AUCKLAND IN A FOG

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 225, 19 June 1929, Page 10

AUCKLAND IN A FOG

NARROW ESCAPES FROM SERIOUS ACCIDENTS

Dominion Special Service.

Auckland, June 18.

Prompt action by the skipper of the ferry steamer Takapuna averted a head-on collision with the end of the Princes pier this morning, the vessel being slewed to port and the engines rung full astern as the shadowy outlines of the wharf loomed up in a dense fog which blanketed the harbour. The Takapuna’s starboard bow just grazed the wharf, and portions of the woodwork were splintered.. The accident occurred on the 8.30 o’clock trip from Bayswater to the city. Fog bells were ringing on the wharves and the harbour was noisy with the hoot of syrens. Visibility being very poor, it was impossible for the steersman to See more than a length of a ferry boat ahead.

A collision occurred on the Whau Bridge this morning between a bus and a two-seater motor-car. The car was badly damaged. A few minutes later a light touring car skidded on the main road some distance from the bridge, and crashed into a lorry. In neither instance was anyone seriously hurt. Both collisions were due to the thick fog which hung over the district.