NOT SO BAD AFTER ALL

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 24, 28 July 1939, Page 17

NOT SO BAD AFTER ALL

"THESE DREADFUL N.Z. ROADS"

MOTORIST'S EXPERIENCE

Mr. A. W. Sand, of Rotorua, writes to "The Post": To give you a brief idea of my experience of our New Zealand roads, our country in general, and the stock-1 saw on my way. First of all, I left Eotorua and motored to Auckland, and from there back to Pokeno and through to.Opotiki. Apart from here and there where the.roads are being regraded, they are in a wonderful condition. That journey—225 miles—was done comfortably in seven hours. From Opotiki, which I left on Sunday morning for Gisborne, I motored through the Gorge, and from what I heard from other people* that gorge was a nightmare to drive through. I found nothing wrong with lit whatever—scenery was beautiful, grading was good—in fact, I went ! right through to Gisborne and did not drop below top gear once. < I passed several i.iobs of cattle coming from the Gisborne district, two large mobs in particular; their condition was something awful —nothing but skin and bone, and I do not know how the animals are going to winter through. In fact, one man left with over 200 and lost 47 on the way. I passed another mob the drover had left wandering on the road over night stretching over a distance of five miles, with their eyes sticking out of their heads looking for a blade of grass which they had no hope of finding. There was nothing but hills, gullies, and scenery. The farms in the Poverty Bay district are very short of feed, and it looks as if they are going to have a hard winter. Although the weather in Rotorua was very bad when I left, from Auckland right down to Wellington it was beautiful sunshine. I left Gisborne and came through to Hastings. * The road is absolutely wonderful. Very little work going on—practically all done. In Hastings I first started to feel it really cold. The': snow is right down to the flat' ground at the end of the town. After passing Waipukurau, we commenced to get into real snow country. The hills all round were covered, the trees on the side of the road were drooping, and the sun was shining brightly—it was a real picture, something wonderful. About 20 miles further on we came to a little village where the snoW was from 8 to 10 inches deep on the roofs of the houses.. The road grader had gone ahead and pushed the snow off the roads—it was a foot deep. 'The paddocks on each side of the road were just one mass of snow. The sheep were knee deep in snow, pushing their noses down trying to find a blade of grass. But if it is scenery that anybody wanted, there is nothing in Australia to touch it. Last year I took my car to Australia and drove inland from Sydney up to Queensland, back to the coast, then inland down to Victoria, across to Tasmania from north to south, east to west, back to Melbourne, up the coast into Sydney— and I have never seen anything to equal this particular drive from Auckland to Wellington, the route we took. This road is better than any of the Australian roads I have driven over, only the straights in New Zealand are not quite so long. Before I got to the Rimutakas peopli told me that the worst part of the road was ahead of me. Well, I was quite surprised when I started to climb the Rimutaka Hillit took me only 9 minutes to go up and 11 minutes to come down. I did it in top gear all the way quite easily I am now in.,, Wellington, and will make my way back via the west coast to New Plymouth.

When I arrived in Wellington and told people of my experiences, I got the usual reply, "But the roads used to be dreadful." Why worry about what we used to get, it's what we have today that counts! It is my opinion that those people who complain of the roads should not drive a car—their nerves will not permit them. I also found the automobile signs everywhere along the road both in New Zealand and in Australia. In fact, anybody who owns a car and does not belong to the Automobile Association is only a parasite imposing on others, for they give you all the information that is needed, all the assistance they can, and if you are taking your car to Australia they take delivery of it here in New Zealand, fix up all your papers, put your car on the boat, cable Australia, and you .are met on the wharf by a patrol-man. He takes delivery of your car, fixes up all your papers, and starts you off on the road with all the necessary information See what a wonderful organisation you are missing, if you are not a member.

R. Moore, a paint worker, residing at Johnson ville, received burns to the face and hands as a result of a blowback from a fire at the factory of Lewis Berger and Sons, Torrens Terrace, yesterday afternoon. He was taken to hospital bf the Free Ambulance.