ON THE MOVE

Chronicle (Levin), 25 January 1949, Page 4

ON THE MOVE

" Wandering " House Upsets Paraparaunm Traffic Forceg from its qrigingl res.ting plgce by 4th'e" bpcrqapijing se'a/'d tliree-roomed 'hoiiss^ mgasuring 28 ft" py 22 f d., which nas be'en gfving a 'fair imitation of "^gpdfiTL^g. Je.w is now 'resting stubbcirniy On the roadsidje ip front of jthe Paraparaumu ifeqph Itownship."' It'bq^ap its journew Pn Thursd^y, and^itl Peregrinations have -already cost t'he haulage contractor (Mr. G. Vfagsi;"aff,'"Qf Blenheim) the top of a finger and his entire fund -of patiqpce gnd eqqanimity. The coni'usion,k not tinmixed' 'wRli" consternation, caused at, tlie beach is oply'tihe' 'of Tlie ' mcideri'taL' 'cojisef quences of the "spift." The contract is tq pipy.e t|ie cottgge bodiiy from its position'at the end of Reamoana Road, fronting the . Rauinati. Begch to a sjt§ approximately" half 'a" mile south. The sportest roptg is alqng jth§ Beacp Road, but a bridge on the parries a maximiirh load bf 'oiily' "six tons and t'he house-plus-trailer-plus-truck weigh very -mqch' "mpre ; tpan that. Encroachjing Sea The move prowd'es a sidelight on the plight of more than one property. owner Qn the Paraparaupiu beac'n front. With the sea encroachipg iptq the lq.nd the rate of a^oiitT Si^: " fe(et :a year "houses: alqng 'miles pf th'e cdast are threat-j ened; one by one, and new sections i have to be sought. ' It was qbvlQus that about onel more se've're ' storm wpuld' ' see 'ihe | house undermin'ed, and- t'he owner j therefqre bqught another s,ection and hired Mr. yFagstaff to take t'he house to it." Early ' on Thursday the trek hegan with a crew qf th|:ee nign. A yah went firs't fqilowed by the truck drawihg the' house on its, trailer, wireless equipment keepihg: the various parts 'of'the 'cohvoy in cqnstant touch. .During thgt first day they traversed' ali of i'50 yards. Branches of trees along one sidq of the lroa:d had to be ' cut away,' a bank had tq be qxcavated and it was necessafy for "t'he house to re-j pose during the night at the Reamoana 'Road Corner", thus blocking , the side road to traffic. At dawn on' Friday the "crew, bedded down iri f the. mobilq hqqse, got on the jolq once agaip./' Fifteen hours later, they arrived ' ' atr Paraparaumu j Beac'h; about a mile and a half fur- j ther on. Throughout that day 1 much happeried. ' :" ' rBuses Ti-ansfer. .E^ssgngers- ^ • The "ebnvoy -effeetive'iy! obstf uhted all traffic pps ^ligi main_ beach road, j to the amustementt'iqlfL .-Some, thej annoyance of many, and. t'he inter-^ est of all. Cars caine to a halt, j sounded their horns i'n frustration; j and, turned .back the way they hadf cbme." Bus drivers quickly met the situation with' the 'queerest fefryl service tljey have eyer ipa|ntainfcd, 1 transferring passengers frqm buses on one side of t'he house to buses on the ■ dth;er side. .,So , definitely , was the . narrow ' thoroughf are • blocked. by the slo.w moying. housqj that ih" man'y places pedestriansj had to scramb'le:'underneath it toj get by. By the end of t'he day; there were few holiday-makerS atl Paraparaumu who were unaware .Qf i the errant house. In the circumstances it was, of course, not long before the Paekakariki traffic inspector arrivpd qn the scene, ih a niqod which may e'asily be imagined. The traffic inspector's in§truction on Friday " night was that it ! must not be moved an inch until Tuesday, when traffic is expected, to beTighter.