TRAPPED BY SLIPS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21504, 30 May 1933, Page 8

TRAPPED BY SLIPS

MOTORISTS' EXPERIENCE MISERABLE NIGHT IN CAR danger from hillside [by telegraph —OWN correspondent] NAPIER, Monday "With their car unable to proceed in either direction on account of slips three Napier residents spent a night in their car in pouring rain on the Wairoa Road with a moving hillside threatening to precipitate them into a roaring torrent below the road. The party, comprising Mr. and Mrs. L. G. Donovan and Mr. S. L. Beer, reached Napier this morning when the road had been cleared sufficiently to allow traffic through. "It was a terrible experience," said Mr. Beer, when detailing his experiences this morning, "and I think wo must consider ourselves fortunate to be alive." Heavy rain was experienced in Gisborne, but as the weather showed no signs of abating the party left for Wairoa. On the road the weather proved even thicker than when the' journey was commenced, rivers and streams being badly swollen. lair progress was made, hot'aver, until Waikare was left behind, the first slips of any consequence being encountered in the Matahoura Gorge.

Unsuccessful Efforts From then onward slips were frequent, and on reaching the Waikoau Gorge it found that an immense slip had come- down. "Almost before we knew what had happened we were into the slip," said Mr. Beer. After the car had been there for about 20 minutes two trucks belonging to the Gisborne Night Mail Service arrived at the same spot, he continued. Efforts were made to force one of the trucks through the slip so that it, would be able to haul the car out, but after two hours the truck became completely lodged in the slip and could not be moved. It was then nearly midnight and the weather was worse than before. The occupants of the trucks left the scene of the slip in order to seek shelter at a relief camp some distance away, but the three Napier travellers dacided to spend the night in the car. Precarious Position "Sleep was out of the question," said Mr. Beer. "It was most miserable and at times we heard further slips coming down. Some of the debris hit the car on the side and we realised that we were being slowly forced toward the edge of the road, beyond which was a flooded river only about lift. away. It was difficult to see how we could save the car from being lost. At two o'clock in the morning a roadman visited the car to see how we were faring. Somehow we managed to maintain our position until daylight. It was exceedingly pleasant to see the dawn, but the weather remained as thick as ever.

"As soon as it was possible to see the position of the car the whole camp of unemployed men « turned out and worked strenuously in order to free the car and the trucks from the slip. By 10 o'clock in the morning the first truck was freed and at one o'clock the car was again on the road. We were all afraid during -the night of the hillside coming down over the top of us, and the fact that our fears were well founded was illustrated four hours later when the hill actually slipped right over the spot which we had occupied. If we had been there at the time we would have been buried."