Turoa chairlift construction well under way

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 4, Issue 36, 24 February 1987, Page 1

Turoa chairlift construction well under way

Work is progressing well on Turoa's new chairlift despite the recent bad weather. The excavation work for the tower pads was speeded up by using a mechanical digger. Initially it was thought that this work would have to be done by hand, because in the past it has been against Parks Board policy to allow machinery of this type to work on such projects. The digger has worked on all but a few of the towers and has left very few permanent signs of its presence. The tower sites that the digger can't reach will be dug by hand using pick and shovel, after some blasting work. The chairlift is a quad-

chair made by Doppelmayer of West Germany. A quad chair is capable of carrying four people in each chair. Overseer for the project will be known to many Waimarino people. He is Warren Newlands, who worked for Turoa Skifields as Operations Managerfor4 years. Site foreman for the construction is Wayne Lim Yock from Ohakune who has been seconded from Turoa Skifields for the project. He has worked on the construction of three skilifts, including the quad chair at the Remarkables skifield. The new chair is to run parallel to the existing 'first chair', with a mid-station near the ski school hut in the Wintergarden area. From there it will run up to a

return station on Blyth flat, near the mid-station of the Giant chairlift. The new chair is the first part of a 'second stage' development for the skifield, and as such the lift is not designed to open up new skiing areas. The lift wil move skiers quickly from the base area to the middle part of the skifield. More lifts are planned as part of the development and they will be accessible from the top of the new quad. A restaurant is also planned for Blyth flat. The exact siting of all the lifts that are part of this development will not be decided until a new park management plan is complete. The management plan is at present being worked out by the Lands and Survey Dept. Turoa hopes to open

up many more ski runs by the time this new development is complete. A major concern with the siting for the new chair was the vulnerability of the present lift system, said Mountain Manager Robin Foubister. He said with only one access lift the skifield would be almost out of action if the Parklane chair broke down. With the new lift, if the Parklane chair is out of action skiers will still be able to get. to midfield. Also, if the Giant chair is out of action skiers may be able to reach the Jumbo T-bar, as well as ski the runs serviced by the quad. Commissioning date for the chairlift is set at l June. The lift will be tested by the Marine Department before commissioning.

Good on you, Ohakune! Thanks to the concerted effort of the whole town, the Jubilee parade on Saturday was a fantastic success and an amazing spectacle. The entire population, (or so it seemed!) lined the streets to stare in wonder and marvel at some of the weird and wonderful floats and those reminiscent of 75 years past. Toddlers, teens and children at heart turned out in force to join the parade: on the back of a long decked truck decorated like a Chinese festival complete with fireworks; sitting amidst gardens 'growing' on the backs of trucks; astride horses, antique bicycles and tractors; dressed as clowns, pandas and early 20th century pioneers. The number of floats in the parade was "beyond all expectations" — around 80, according to an official, with the standard of entries rivalling big city parades. After the mile-long procession through town, floats

and contestants gatnerea at the rugby grounds for the judging and entertainment by local fire brigades, a stunt motorbike rider, kung fu and gymnastics clubs and a microlight aircraft. Prizes for winning floats went to: Open section — The Peace Train 1, Turoa Igloo, 2; Yester-year — Ohakune Growers 1, Mcllroy Plumbers 'shack' 2; Trade seetion: New Zealand Post Office 1 , Reynolds Motors 2, consisting of 8 motor vehicles depicting the changing look of the car from 1 9 1 9 to 1986. Judges were Jim Chelley, Moreen Hancock and Bill Te Karu. The jubilee celebrations continued on Saturday aight with a debutante ball attended by more than 200 people including 12 debutantes who were presented to the Leader of the Opposition Jim Bolgerand hiswife. The RNZN band provided dance music to an appreciative audience, and a sumptuous supper was provided.