TRAMPERS' NEW HUT ON WAIOPEHU OPENED

Chronicle (Levin), 21 May 1947, Page 4

TRAMPERS' NEW HUT ON WAIOPEHU OPENED

The.. warm • f ellowship ^ existing between rfiembfefs of tramhihg clubs and the keen interest displayed by the ptiblid' in the New Zealand bush was never more evident tliari > dn Suriday last, when the Leviri-Waiopehii to'ainping Club's new hiit oti Mt. Waiopehu was offlcially . opened before •a gathering of " appfoximately 12b persOrts. liicluded in those present were representatives from. the Tararua, Ruahine, Manawata, -Etutt Valley and, University Frampifig ciubS and the weilingoOn OUtdOof Cltib. Local trampers attfended in iull fordfe. The main batty assembled at he Pipe Bridge and mkde a leisdrely trip to the hut, which was i'or many the hrst since the great storm in 1936. A great deal of . interest was ^aken in the Wprk ' which had deen done on the track.and in the devastation which had been vVrought by the great storm. The de'autiful majesty Of the Niw Zealaiid bush, Which is ' Uiiedualled ahywhere else in the World, was at its best, and freqhent haltS Were ealled at the cledrings on the ridge to enable the party to gaze dn the inspiring pahorama jpread all around ahd on the qiain below. The easy grade of the track was indicated by the age of some of the trampers, a number df whom were men and women close to 6,0. , FrOm i0.30 a.ni. to liJ.30 p.m. there seemed to be an endless stream of pilgrims on the track, some old and some young, ahd all very hot, but all with one objective and keen and determihed to get there. Tbe party rested fof a few moriidnts at Palmer's Camp and theh ilioVed Off to Les.' HUt, Where a WelcOme Cup of tea had beeh brewed by some riiembers of the Levin-tVaiohehu Cliib under Mr. N. FergUsOh. This hut is a recent innovatioh on the track, and was built 'by Mr. Les. Edwards, of Levin. Froih here the Waiopehu Hut could be seen, and- a fiirther hour of 'leisurely tramping brought the party to it. - Several parties continhed .bn to the summit of Waiopehu, whehce the whole Hof oWhenua plaiii could , be seen. There whs a totai absence bf wind t ahd haze, and many of tlie older trampers voiced the bpinion that it was one' of the finest and clearest days - tlidt had ever been experienced in the Tararuas. Visitors Weicdrtied After. lunch the president of the Levin-Waiopehu Club,. Mr. fl. M: Thomson, said it was his privilege and pleasure, on .behalf of the club, to Welcome all present. He said it was one of the grbatest gatheriligs he had ever seen in the Tararuasy *&nd that* the day * was one of the finest. Mr. Thomson then gave' a bf ief history - of the club and particularly of the twb Waiopehu huts. In fecalling ihe tragedy which had overtaken a party diifiiig the great storm, in which bne member, Mr. Ralph Wbod, had succumbed to exhaustion and exposure, Mr. Thbmsdh hiehtioned that Tom Arlidge Who had first bfdught the "rieWs to Levin bf the sad happehing was prbsent at the ojpefi,ng, as well as two members Of the party, Ahdy Fuller arid Ralph DaWick. Reverting to the liut, Mf. Thohison said the members had worked with commendable enthuSiasm to get the "track and hut completed, and though all had done weir he .could not help ' hut mention two. in particular. He fef erred to the club . captaln, Mr. Keith Mackiej - and Mr. Les. Edwards: . These two had devoted a trfemendous amount of' time..'tQ

the clearing . of the trabk andl edpdcially in building the Hut,] Bfefore calling upon Mr. Harold Dbuglas (past president of the Ffedbratbd I^EOiihtaih ClUbs of New • Zfealand and of , the Tararua Trainping Club), to perform the obehing cere'mbny, Mr. Thdliisdri Introduced tb the gathering Mr, 1 Beriiie Greig, editor of that much : appreciated pUblicatiori. "Tararua : Story" and then invitfed representatives of kihdred clubs td Sfie'ak. Local Ciub Compiimfented , Mr. W. Gibbes, president of the Tararua Tramping Club, complimehted the Levin trampers on the marvellous job they had made in clearing the track down the rxdge and the building of the hut. He said that a great amount of work had been done well and in a very short time. The comforts brovided in the hut wefd exbeptiorially good, for a htit waS sorfietimes the difference between life and death. In cdnclusionj and obeaking of the track, he said: "it is the best medium level track in ■the, Tararuas." . Ivlr. T. Arlidge, of the Manawatu tjlub, said that the track and hut Were a great credit td the eiithdsiasm of the Levin-Waiopehu Club, and complimented its members on the fine achievement. The nfeW hut was 'A _ considerable improvemeiit on the old one. A great deal of Work had been involved diid it was a much appreciated privilege fdr his club to* be represexited. Mr. N. Johannson, president of the Ruahine Club, alsd congrdtulated the Levin Club on its achievement. "The building of a hut and the track was a wdnderfiil eff ort. ' Mr. H. Stretton, secretary of the Wellington Outdoor fcJlub, thanked. the Levin Club for the invitation to be present and complimented it bn the e'norrnbus amount of work done on the track and the hut. "It isn't a hut, it is a bungalow," he added. Dr. S. J. Thompson, of Levin, related several humorous incidents that had occurred to Hihi when he had been on rescue trips, and said that although he did not do as much tramping as he used to he was still very interested ih the spdrt. It was the first time he had been up thd fiew track ahd hd had been amazed at the hut, which was, one of the best he had ever seen. Mr. K. M^ckie, club captain df the Levin Club, -gave details of the Work on both the track ahd the hut, and meiitioned some of the difficulties the working parties had experienced, Official Opening Ih officially opening the hui, Mr. H. Douglas said he was extremely pleased to se'e such a large " ahd representative gathering. He felt that. as far as the new hut was concerned; the Levin trampers had built it tliemselves and could be prdud of their achievement. "The building of a Hut- is no easy work, especially when so much material has to be carried to the site." The6 track Was one of the* be*St he hdd ever seen in the Tararuas, and the thoughtfulness of the Levin Club in providing tea at Les.' Hut had proved a lifesaver. , , ►During the year the Levin Club had grown ih numbers ahd hdd straight away set about improving the tracks and huts in the dffea, he continued. The previous hut had been very good, but the present dne with its mdderh interibr fittings had no equal in the Tararuas. Mr. Dotiglas , said people had often asked why he tratnped, but he had never been able to answer this as the reason could not be. explained: In . conciusion, he said: "The tra-mp'er- of

today dofes not heed to take his Hat off tb thd tramper of yesterday, as the younger tramper of today tackle^ things that the older ttamper wduid nevet dredm 6f tackling." . The Original Hut, Sdo'h after the ' Leviii-Wdidpehu Tramping Club was formed on 12, 1927, it'was evfdent that Mount Waiopehu presentfed outstanding features for tramping, ■ ahd a movemeht Was cbmmehced • td ctit d track to the suihmit (3588 feet). After a time of considerable work this access was completed. Meritibfi df the hut was first madev at a meeting in August, 1927,"' and soon afterwards,a movement was afoot for its construction. The task of carrying the material to the site seleet- . ed was a strenuous one, but it was not long before this was accomplishfed. Soon , after the hut was diiilt; just BeibW the bushline on the slopes of the peak. Sunday, March .5, 1928, saw the structute offlcially opened. There followed a period of eight years dufinf* which it usefully served hundreds of trampers, some aS a welcome shelter en route to beauty spots further afie'ld " in the Tararuas and others as. a source of attraction for one-day or weekend trips. , . Theil came the devastatmg hurricaiie of February 2, 1936, which denuded countless _acres in the Tararuas'' and thbir mantle of bdautiful bush and sWept thb hut 200 feet down* the bank into a ifiass df wreckage.. The New Structure After the hurricane the club set * about repairing the damage. Its first work was the reconstrucfioii df the Ohau Hut; which had . been crushed beneath the -weight of a forest giant which fell ; across it, and interest was . then focussed on Waiopfehu. The track 1 was completely obliterated from Palmer's Camp onWards, practically every tree of the hitherto ' thick bush being blown down into 1 -a hopeless blockage. Today, one ! ean gaze out on to the plams of - the Horowhenua along almost the 1 Whole rid'ge, whereas prior to' the ' storm there Werfe ohly two or three ! gaps ih the bush from which this ! magnificent view could be 1 obtained. Ih March, 1937, it was decided ! to stai't the work of re-opening the , track, though it was realised that • it would be an arduous job. From ! then until the outbreak of* war a ; good deal of time Was devoted to ; working parties, and Whfe'ii the 1 club entered its war recess markgd progress had been made. . With the revival of the club's : activities on March 26, 1946, after : its war recess, the completion of i the work was Made the first prior- : ity and all' eff ort Was turned to- > wards this end. In November last ; the final stages of the .clearing - wdfk Were Ubcomplished and the : trabk was again open. i Meanwhile, plans had already r been drawn for a new hut, and : With the completion of work on i the track this proceeded without : delay. The tiinber for the frame- : work was cut from the bush and l a small quantity of iron salvaged i from the old structure. The bulk of the iron, timber for the -sleep- ) irig platform and a large amount l of misdellaneous material had to r be obtained in Levin and be pori tered to the hut site by memi bers. Then the construction of the b building, which is 25 feet in - length and 15 feet widd, began. ; The final touches were added m 1 Anril last ahd now, eleven years i later. the damage suffered in the i storm has been repaired, all by i the voluntary labour of members. ■ It is truly a- tale of successful l endeavour; ' ' . -