AVON SWEEPS THROUGH CENTRE OF ROWERS’ DAM.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18587, 12 October 1928, Page 1

AVON SWEEPS THROUGH CENTRE OF ROWERS’ DAM.

LEVEL OF RIVER WAS UP FOR THIRTEEN DAYS

Thirteen is supposedly an unlucky number, and the superstition applies in one instance, at least, for to-day, thirteen days after the rowing men turned out in force to put a sand-bag dam across the Avon, the result of their labours went for naught. On a Saturday afternoon the rowers forsook their oars and turned to with the idea of improving their course, and to that effect they built a dam across the Avon at Brack Street which would raise the level of the river over the rowing course by several inches. A long afternoon’s organised toil had the desired effect, but now the Avon has asserted itself, and the middle section of the dam, for a space of about twenty feet, has been carried in a V shape several feet down the river, and the water has an uninterrupted passage through. About twenty feet of sand bags at either side of the dam are still making an unavailing attempt to keep the river up, but owing to the submerged third their efforts are unavailing-

A glance at the sand bags showed this morning that they had no supporting wire netting or similar arrangement to back them up, and that it was only a matter of time before the weight of the water swept them down. Still, it appeared that all that was needed to make the dam complete and effective was some such backing up of the sandbags. If they were covered with netting, staked down firmly, they should make an admirable dam.