BACK TO THE TANDEM

Timaru Herald, Volume CLIII, Issue 22470, 4 January 1943, Page 2

BACK TO THE TANDEM

£l2 For Soldiers’ Parcels Fund

A few months ago a citizen well known in shipping circles when chatting with a warehouseman, a keen boxing supporter, but by no means a light-weight, mentioned that the last man to drive a tandem through the main street in Dunedin was a prominent Customs official, although it had been claimed that a keen horseman known as “Tapioca” Jim had held that distinction. The Customs official had driven with two friends to the opening of the Wingatui racecourse in March, 1899, when Djin Djin won the Dunedin Cup. The shipping man remarked that he felt inclined to drive a tandem through Dunedin, and the warehouseman immediately offered to et him £lO to £1 that he was not game. The bet was at once accepted, the shipping man stating that “This looks like easy money to me,” and one of the conditions was that the drive had to take place before Christmas. It was also agreed, on the suggestion of the shipping man, that the winner had *-o hand his winnings to a certain club’s Soldiers’ Parcel Fund.

A Saturday afternoon was fixed for the decision of the momentous affair, and the shipping man had no difficulty in collecting the “chips.” He and a well-known figure in merchandise circles occupied the seat behind the tandem, and were driven south from Rattray Street along Cumberland Street from Manor Place and thence to Frederick Street. That completed the route, and the parties then met *t the members’ club, where the £lO was cheerfully paid over. A second shipping man had become implicated in the affair, and the success of the taker of the odds cost him £2, so that the parcels fund will benefit to the extent of £l2 in all. The tandem was then driven to St. Kilda and round other streets, enabling young people to witness a means of transport that was quite new to them.