ORGANISED SEARCH

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 340, 22 January 1937, Page 4

ORGANISED SEARCH

Signals Sent By Radio, Helio and Smoke Fires. The search yesterday ou Mount Egmont for the missing climber, Philip Matthews, was organised by the three mountain clubs of Taranaki in. a manner that earned the, praise of all who were able to appreciate the difficulties of such an undertaking.

It was considered that a high altitude search was most likely to succeed and at dawn a cordon thrown round the mountain commenced to operate at scrub level, the searchers gradually working towards the summit. The Stratford mountain! club took over the area between Manganui Gorge and Tahurangi Ridge. The Radio Emergency Corps, established two-way communication between Dawson Falls and Syme Hut on Fantham’s Peak. All parties were instructed to return and to pass on the information to other parties it smoke signals were made at Fantham’s Peak or any of the mountain houses. This would indicate that the missing climber had been found, At North Egmont am improvised helio was to flash information of a discovery elsewhere to climbers and ers were to inform the mountain house by similar means if they made a discovery. On the Stratford side it was arranged that distress signals on whistles were to indicate a discovery and recall. Telephonic communication between the mountain bouses completed the link.

The arrangements ’worked very satisfactorily and with the exception of searchers in the rough country on the Opunake side all parties were off the mountain by noon.