MOTORING & CYCLING

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1524, 10 July 1919, Page 26

MOTORING & CYCLING

Photographs of private motorists in their cars, snapshots taken while on tour, or accounts of motoring trips and other items of interest to carowners, will be inserted in these columns if posted to “New Zealand Sporting and Dramatic Review’,” P.O. Box 52, Auckland.

A loan of nearly £lOO,OOO is the Stratford County Council’s remedy for the reading trouble, says the cor-

respondent of the Taranaki “Herald.” It reads like a fairy tale to one who remembers when the whole income of the council was under £lOOO a year. M * * * On the recommendation of the Bylaws Committee of the Wellington City Council, it was decided to accede to the request of the Police Department to supply two stopwatches to assist the police to control excessive speed by motorists. a • • In crowded traffic do not apply the brakes suddenly unless it is absolutely necessary. It may be that the vehicle following cannot stop as quickly as you can. If this is the case a collision is sure to result. « * ♦ * A scheme is on foot to increase the membership of the Wellington Automobile Club to 2000 members. At present the club contains about only 200 members, which is a very small number considering that the Canterbury Club has something like 1400, Auckland over 600, Otago 400, and the Wairarapa about 350. The By-laws Committee reported to the Christchurch City Council that the Canterbury Automobile Association had written endorsing the Mayor’s action in instituting a compaign against stray dogs in the city, and suggesting that dogs should not be allowed on main thoroughfares unless led on a chain. The committee had replied that it would give the matter consideration when the next amending by-law was being prepared. * * * • An innovation which is shortly to be introduced on all taxi cabs in Wellington will be a fare card holder and indicator. The card will face the passenger, and will contain full details regarding the scale of charges. On the back there will be an indicator with a slide, which will show whether the taxi cab is engaged or available for hire. The indicators will also state how many passengers each cab is licensed to carry. There are 140 taxi cabs plying for hire in Wellington, and all of them wit! require to be fitted with the appliance, which will be supplied by the City Motor Inspector, Mr. Drake. * ♦ • * At the annual meeting of the council of the New Zealand Automobile Union, the election of officers resulted as follow: President, Mr. P. S. McLean (re-elected); vice-presidents, Messrs. F. W. Johnstone (Canterbury) and C. M. Banks (Wellington); executive committee, Dr. C. Prendergast Knight (Wellington), Messrs. H. J. Stott (Wellington), W. S. Wilson (Wellington), M. H. Wynyard (Auckland), G. B. Bullock (Otago), and Martin Elgar (Wairarapa); secretary and treasurer, Mr. W. Beauchamp Platts; auditor, Mr. O. Kember.

The fact that aeroplaning is very hazardous, even away from the battlefields, was pointed out by Mr. F. Pirani in a lecture at the Soldiers’ Club in Palmerston North. The lecturer went on to state that he was authoritatively informed that during the war an average of eight men were killed in aeroplane accidents every day in England. The figures showed that seven learners and one instructor lost their lives each day this way..

The suggestion that tramcars should carry distinctive lights was made by Mr. Lochhead at the South Island Motor Conference, who pointed out that on wet and snowy nights a motorist did not know whether a light was a tramcar one or not, and, consequently, did not know always whether to pull out or not. It was decided to refer the matter to the Canterbury Automobile Association to take up.

After hearing lengthy evidence at Hastings in the case Baker-Gabb and Short v. N. Barr, in which plaintiff claimed the sum of £35 15s. 2d., cost of repairs to a motor car, Mr. R. W. Dyer, S.M., gave judgment for plaintiff for the amount claimed with costs.

It was decided by the New Zealand Automobile Union to urge that local bodies should have power to order the trimming, removal or lowering of trees or fences on corners of roads so as to give a clear view on high ways

A collision between a motor ear driven by K. Quinlivan and a brewery cart driven by F. Gebbie occurred opposite the main entrance to the Napier Park racecourse. A passenger in the car, W. P. Nesbit by name, was seriously injured, but the two drivers escaped serious injury. The cart was badly knocked about and many bottles were broken and strewn about the road. The car was also considerably damaged, and both vehicles had to be abandoned. Apparently the ear met the horse head on and the animal was thrown into the air and fell on top of the car. The horse was so injured that it died shortly afterwards.

The provision of ordnance maps for the use of motorists in New Zealand on the same lines as those made available in Great Britain and the Continent was urged by Dr. C. Prendergast Knight at the annual meeting of the council of the New Zealand Automobile Union. He moved:

“That this meeting of the New Zealand Automobile Union places on record its appreciation of the topographical map on the scale 1:125,000, now being prepared by the Defence Department, and urges upon the Government the necessity of mapping the Dominion on the same scale; that such maps would be very useful to all users of roads throughout the Dominion, and if placed on sale at a reasonable price, would render the work self - supporting.” The motion was carried unanimously.

The following remit from the Otago Motor Club was approved by the New Zealand Automobile Union: “That in view of the large number of motor accidents in connection with bridges painted black, it is desirable that all bridges be painted white.”

A new motor lorry, the property of Mr. F. W. Moult, motor engineer in business near Karori tunnel, was badly smashed on Northland Road the other afternoon. In trying to avoid running over a boy, the wheels skidded (the road being wet and muddy at the time), colliding with a telegraph post, which was brought down. Had it not been for the prompt action and presence of mind of Mr. Moult, who reversed the engine and jammed the brakes hard on, the lorry would have gone over the bank and on to a house in Northland Road, but fortunately this was prevented, the lorry being brought up

with the fore-carriage resting over the edge. Mr. Moult escaped injury, though he received a bad shaking. The boy in the meantime had vanished.

“There is too great a tendency on the part of the public to wander more or less aimlessly upon the road, instead of keeping to the footpaths,” states the annual report of the NewZealand Automobile Union. “It had been claimed that foot passengers must have the first consideration, but this, carried to an extreme, would block all vehicular traffic. Vehicles, either horse drawn or self propelled, have equal rights with the foot pas-, senger to the use of the King’s highway. In Wellington City the council has appointed Mr. McCourtie as patrol officer. His duties are somewhat varied. He will not only deal with questions of speed (or excess speed), but will also be concerned with the correct regulation of all cars, the inspection of taxi stands, and that no preventable offences are committed by car drivers. His functions will also extend to the control of the city traffic generally. This is a step in the right direction, and might well be followed by other local authorities.”

Motorists will welcome the movement which has been revived by the Waimarino County Council to make possible the central unfinished portion of what will one day become the highway between Wellington and Auckland. At a meeting of the coun-

cil of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce the following letter was read from the Waimarino County Council: —“At the last meeting of my council the question of the advocation of the completion of the Auck-land-Wellington highway came under discussion, when it was considered that the matter of urging the completion of the remaining gap in the formation and metalling the unmetalled portions of the road through the central portion of the island should be urged upon the Government. With this end in view my council have decided to invite representaties of the Rangitikei, Kaitieke, Ohura, and Waitomo County Councils, together with the Auckland and Wellington Chambers of Commerce, to a conference wtih the Waimarino County Council at Taumarunui on July 3, to discuss what steps should be taken with a view to having the work completed. My council, therefore, extends to your chamber a cordial invitation to be represented.” The council expressed the fullest sympathy with the idea, and will, if possible, endeavour to make arrangements -for a delegate to attend the conference.

The conference of the New Zealand Automobile Union decided to urge the construction of the proposed new road from Wellington to Paekakariki, via Pukerua. . The present thoroughfare, it was stated, was exceedingly dangerous, and it was absolutely essential in the interests of safety that the projected road should be laid. down. Dr. C. Prendergast Knight (Wellington) said there would be no difficulty about the construction of the road beyond Pukerua railway station. A little further on it might be necessary to put up a concrete wall, but as the present road was the main arterial route into Wellington from the West Coast it was desirable that the work of construction of the new thoroughfare should be carried out. There should also be a good road over the Rimutakas. He moved: “That the union recommend to the Government the work of constructing the proposed new road from Wellington to Paekakariki, via Pukerua, in ord-er to avoid the elevation at Paekakariki, also a deviation over the Rimutaka, in view of the fact that both these roads constitute the main highways from Wellington.” Mr. W. S. Wilson (Otago) seconded the motion. During the course of discussion it was pointed out that the Rimutaka route would have to be surveyed. Mr. C. M. Banks (Wellington) thought that the volume of traffic into the Wairarapa would justify the construction of a tunnel through the hill even if it were a mile long. The motion was carried.

An instance of how the road to Tolaga Bay is affected by even light rain was shown a day or two ago, says a Gisborne paper. One motorist accomplished the journey from Tolaga Bay to Gisborne in two hours and a-quarter, but two motorists who came through the following day had a most trying time, rain having set in. Mr. D. Dawson, of the South British Insurance Company, completed the journey in about seven hours. Mr. A. Zachariah left early in the morning, as the weather indications did not seem too promising. On the Tolaga hill a slight shower of rain was experienced, and he and his fellow passenger stopped at Mr. Seymour’s for a couple of hours, being wet through. The sun then came out and made the road sticky, which rendered it impossible to proceed with the car. The services of a couple of horses were requisitioned to pull the car up the grade by Seymour’s, and so heavy was it that the machine could only be pulled about 100 yards at a time. The mud stuck to the tyres and almost completely clogged the wheels. Later the conditions improved, and the journey was completed under the car’s own power, the actual time occupied for the journey being 14 hours.

Included in the repatriated Imperial officers who have left the United Kingdom for New Zealand, via Australia, are the following members of the Royal Air Force: —Second-Lieu-tenant E. T. Sutherland (Palmerston North), Lieutenant C. J. Wilde (Marton), Lieutenant N. G. Wiseman and Second-Lieutenants G. A. Nicholls and H. D. Riddell (Dannevirke).

At a meeting of the council of the New Zealand Automobile Union, Mr. C. M. Banks (Wellington) moved: “That this union support the proposed construction of a main arterial war memorial highway from Auckland to the Bluff, and that steps be taken to urge its construction forthwith.” He thought they should give support to the proposal. Mr. W. S. Wilson (Otago) said to carry out the proposal would mean an expenditure of £6,000,000. He suggested the route might be surveyed and portions done from time to time. The chairman (Mr. P. S. McLean) thought the union should support the construction of such a highway, on the principle that the present inadequate roads were connected with a good national road. This was accepted by Mr. Banks, and the motion as amended was carried.

When the well-known English motorist S. F. Edge sold his interest in the Napier Company, one of the conditions was that he should not take any active part in the motor industry for seven years. The period will expire next October, when the probabilities are that Mr. Edge will again take a prominent part in the English motor trade. He was always recognised as one of the cleverest and most progressive men in the English automobile industry—in fact, one of its leaders —and should he come back it will be with the object of specialising on a low-price light car. He has already stated that if a first-grade British-built car, to carry four or five people and sell for £3OO, is not turned out at an early date, he will personally produce such a vehicle —and he is just the man who could.

An important stand has been taken by the British Rubber Tyre Manufacturers’ Association, which has decided to abolish the mileage guarantee usually given with solid tyres. It is a move towards modernising motor trucks, waggons, etc. There is certainly something very archaic about a mileage guarantee, and probably the association is right in attributing its existence to the need of educating the user to the practicability and economy of the solid tyre notwithstanding its high cost. It has now served its purpose, if it was projected with the sole object of popularising the tyre, because no one interested in motor transport to-day is left with any apprehension as to its efficiency.

Joy riding was referred to at the conference of South Island motor organisations, when Mr. F. W. Johnston (Canterbury) said it was suggested that legislation should be promoted on the following lines as an amendment of the Motor Regulations Act, namely: “Any person who drives or uses any motor vehicle without first obtaining the consent of the owner thereof, shall be guilty of an offence under this Act, provided that the provisions of this section shall not apply to a member of the police force in the execution of his duty, or to any person appointed by any county council, city council, borough council, town board or other local authority having control of any street, road, public highway or other place, to control or regulate the traffic thereon.” “Any person who procures the use or hire of any motor vehicle by fraud or misrepresentation, or who aids or abets any such person, shall be guilty of an offence under this Act. Any person charged with any offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for not exceeding three months or to a fine of not exceeding £20.” Upon Mr. Johnston's motion, the proposals were adopted. The question of arterial roads will be discussed at the conference of Chambers of Commerce and local bodies, convened by the Wellington Central Chamber. The Johnsonville

Town Board proposes the creation of a North Island Arterial Roads Board, empowered to lay down concrete roads contiguous to the main railway lines; that the board should be financed by the issue of State legal tender notes, bearing no interest, and redeemable when the work is completed at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum, derived from a tax of £1 each upon all tyres imported for motor vehicles used in the North Island; and that the upkeep of the concreted roads should be borne after a year from the date of laying down by the local bodies in which each length of road vests. The Palmerston North Chamber of Commerce recommends Government control of arterial roads, and also that local bodies should co-operate in making such roads in condition to carry with safety the increasing traffic of power vehicles. The Wellington Central Chamber of Commerce proposes that the deviation and improvement of the main road from Wellington to Paekakariki and Featherston should be submitted to a board of engineering and commercial experts if such a board is set up by the Government. • • » •

English babies are to have their revenge on the baby-killers after all. They will shortly be wheeled about in perambulators, the framework of which will be made from the tubing of crashed aeroplanes, some of them, no doubt, German ones. The problem how best to make use of crashed aeroplane material presented itself to the

Disposal Board of the Ministry of Munitions. The scrap value of the metal tubing was found to be only £5 a ton. Then it occurred to someone that the tubing might be put to practical use. The idea developed, and now the undamaged portions of the tubing are cut off and sold for making the framework of baby carriages at no less than £9O a ton. The public have also now at their disposal 10,000 tons of what may be described as “mixed tanks.” This assorted material includes steel plates, bars, angles, and stampings, which were intended but never actually used for the construction of tanks. Another offer made by the Aircraft Disposal Department of York House, Kingsway, is of 150 new aeroplanes without engines and 650 aircraft engines without aeroplanes.

Lecturing in London recently, the well-known aviator Claude GrahameWhite said that when we were able to dine in New York one evening and in London the next; when no part of the earth’s surface was more than a week’s journey by air, then the aerial age would have done more for the world than any other invention or discovery ever made. The temperament of our race was ideal for flying. The Briton flying, either in peace or war, did so with a personal and sporting zest; and it was this spirit which would render him invincible in the air, as he had been for centuries on the sea. However keen the race for supremacy might become, we should produce men capable of handling the best machines

our constructors could build. What we must now contemplate was that the high-speed transport of the world would be gradually transferred from land and sea to air. This was no longer a romance; it would come about in a definite period—just how long would depend upon the willingness of the public to make use of the aerial services which will soon be ready for them.