MOTORING YEARS AGO

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 22 November 1927, Page 5

MOTORING YEARS AGO

DIFFICULTIES IN THE OLD DAYB.

MR. EDMUNDSON IN REMINIS-

CENT MOOD. Last evening a large number of Hastings Rotarians journeyed to Napier, where they were entertained by the Napier Rotary Club in true Rotary spirit. During the evening Mr J. H. Edmundson, of the Napiei Club, gave his reminiscences of the early days of motoring in Hawke’s Bay. During the course of his address, Mr. Edmundson related many humorous stories concerning his own adventures which went to show that the pioneering motorists had to overcome every kind of difficulty. He instanced how, on one occasion, when making his first trip to Wairoa in a single-cylinder model, he became stuck in the crossing near Eskdale and had to be hauled out with a rope by about 20 native women. He gave a graphic description of the conditions of the roads 1 of those days, pointing out that many of which' the present day motorists bitterly complain are ideal highways compared with those which he and other early motorists had to contend. Mr. Edmundson wont on to deal with the regulations that motorists were called upon to obey when travelling through the streets. On one occasion, for example, he was prosecuted for driving through Hastings street at a speed greater than walking pace. Mr. Edmundson said that the lot of the motor salesmen was then very different from what it is nowadays. His task was to convince people that they had use for a car, whereas, to-day he has to be satisfied that his clients have the money to pay for them.

The advent of the motor cycle was also touched upon by Mr. Edmundson, who was himself one of those early adveturers. On the motion of Rotarian Peters, Mr. Edmundson was accorded a hearty vote of thanks.