25 YEARS AGO GREATER SPEEDS FOR HEAVY TRAFFIC

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 196, 16 May 1936, Page 10

25 YEARS AGO

GREATER SPEEDS FOR HEAVY TRAFFIC

King, Kaiser and Peace

(From “The Dominion,” May 19, 1911.) The “command” performance of Lord Lytton’s five-act comedy, “Money,” took place at Drury Lane Theatre in the presence of the King and Queen, the German Emperor and Empress, and a brilliant society assemblage. One of tiie most notable features of the event was a specially designed act-drop by one of the most celebrated historical painters of the day, Mr. Seymour Lucas, R.A, It depicted the King and the Kaiser standing with peace hovering over them. » * » The first pile of Picton’s new ferroconcrete wharf, the first structure of its kind built by the New Zealand Government, was driven by the Hon. J. A. Millar, Minister for Railways and Marine, yesterday, in the presence of a large gathering of the public. « * « “The Whip,” the coming to Wellington of which has created quite a din for some time past, showed up last evening, got away well with the rise of the barrier, had a bump or two at the bend, and came home with a rush that swept all doubt aside, and landed a clean and popular win amidst great enthusiasm. It fires the audience with a stage race, run with real thoroughbreds, such as has never been seen on the local stage. This last scene is one of the most sensational effects ever seen in melodrama. Four horses are shown galloping for their very lives, in full view of the audience, with their jockeys laying on the whip in deadly earnest as they light out a great finish. Tiie way it is managed is ingenious to a degree. Each horse stands upon a travelling platfortn, worked by a motor, and as it moves in the opposite direction from which the horses are moving, they are urged to canter at first and then gallop, to remain in view of the audience. To add to the effect the rail on the near side, and the panorama beyond, whir! along, and so the effect of speed is admirably given.

Minister’s Proposals

A conference of representatives from counties, municipalities, motor transport organisations, the Main Highways Board and the Public Works Department is to be held in Wellington next Friday to discuss Hie proposal recently put forward by the Hon. R. Semple, Minister of Transport, to allow greater maximum speeds for heavy-traflie vehicles.

Tiie limits which the Minister is proposing aro as follow:—

Pasngr. Goods Vehcls. Vehcls, Max. Gross Weight. ni.p.h. m.p.h. 2 tons to 6J tons .... 30 Over (it tons to 10 Ions 30 ' 1 20 The old limits were : — 2 tons to 4J tons Zi f Over (>1 tons . 20 15