INFLUX OF VISITORS

Greymouth Evening Star, 31 May 1946, Page 6

INFLUX OF VISITORS

GREYMOUTH ATTRACTS MANY FROM CANTERBURY

KING’S BIRTHDAY WEEK-END

Due to arrive at Greymouth shortly before 6 o’clock to-morrow morning, a special passenger train from Christchurch will bring over 400 Canterbury visitors to the West Coast for the King’s Birthday week-end. Other rail services to Greymouth are reported to be well patronised,- so that the influx of visitors is expected to be the greatest for a week-end since pre-war years, the exception, of course, being racing carnival week-ends. The influx will certainly be greater than, the outflow of West Coast residents.

The special late train will leave Christchurch shortly before midnight to-night and bookings are very heavy, 11 cars having been fully reserved. Bookings for the late train leaving Greymouth at 11.45 are also heavy, and the train will comprise ten carriages. The perishable goods train to leave Christchurch to-night will carry a large number of travellers unable to secure accommodation on the special late train, but there has been no corresponding demand on the goods train from Greymouth. As usual the rail-car service both ways has been completely reserved. The ordinary express trains to and from Greymouth have attracted only normal bookings, being unsuitable for week-end travellers.

The special late trains leaving Greymouth and Christchurch on Monday night are very heavily booked.

Sporting and sightseeing parties comprise a large proportion of the visitors from Canterbury, and many branches of sport will be represented. The Canterbury representative Rugby team left Christchurch to-day for Westport and Greymouth, and Association football and basketball teams will arrive to-morrow for matches against local sides. Many Christchurch buses hired by Canterbury touring parties passed through Greymouth to-day, and most of them, after- brief stops in the town, left again for the southern glaciers.