Aucklander's Dual Mission Abroad

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23127, 27 August 1938, Page 12 (Supplement)

Aucklander's Dual Mission Abroad

TRAFFIC STUDY AND LAND SPEED RUNS

WITH a twofold mission in view, Mr. H. J. Butcher, a member of the council of the Automobile Association (Auckland), left by the Mariposa last Monday to visit America. Parking problems will be his principal study in Los Angeles and such other cities which he may visit. Other traffic problems and their solutions will also be observed by Mr. Butcher, with a view to formulating some scheme to remove congestion in Auckland's city areas. It is Mr. Butcher's hope that ho xvill arrix'e in America in time to xvitness the attempts of the English racing drivers, Mr. John Cobb and Captain G. K. T. Evston. to register a new world's land speed record on the saltbeds of Utah. Mr. Butcher has not yet given up hope of persuading one of the world's great speed drivers to come to Ninety-mile Beach to attack there the land record. He has many supporters in the contention that. Now Zealand possesses in Ninety-mile Beach the finest natural speedway in the world. It is a commonly-known fact that one of the very great difficulties in connection xvith attempts, quite apart from the achieving of record speeds, is the stopping of the car on the limited straight runways available. As speeds increase this problem becomes more acute, and in addition to the normal type of xvheol brakes, previous contenders for the record have resorted to various stylos of xvind brakes. Mr. Butcher intends to draxv the attention of Messrs, Cobb and Evston to the fact that at Ninety-mile Beach they xvould have a perfect track and the bettor part of 45 miles in which to stop if necessary. Nlr. Butcher lias also pointed out that New Zealand, is still no nesu-or the centres of world affairs, and Ninotvmile Beach is still a remote locality m the Dominion. However, the introduction of an Empire air passenger service to Australia xvould permit record contenders to bo away from England for an infinitely shorter time than xvas the case when only service transport was available to the Dominion. Mr. Butcher was intimately associated xxith the attempts made by Mr.

Norman Smith, of Sydney, to break the record at Ninety-mile Beach some years ago. Since then he has been trving to interest Sir Malcolm Campbell in the merits of the beach as a speedway. .Mr. Butcher is a personal l'riend of Sir Malcolm, Captain Eyston and Mr. Cobb. He is a keen supporter of motor sport in Auckland, having some years ago imported a raring car, which ho never drove himself, but engaged another mail to drive it, purely to add interest to local motor racing.