Night Spent In Western Hills

Northern Advocate, 19 June 1939, Page 6

Night Spent In Western Hills

Losing his bearing in the bush on the Western Hills on Saturday evening, a Dunedin visitor to Whangarei, Mr Gordon Stanton, was forced to spend the night in the open. At 3.30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, Mr Stanton decided on a walk along Ormond Road, and took to the hills behind the High School, with the object of passing through the Coronation Reserve Bush, and coming out in the vicinity of Kauika Road. Waterfall Gives Trouble.

Late in the afternoon he found himself in the bed of the gully above Waldron’s Quarry and within sight of civilisation. '

Being unable to negotiate the waterfall leading down to the quarry, he decided to retrace his steps, but as night fell he found he had lost his way in dense scrub. Unable to find a path from the bush in the darkness, he had no option but to spend the night where he was. Without overcoat, or even matches, he made himself as comfortable as possible with fern in the flax bushes, but naturally spent a sleepless night. At intervals ho was forced to move about and exercise himself to keep warm. “I sang every song I knew, recited every poem I knew.” he said this morning. T also delivered a sermon to the trees. “I could see the lights of Whangarei, and could hoar the chiming of the clock, but could not find a way out through the thick scrub in the darkness.” Early Morning Escape. With the first light of day. ho made his way into clearer country, and eventually came out during the morning behind Kensington Park, none the worse fer his experience. Had Saturday night’s threat of rain been fulfilled, however, his position would have been even less enviable. The friends with whom Mr Stanton was staying in Whangarei sat up till midnight awaiting his return, but at that hour concluded he was spending the night with other friends. Mr Stanton was treated to a glorious early morning view of Whangarei Heads and the harbour, in the sunrise. “It was almost worth spending the night in the open for,” he said.