THE EASTER HOLIDAYS

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXX, Issue 4834, 16 April 1936, Page 5

THE EASTER HOLIDAYS

GLORIOUS WEATHER PREVAILS. HEAVY MOTOR TRAFFIC. Glorious weather prevailed in this district during the Easter holidays. After a broken summer and a cold autumn the dry spell that started some two weeks ago continued throughout the holidays. Even swimming has been indulged in by a number of enthusiasts —most unusual at this time of the year. Sunny skies and a remarkably warm temperature induced thousands of persons to enjoy outdoor life, and picnic parties by train and motor car were to be seen in many parts of the district. One garage proprietor said that the demand for petrol was 25 per cent, higher than at any previous Easter, and during the four days’ holiday there was a steady stream of cars passing through the town. “It’s the best Easter we have had for years—it’s been wonderful,’’ was the enthusiastic reply given by a member of a local garage staff when asked about the Easter road traffic. Over the Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday motor traffic, lured to the road by perfect weather, was unprecedentedly thick, and even until to-day very large numbers of vehicles were on the roads. A feature of the road traffic in this district was the freedom from accidents. No doubt a number of minor “brushes” had occurred, but this garage, which undertakes a great amount of repair work, reported that this particular line was very slack. Forecast of Trouble. The proprietor of another service station, howevei’, expressed grave fears of what was going to happen when the modern cars were well run in. A huge number were at present on the roads. In spite of vast improvements ‘ made in roads in this district, modern cars, and particularly modern American had reserve power and performance that was a potential danger. They were net built for conditions as met here, and when the brakes and tyres became worn he forecast trouble. Several years ago garages received “hauls” from the old Otorohanga Road—when the deviation was put through conditions improved, but once again cars were becoming too fast for the roads. He also reported an exceptionally busy Easter. Even during Monday afternoon, usually a slack period as the people were away, his station had been kept going the whole time with the huge stream of through traffic. Increase in Railway Bookings. An increase of over £IOO was noted in railway bookings from Te Kuiti and subsidiary flag-stations—-quite a notable increase in passengers making long journeys from such townships as Mangapehi was noted. A large number of relief' workers visited their home towns over Easter. The excursion trains for the Otorohanga sports carried 454 passengers as against 387 last year. The Waitomo Hostel. . The Waitomo Hostel experienced a very busy Easter. All the accommodation was taken on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, and some people were forced to seek accommodation elsewhere. On Monday and Tuesday the Hostel still attracted a very large crowd of holidaymakers, though yesterday there were indications of the Easter rush slackening off somewhat.