50 rafts in race –

Press, 22 January 1979, Page 6

50 rafts in race -

A flotilla of 50 rafts and 160 contestants made their way down the Rangitata River in the second annual Rangitata raft race. Rafts were from Christchurch and Ashburton and from as far away as the Kaieri River mouth south of Dunedin. The rafts started above Mount Peel station and travelled 12km down the river to the Arundel bridge, but not without some collisions, spills and ducking of contestants in the water.

The winning raft was entered by the Geraldine fire brigade and was crewed by Nolan Knight (captain), Bronwyn and Robert Hands and Tic Reid. Arundel Lumber came second and the Martyn ;Mob third.

Many Geraldine business firms entered rafts, some of them of ingenious design. One carried a large sunshade and another had two pairs of parents on the deck with children paddling hard on both sides. Two all-girl teams. The Ruapuna Girls and the Arundel Ladies, did well but failed to gain a place. The assistant manager of the Geraldine Licensing Trust (Mr Peter Pastas) presented the Challenge cup which the fire brigade will hold all year. Mr H. A. Gould, who organised the race, said that everything had gone much better than was expected and it was now certain that the race would become an annual event. .