LEWIS PASS ROAD

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 153, 16 July 1937, Page 17

LEWIS PASS ROAD

First Through Journey By Car

The first tlirough. "journey by motorcar over the new Lewis Pass road from tho West Coast to Canterbury was made late last Thursday afternoon. Two cars, driven. by Messrs H. Lewis and J. Priestly, left the last workman's camp on tlie West Coast side at 4 .'30 and covered the five miles to the first camp on the Canterbury side in an hour, with very little difficulty. Mr Priestly returned to the West Coast by the road the same evening. The greater part of the trip was made in darkness. Snow and ice covered the road for most of its length j but there were only two obstacles to smooth travel over tke roughly-formed surface. A tree stump had to be pulled out at one place, and at another a three-feet drop had to be levelled off with pick-axes and shovels to let tho cars through. At a narrow part of the road a works lorry had been left for the night and had to be Bhifted; but this was not couflted among the hazards of the trip. The unofficial enterprise of Messrs Lewis and Priestly, the former a contractor and the latter a pipe-layer employed on tbe work, forestalled the iirst journey planned for the following day by Mr J. B. Jackson, engineer in charge of the construction. When they fiiiished work for the day on the West Coast the two men set out in their own cars with seven other workmen as passengerss. In Mr Lewis's car, a light six-cylinder sedan, wero Messrs A. Davidson, R. Irvino, J. McKay, ^ F. Quinlivan, J. Gilroy ; and in Mr Priestley's, a modern light car, were Messrs A, Gibellini and It. McNeill. Mr F. Langbein, chief engineer for the Public Works Department in Canterbury, said that although the trip had been successful, it would be some montlis before the road would open for the public. At present motorists would be inviting trouble by going up to the pass, and in any caso, would not be allowed to go through.