TARARUA TRAMPERS

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 6, 6 July 1935, Page 13

TARARUA TRAMPERS

EVENTS OF THE YEAR

ANNUAL MEETING HELD

The. progress of the Tararua Tramping Club during the past year was reviewed at the annual meeting of the club last night. The president, Mr. W. H. Denton, presided over a large attendance of members.

In the annual report of the Tararua Tramping Club, presented at ' the annual meeting of the club last night, it was stated that the club had a membership of 331. During the season fiftysix new, members were elected, fifty resigned, and seventeen were deleted from the roll owing to subscriptions being in arrears. The official club-tramps organised during the year included 34" weekend and 38 Sunday trips. In addition there were several working parties and threeday trips. Fifteen members went on the Christmas trip to the Rakaia district. It was a new departure to have an official mountaineering trip of this nature and the experiment was very successful. Private trips at Christmas included one of 14 people to Milford Track and Sound, while a party of 13 visited Lake Rotoroa and the Spencer Mountains. During Labour Day weekend 16 members made the MastertonLevin crossing via Mitre. This was probably the largest party that has made a Northern Tararua crossing. The annual sports meeting was held in the Catchpole, the total attendance being over 180. The combined clubs' tramp to the Waikawa Stream was at-, tended by 56 trampers, including 20 from the Tararua Club. During Easter, a party of 26 visited Mount Egmont, while another party of nine camped in the Ruamahanga Valley.

The club convened a meeting of delegates from the local tramping clubs, at which it was decided that working parties for track cutting and repairing should be on a co-operative basis and under the control of a combined clubs' track committee. The work had been

, more in' the nature of maintenance of existing tracks, parties working on the Smith's Creek, Five ' Mile, Field Hut, and Lowry Trig tracks.: A track has been blazed from' Cone Top half-way down to the Waiohine Forks. The Field Hut, which has had very little attention since it was built in 1924, was in a bad state of repair. Extensive repairs were made and the hut is again in good order. The botanical section was well established and continued to grow in numbers. Twenty-eight meetings were held during the year, and eighteen papers were read by members. In view of the fact that the club had advocated the policy of extermination of deer, it was pleasing to report that the ■ Internal Affairs Department has conducted a preliminary deer culling scheme in the Tararuas. The monthly publications of the club's magazine, the "Tramper," had been continued, and the club was indebted to those who have contributed articles and accounts of trips. A course of instruction in first aid was held under the auspices of the St. John Ambulance Association. The club was indebted to the association for the trouble it had taken in arranging the lectures, and also for an excellent first aid set, which was presented to the club. This set had been placed in Kime Hut. . , •*•.... A GRATIFYING FACT.~ In proposing the adoption .of the annual report, Mr. Denton said that he did not propose to say very much because the report was a very full one. He was surprised and 'gratified to see the number of tramps that had taken place during the past season. There had been 34 weekend tramps and 38 day tramps. It was also gratifying to know that there had been no casualties, and no accidents during that time so far as the members of the club were concerned. The membership of the club had been reduced slightly, but the influx of new members would soon bring the position back to normal. During .the year tlie membership roll had been purged and some unfinancial members struck off. The position of unfinancial members, said Mr. Denton, was a very difficult one. He appealed to members to notify the secretary if they intended to give.up tramping in order to avoid the creation of difficult situations. ' •> Referring to the botanical*; section, Mr. Denton said he thought it was a splendid adjunct to the club, and he felt sure that in years to come the Dominion would benefit by the enthusiasm of the section.: Mr. Denton also commended the first-aid section strongly to members and particularly to young members. ' The Tararua Tramping Club, continued Mr. Denton, had been in existence for something like seventeen years. The present members •of the club had had a great heritage passed down to them by the old members, and he hoped that the old members would continue to stick to the club even though they were not actually tramping. Mr. Denton referred to the deaths of two old members of the club, Messrs. T. E. Corkill and P. Richardson. The members stood in silence as a mark of respect. During the meeting a number of minor alterations were .made to the rules of the club. Amongst these was the deletion of the word "the" from the club's title. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. The following officers were elected:— President, Mr. W. H. Denton; vicepresidents, Messrs. H. F. yon Haast, D. R. Hoggard, A. N. Smith, and G. I. B. Thomas; hon. secretary, Mr. C. C. Stubley^ hon. treasurer, ■ Mr. W. ,E. Davidson; hon. chief guide, Mr. A. E. Gellatly; committee, Messrs. H. Anderson. D. H. Featonby, J. H. Gibbs, P. Macpherson, A. B. McDonald, G. P.

Rayward, S. J. Reid, T. W. Ross, W. H. Scott, R. Sinclair, F. B. Thompson; social committee, Misses T. M. Berg, M. Dakin, R. E. Jones', M. E. Payne, P. L. Priddey, Messrs. D. France, A. B. McDonald, M. E. Roberts, and R. Sinclair; hon. au/itor, Mr. C. J. Reid.