parents there say they may be forced to send their children to boarding school. One questioner during the meeting asked about a causeway across the harbour which would bring Diamond Harbour within 20 minutes of Cathedral square through the road tunnel.

A resolution was passed calling on the two school committees, Governor’s Bay and Diamond Harbour, to form a committee to investigate the establishing of a school bus service from Diamond Harbour to the city.