CHEAP JOURNEY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 February 1939, Page 4

CHEAP JOURNEY

STUDENT TRAVELS OVER 3000 MILES. LIFTS FROM MOTORISTS. With 15s in his pocket, Mr Feford Corr, a theological student at Ormond College, Melbourne University set out four weeks ago to make his way to the conference of the Student Christian Movement at Mittagong, New South Wales. With lid left he returned to Melbourne a few days ago, having seen in the interval some of Australia’s finest scenery in travels of more than 3000 miles. Mr Corr spend 5d at the outset of his journey to travel to the suburb of Coburg, on the road to Sydney. He “thumb-wagged” passing cars, and four and a-half hours later was in Albury,. nearly 200 miles away, just across the New South Wales border. Two lifts in fast sedan cars had given him a splendid start on his journey. With the aid of lifts in four different motor transports, Mr Corr next day reached Mittagong, 80 miles south of Sydney. The trip to the conference had cost him Is 2d.

Having some free time after the conference Mr Corr decided to see the eastern coast. Lifts in passing cars took him to Brisbane in four days from Mittagong. But he spent only two days in Brisbaine because of the hole that living in a city was making in his slender resources. He went to Toowoomba by truck, and through the courtesy of a succession of motorists he visited the New South Wales towns of Armidale, Newcastle, and Yass. He reached Yass with only lid in his pocket, but there he was picked up by a commercial traveller, who drove him all the way to Melbourne and paid for hotel meals en route. Throughout his travels Mr Corr spent his night as farmhouses or hotels, receiving meals and a bed more often than not for nothing. He said he had only to mention that he was a poor student trying to see something of the Australian countryside during his vacation, and immediately people could not do enough for him. Two drivers who gave him lifts took the precaution to tell him that they were well armed. Mr Corr will be a minister at the end of this year.