OVER THE PUNT

Hokitika Guardian, 30 October 1920, Page 4

OVER THE PUNT

DANGER OF SYDNEY TRANSPORT SYSTEM. SYDNEY, Get. 12. A drowning fatality which occurred near Sydney oil Sunday afternoon serves to emphasise the dangers of the punt system of crossing numerous waterways. . The punt system is a survival of the had old days when it was considered almost a work of national importance to build a bridge. In several places north and south of the city there are narrow 'deep waterways, and the main roads might have crossed these in bridges that would have presented no insuperable engineering difficulties. Sydney itself is cut in two by a long, narrow, deep waterway—-Sydney harbour—over which any progressive community, with any sense of economy, would long since have thrown a bridge. But these bridges have never been built. The result'is that one may only travel west without interruption. To travel- north or south, even within the city limits, using any kind of vehicle, use .must be made of the übiquitous steam punt, remoter from Manly, a few miles northcast of Sydney, to Cromilla, a few miles to the south, one must use. the punt service three times. The punts are huge, umvieldly square boxes, capable of taking aboard twenty or. so vehicles. At normal times, at j the distant suburban crossings, one punt will carry the traffic, making a trip every fifteen minutes. At busy periods, two punts are used. Each is fitted with a steam engine, which pulls on a wire rope. There is one man in charge of the engine, and another controlling the traffic. They run all round the clock. Their upkeep includes the wages of fours or five men (three shifts;, fuel, and wear and tear —sufficient to far more than pay. interest on the cost of the biggest and best bridges. This is typical of the national ‘economy of New South Wales. The dangers of the system were shown by Sundayks accident —not ail uncommon one. The last car on the crowded punt carried eleven persons, When lien ring the opposite shore the driver started up bis engine. He bad forgotten to take out his clutch. Instantly the car bounded backwards. Bight behind the car was a man on horseback. The car rushed horse and rider over into deep water, and followed. The car, with its hood up, covering seven persons, was sinking ill deep water almost before anyone realised what had happened. Of course, there was a panic, and many eager rescuers. AH the passengers, mostly in a state of collapse, were fished out, but the unfortunate driver was drowned, and bis body, and the car, are still undiscovered, in very deep water. The horseman and his horse swam out together. There have been at least four or five eases of cars plunging off the punts during the past year or so.