RUNAWAY BARGE

Waikato Times, Volume 126, Issue 21052, 2 March 1940, Page 20 (Supplement)

RUNAWAY BARGE

LOCATED IN RIVER DAMAGE TO TOURIST ROUTE (By Telegraph.—Press Association) WANGANUI, Friday Although it was thought to have been swept out to sea and shipping was warned of possible danger, the Wanganui Gravel Company’s runaway barge, which broke adrift from its moorings above Dublin Street bridge at the height of the flood on Sunday, has been found in the bed of the Wanganui River. The barge, which crashed through and damaged the New Zealand Refrigerating Company’s wharf, was located in seven feet of water, about 30 yards below Imlay Wharf. The Gravel Company said it did not expect any difficulty in raising it. It will be a long time before tourists will be able to come down the V/anganui River from National Park, because the road from Raurimu to Retaruke is blocked in several places. Tourists used to spend the night at the- Chateau and travel by service car next day to Retaruke, where they joined the river vessel for the trip down to Pipiriki. The only means of visiting Pipiriki is by river from Wanganui. The flood has washed through the river service’s Retaruke Lodge and left a thick layer of silt in the bedrooms, while the p/tnga tearoom alongside has been swept away.