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Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5119, 29 April 1927, Page 2

Of the metalled rords on the Hauraki Plains the Pipiroa-Waitakaruru section of the main highway is the least attractive at the present time. For a considerable length the normal width has been reduced by the action of the water supply reticulation- contractors in depositing -noil from tlie trench they are constructing in the side of the metal. A thick coating of coarse red metal is being laid on part of the highway, and in places this has been worked into deep ruts, while where the traffic has broken the metal to a certain extent and the road has been graded up, the surface is very lively. Care in driving is therefore necessary to prevent skidding. For motor-cyclists the lively nature of the fine red blinding makes the road dangerous, and several serious spills have been reported. One Waitakaruru motor-cyclist who was recently discharged from hospital had all his wounds reopened as the result of a skid. Motorists are carefully watching a small strip of gravel between the two bridges in the hope that this dressing will compare favourably with red metal, which is notoriously hard on tyres, brake-bands, and bearings of cars.

A slight mishap befel the Lands Drainage Department’s oil launch Pipiroa at Ngatea on Saturday. It struck one of the bridge piles, breaking a plank below the water-line, and had to ho run ashore and kept bailed out jintil assistance arrived from Kerepeehi.