Surf, sand and motors

A young ladies' hockey team at Roxburgh. - Otago Witness, 27.1.1915.
A young ladies' hockey team at Roxburgh. - Otago Witness, 27.1.1915.
A most interesting programme of sports was carried out by the Otago Motor Club at Warrington beach on Saturday afternoon, and, though spoiled to some extent by wet weather, it proved very enjoyable.

A long, straight stretch of sand provided an excellent course, and the speed of the vehicles, especially the cycles, was most exhilarating.

The sports were extremely well conducted, and a big programme of events was completed in a little over two hours.

If the gathering demonstrated one thing more clearly than another, it was the undeniable popularity of the motor cycle as a convenient and speedy means of locomotion, but any unbiased traveller on the road between Warrington and Dunedin late on Saturday afternoon could not but be led to the reflection that these machines lacked something in the way of reliability.

Every few miles one or two disconsolate motor cyclists would be encountered endeavouring with what patience and good nature the heavy rain would allow, to remedy some temporary defect in a machine.

Rueful looks greet the more fortunate passer-by, but it is a most unsafe and unwise proceeding to laugh at the misfortunes of another, for a rider never knows when his own turn may come.

However, motorists generally seem to derive a great deal of satisfaction from their hobby, and if their machines have occasionally to be pushed for a few miles up the Kilmog, or some of our other famous hills, the exercise is surely worth any trifling inconvenience of this sort.

• Timaru, January 24: Owing to the phenomenal rain in the locality a party of visitors to Mount Cook, numbering about a dozen, had an unpleasant experience on the return journey.

They left the Hermitage on Friday morning, and after they had done about 10 miles the car was stuck up by an impassable creek, while one they had already crossed had become impassable.

They had to remain between the creeks till Saturday.

Fortunately a small iron hut was available.

A dray with five horses, sent from the Hermitage with food and blankets, managed to reach them.

The party, which included Sir John Findlay, Mr Justice Hosking, and some ladies, reached Timaru on Saturday night at about seven o'clock.

Sir John Findlay states that the party might have returned to the Hermitage in a wagon, though not in the dray, but it was raining so heavily that they were determined to stay where they were, and were not distressed.

The eight ladies occupied the hut and the men slept in the cars.

Not one of them is any the worse for the experience, and they profess to have enjoyed it.

• A lady and gentleman were about to attend a ball at the Town Hall.

On alighting from the cab at the latter place the gentleman slipped and tore his trousers.

The kindly young attendant of the ladies' cloak-room, which was empty, suggested that the wife should take her husband into the cloak-room and there mend the torn nether garments.

They did so, and the gentleman sat waiting a la Chidley while his wife busily sewed away.

Suddenly a commotion occurred without, and loud voices demanded that the cloakroom door be opened to admit a fainting lady.

''Go! Hide in that cupboard, John!'' cried the wife, pushing the scantily-attired John through a small door in the room.

A second later the fainting lady was escorted in.

Even as she entered the wife heard thunderous knocking on the door through which John had vanished, and was horrified to hear her husband's frenzied whisper: ''Open the door Mary, for Heaven's sake. I'm in the ballroom!'' - ODT, 24.1.1915

 


COPIES OF PICTURE AVAILABLE FROM ODT FRONT OFFICE, LOWER STUART ST, OR WWW.OTAGOIMAGES.CO.NZ

 

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