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The New Zealand Railways Magazine is on sale through the principal booksellers, or may be obtained post-free for 6/- per annum.
Employees of the Railway Department are invited to forward news items or articles bearing on railway affairs. The aim of contributors should be to supply interesting topical material tending generally towards the betterment of the service.
In all cases where the Administration makes announcements through the medium of this journal the fact will be clearly indicated.
The Department does not identify itself with any opinions which may be expressed in other portions of the publication, whether appearing over the author's name or under a nom de plume.
Short stories, poetry, pen-and-ink sketches, etc., are invited from the general public upon New Zealand subjects.
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All communications should be addressed to The Editor, New Zealand Railways Magasine, Wellington.
I hereby certify that the publisher's lists and other records disclose that the circulation of the “New Zealand Railways Magazine” has not been less than 20,000 copies each issue since July, 1930.
The Department's accounts show that the sales of the Magazine during the year ended 31st March, 1936, were more than treble those of the previous financial year.
Deputy-Controller and Auditor-General. 26/5/36.
Photo, Thelma R. Kent.)
A seascape, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand.
(Photo., Thelma R. Kent, A.R.P.S.)
In the time of the present generation there have been only two coronations of moment to the British Empire, those of Edward VII and George V. Edward VIII was proclaimed and reigned as King-Emperor, but abdicated before the details of a crowning ceremony had been fully arranged. The coronation of Queen Victoria took place just a hundred years ago, and of that no one living could have a very clear recollection. Only three coronations in the course of a century is a tribute both to the health and stamina of our “Royal line of Kings” and to the peace, stability, and strength residing in the peoples over whom they have reigned.
The double coronation to take place this month, with the full panoply of State and accompanied by a period of rejoicing and celebration throughout the whole of the British Commonwealth of Nations, will be the most spectacular of all. It is rightly regarded as an occasion for a display calculated to stir romance, instil the love of country, and exhibit to the world at large the unity of thought and steadfastness of outlook amongst all our peoples.
Judged by the best of all tests—experience and results—the system of Government known as a Limited Monarchy has served well the whole British Empire, and it is as firmly established now as at any time in British history.
Our King and Queen carry to their Coronation the love and good wishes of all their peoples and the respect and friendship of the other nations throughout the world.
This issue of the “New Zealand Railways Magazine” has been specially enlarged, both in size and circulation, to carry the story of the Wellington New Station which is to be opened officially on the 19th of next month.
An endeavour has been made in these pages to give some idea of the magnitude of the work involved both in planning and building this huge central depot of the Dominion's railways, so that, when the official opening takes place, there may be in the hands of our readers a dependable reference work, with technical articles written by some of the officers directly concerned in the respective sections of the structure.
Those firms which took a leading part as contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers of material and furnishing for the building, are very fully represented in the advertising pages of this issue. How well their work has been done the station itself reveals. All that the existence of this central depot of Dominion transport means in the future development of the country will not be realised until the whole of the work, including the electrification and duplication of lines involved in the terminal improvements of Wellington, has been completed.
The prestige of the New Zealand Railways, like that of any other organisation, is maintained by the bearing and outlook of the individuals who are on its payroll. It happens that this Department of State, with a staff of over 20,000 members, has in its employ a larger number of persons than any other organisation in the Dominion. Our large scale operation may, however, prove to be an advantage or disadvantage departmentally, according to the measure of interest displayed by members towards their work and the personal service they render to those who do business with the Department.
That the reputation of the Service stands high in the community is proved by the many expressions of appreciation conveyed to me by a public which has had its transport problems handled to its satisfaction. The increasing use that is made of our services throughout the country is also further evidence of that appreciation. To be worth while this reputation has to be maintained, not only day by day, but minute by minute throughout the whole range of Departmental activities, so that it will become permanently associated with the name of the N.Z. Railways and symbolic of its service. Any indifference to the requirements (large or small) of our customers by any individual on the staff lets the reputation down, and it should always be remembered that instances of indifference become deeply rooted owing to the inconvenience and displeasure they may cause. Any effort that indicates a willing desire to serve helps to raise the Department's prestige still further.
I would like every member to feel that, irrespective of the extent and responsibility of the work delegated to him, he has the Department's reputation in his own hands. If he has the right conception of this, and meets his opportunities and obligations to serve in the true spirit, then he is in a position to feel that he is giving security not only to the Department but also to himself.
Then every individual member has his own reputation as a railwayman to consider—both within and outside the Service.
Externally it is dependent upon his attitude towards those outside the Service, who know little of his technical capacity as a railwayman but who judge him, and the organisation for which he works, by his attitude towards them as clients of the Department.
His reputation inside the Service depends upon the quality of the work he performs and this is usually well judged by those who are able to compare his work with that of many others carrying out similar duties. Such comparisons are necessary in weighing up the reputation of members of the staff and great care is exercised to see that fair play all round is secured. Opportunity figures largely in the lives of all, more particularly those associated with the Railway Service. It lies with each member to see these opportunities when they come along and to make the best use of them for the common weal. It is thus that reputations of Railway men are made to the mutual satisfaction of the individual, the organisation and the customer.
General Manager.
Their Majesties King George VI., and Queen Elizabeth.
For half a century the city of Wellington has had no single station serving all railway lines converging on the Capital. Although it has had, at various times, no less than five stations, the last remaining two will, early next month, give place for the first time to one combined station. Wellington railway history goes back sixty-three years to the opening of the first line from Pipitea Point to Lower Hutt, a distance of eight miles 2 chains, on the 14th April, 1874. At that time for the full distance from Pipitea Point to Mills Foundry on the North side of Waring Taylor Street (the northern limit of an earlier reclamation), the hills met the sea on the line of Lambton Quay and Thorndon Quay. The same year saw the completed reclamation on the site on which the Government Buildings stand.
From Pipitea Point just south of Davis Street the beach reached halfway across the present Thorndon Quay to as far as the foot of Tina-kori Road, from whence a narrow strip of land uplifted in the most recent earth movement on the great fault line marking the north western margin of Wellington Harbour extended as far as Petone. On this strip a narrow road and a single line of railway were constructed, following every indentation of the coast line until the Hutt Valley was reached.
During the next three years reclamation of the area of 49 acres between Lambton Quay and the seaward side of Waterloo Quay was completed for the full distance from the foundry to Pipitea Point making possible the extension of the railway a further 47 chains to Ballance Street. On the site of the existing Railway Head Offices fronting Featherston Street between Whitmore Street and Bunny Street a new station, known as Wellington Station, was opened on the 1st November, 1880, and on the same day the Railway was opened to Masterton, 66 miles away. The station building was 150 feet long and cost £2,294. The export goods shed occupied the site of what was later Cable's Foundry, and just across Waterloo Quay was the Railway Wharf completed in April of the same year, forming with the Queen's Wharf at the end of Grey Street, the total shipping accommodation for the city. Pipitea station remained in the meantime as a stopping place. Three years later proposals were advanced to shift Wellington station northwards to the site of the present Lambton Station, enabling Bunny Street to be carried through to the waterfront at Waterloo Quay. Pipitea Station was closed on September 30th, 1884, and the following year Lambton Station was opened for passengers.
Meanwhile the outlet from Wellington by the West Coast route had been engaging the attention of the Government of the day. In 1879 work had been commenced by day labour on the first five miles (the Johnsonville section) of the Wellington-Foxton railway. It is interesting to note at the present time that in 1880 “unemployed” labour was put on to this work which was stopped the following year on account of lack of funds. The year 1881 saw the formation of the Wellington
An important work in connection with the Wellington-Manawatu Railway Company's enterprise was the first Thorndon reclamation of 30 acres completed in 1884. Of this area approximately two acres were taken up in widening Thorndon Quay to its present width, two acres remained for the Government railway reserve, and an area of 19 acres was vested in the Company under the Thorndon Reclamation Act of 1882 and its 1888 amendment. The remaining area along
Both the Government's and the Company's stations were still a considerable distance from what was then the centre of the city on Te Aro flat, and on the 29th March, 1893, the
Photo, courtesy “Evening Post.”)
The eight massive columns which support the portioo over the Main Entrance to the new station.
For many years the Wellington-Napier-New Plymouth section was separate from the Auckland system, but the approaching completion of the main trunk line connecting the two systems at last necessitated the taking over by the Government of the Mana-watu Company's line on the 7th December, 1908. The opening of the line from Wellington to Auckland on 15th February, 1909, and the transfer of the Napier traffic from the Wai-rarapa to the Manawatu line to take advantage of the easier grades on the latter route, transferred the greater portion of the traffic from the Lambton Station to the Thorndon Station, further accentuating the disability of having two stations that could not be connected up for passenger traffic. Before a combined station could even be considered, however, the reclamation of further land from the harbour on a larger scale than ever had to be considered in conjunction with the requirements of the Harbour Board. Several years had to be passed in negotiations before the larger reclamation could be instituted by the letting of the contract for the Thorndon wall.
Before passing to a description of the present station it will be well to notice the causes leading to the necessity for further expansion. It seems a great leap from the £2,294 Whitmore Street station of fifty-six years ago to the new Bunny Street station costing one hundred and fifty times as much. Everywhere increased population and increased production followed close upon each successive extension of the railway system throughout the country. Even the most far-seeing statesmen of the early days could not foresee the rapid development of the colony. At wayside stations it was possible almost imperceptibly to increase the railway facilities as required, with stockyards here, passenger accommodation there, siding extension elsewhere, additions to goods sheds somewhere else, each in turn doing its part in increasing production and consequently increasing railway traffic. Early lines constructed for cheapness with sharp curves and steep grades as single lines with crossing stations far apart, quickly became inadequate.
From time to time longer crossing loops, more frequent stations, improved signalling systems, greater locomotive power, easier grades, local duplications of the line and relocation of the worst sections with easier curves suitable for higher speeds increased the carrying capacity of the lines. The principal terminals, too, already extended over
Meanwhile city streets with warehouse buildings had tended to limit the room available for station yard expansion on the landward side, while further reclamation involving new seawalls each time in deeper water than the last made it more than ever necessary to avoid hand-to-mouth projects and consider not only present but future needs in any new proposal. Harbour developments and road access had also to be considered in conjunction with railway facilities.
As early as 1887 the question of straightening the Hutt Railway and widening the road came before the Government, and it continued to be brought up during the next twelve years. On 28th July, 1899, a deputation waited on the Government, following a public meeting at Petone, and on 5th May, 1900, the Wellington Chamber of Commerce wrote to the Minister of Railways urging that the improvements be carried out.
The Hutt Railway and Road Improvement Act, 1903, authorised the further reclamation necessary for the straightening and duplicating of the Wellington-Lower Hutt railway and the construction of a road 80 feet wide alongside. This work was completed in March, 1911, giving an excellent approach both by road and rail from the Wairarapa route. The Manawatu line, however, at this time carrying much the heavier traffic, continued to enter Wellington by the old route. The grade of 1 in 40 uncompensated for curvature, with sharp reverse curves, rising to an elevation of 518 feet between Khandallah and Johnson-ville, rendered the haulage of goods trains slow and costly, while the numerous tunnels made the route uncomfortable for passengers. The location of the line was such that it would not be possible in the event of further yard extension to bring goods trains into the new goods yard without unduly cramping the accommodation available.
These considerations led to the commencement in June, 1927, of the Tawa Flat deviation, bringing the line by a new route on a grade of 1 in 100, compensated for curvature, reduced to 1 in 110 in the shorter tunnel and 1 in 122 in the longer tunnel, with curves of not less than 20 chains radius. The new line was laid out to cross the Hutt Road and railway just south of Nga-hauranga, descending to the Wellington yard level just north of Kaiwarra, thence continuing on the seaward side to Wellington, giving easy access to any new goods yards that might be constructed anywhere between Wellington and Kaiwarra.
It was later decided to electrify this line so as to minimise possible discomfort from smoke in the tunnels which are 61 chains and 2 miles 54 chains long respectively, and provide a fast suburban service to Paekakariki and intermediate stations. This deviation, 8 miles 30 chains long in double track, shortens the distance by two and a half miles, and reduces the climb to 195 feet above sea level. A single track was brought into use for goods purposes on July 22, 1935, and the double track will be brought into operation for all purposes when the new station is opened on the 19th of June this year. It will not be possible, however, to operate the new line immediately by electric traction, as trains will have to enter by a temporary route, not suitable for electrification, until the existing Thorndon Station can be demolished. This cannot be done until the new station is in use.
After the completion of the Wellington-Lower Hutt line in 1911, Railway development at Wellington became dependent on further reclamation in the Thorndon area. A comprehensive reclamation scheme had been prepared in 1908, covering the future needs of both the Harbour Board and the Railway Department. A proposal for a new station combining Lambton and Thorndon was formulated in 1912, but it was not until 24th January, 1922, that an agreement was entered into between the Minister of Railways and the Harbour Board under which an area of 68 1/2 acres was to be reclaimed, the cost of the sea wall to be divided according to the areas to be reclaimed for each party of the agreement, approximately 11 1/2 acres for the Board and 57 acres for the Department. Each party was to pay the cost of its own filling behind the wall. The Department was to meet any claim enforceable by the City Council on account of the closing of Thorndon Esplanade up to the cost of reclaiming an equal area on the seaward side, anything in excess of this to be met by the Harbour Board. By a later agreement after the completion of this work the Department paid the City Council £20,000 and formed a waterfront roadway 60 ft. wide with a level crossing over the new railway tracks—now known as Aotea Quay. As the result of strong representations from various local bodies, however, it was decided to erect an overbridge instead of the level crossing, the Railway Department to contribute £12,000 including the value of land given up, the City Council and other local bodies, £11,000, the Unemployment Fund £10,000, and the Public Works Department £1,000 if required. The bridge and ramps are now under construction.
The Thorndon sea wall was commenced in March, 1923, and finished in September, 1927. A start was made with the filling on 1st August, 1924, the Harbour Board's Dredge, “Whaka-rire,” pumping dredgings from the harbour into the area behind the wall. Two years later the dredge “Kaione,” was hired from the Wanganui Harbour Board to expedite the work. When the filling reached the limit to which silt could be pumped from the sea wall, the filling was completed with material excavated from the tunnels on the Tawa Flat deviation and elsewhere. The reclamation affected the drainage of the Thorndon Quay area necessitating the construction of two large culverts extending from near Thorndon Quay and the Hutt Road respectively to the line of the sea wall.
On the 23rd October, 1929, a contract was let for the goods shed on the older filling and the shed was brought into use on the 13th August, 1931, having previously served as a depot for the reception of refugees from the Hawke's Bay earthquake area. The contract for the erection of the station building was let on the 7th November, 1933, the work to take 3 1/4 years. The foundation stone was laid by his Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester on the 17th December, 1934, and the completed building is to be opened by His Excellency the Governor-General, Viscount Galway, on 19th June, 1937.
For the purposes of description the station may be divided into the approach lines, goods yard, locomotive depot, passenger yard and station building. On the reduced plan of the general layout it will be seen that Davis Street marks the natural boundary between the goods and passenger yards. Running northwards there are three main lines, one being the Johnsonville line, the other two the up and down main lines. Westward of the main lines provision is made for private siding facilities to business sites fronting Thorndon Quay and Hutt Road and for future car sidings. Three quarters of a mile further north, just south of the new water front road crossing where an overbridge is under construction, the arrival and departure lines to and from the goods yard join the main lines. Immediately beyond this point the two main lines separate into five tracks, a goods line to Kaiwarra yard and the various private sidings on the west or Hutt Road side, an “up” and a “down” Wai-rarapa line in the centre, and an “up” and a “down” Auckland line by way of the new Tawa Flat, deviation on the east or seaward side.
On passing Kaiwarra the Auckland line begins to rise until it crosses the Wairarapa lines and the Hutt Road at an oblique angle by a steel plate girder bridge and enters the first tunnel. The distant junction at the north entrance to the goods yard from the main lines is worked from the main signal box in the passenger yard a few chains south of Davis Street. The junction between the Kaiwarra, Auckland and Wairarapa lines will also be so worked from the day of the opening of the new station and the Tawa Flat deviation.
The goods yard extends along the whole of the seaward side from the distant junction to Davis Street, bounded on the east by Aotea Quay. Along the western side of the goods yard are four arrival roads
In a central position in the goods yard is a shunters' building with lunch room and locker rooms for the shunters, while in a story above, overlooking the whole yard is the Yard Foreman's office. An interlocking frame in this office controls the movements of all trains in the goods yard clear of the main lines. Two wagon weighbridges are provided, one in the sorting and one in the marshalling yard. The goods shed, completed in 1931, close to the junction of Davis Street and Waterloo Quay, is a solid structure of steel and concrete, 500 feet long, with three sidings under cover served by two platforms at floor level of wagons and a covered roadway at rail level. An electric overhead crane of the under-hung jib type runs the full length of the shed and a light mobile crane runs on the platforms and roadway. Lorries can pass through the full length of the shed on the “inward” side, or back up to doors along the full length of the “outwards” side. Immediately to the east is the local delivery yard with six loading and unloading sidings in pairs with wide roadways between. On the west side of the goods shed there is space available for a further shed or covered siding when required. The Goods Office is inside the goods shed at the Davis Street end.
The Locomotive Depot lies between the main lines and the goods yard. Until after the removal of the present Thorndon Station it will not be possible to complete the layout of the locomotive yard, and temporary coaling and sanding facilities have to be used until the site is clear. Separate “in” and “out” roads are provided for steam locomotives, with 70 feet turntable, mechanical ash-handling plant, and water columns between the two roads. The coaling plant, an elevated bin with a coaling chute on each side, will also be erected between the two roads, the wagons of coal being hauled up singly by an electric winch. Eastward of the steam locomotive roads are an “in” and an “out” electric road. Between the coal bin and the shed the sand-drying shed will be located, the sand being elevated by compressed air into over-head bins. Ample inspection pits are provided on all engine roads.
A two storey building just south of the shed has the locomotive store on the ground floor and the Locomotive Foreman's office and bath and locker rooms for the running and repair staff on the upper floor. The engine shed, over an acre in area, is erected in five bays for steam locomotives, electric locomotives, engine repairs, machine shop, and car and wagon repairs. There is access to the shed from both ends. Owing to delays in the arrival of the electric equipment arising out of conditions on the other side of the world, steam traction will have to be retained for longer than was originally intended, so temporary smoke troughs and smoke stacks are being erected in the electric bay.
Southwards from Davis Street the passenger yard extends the full distance to the station building at Bunny Street. The three main lines continue right up to the platforms, but two converging roads crossing them obliquely also connect all platforms to all main lines. The line from the western or suburban platform passes all platform roads, then the main lines, the locomotive roads, the express car shunting road, goods exchange wharf siding, goods yard, and finally the road to rail car shed and turntable. Crossing the yard in the other direction a line meets the arrival platform on the east, then the departure, general, and suburban platform approaches, and crossing the main line continues to a short spur siding for holding and watering engines, and finally to the suburban car shunting road and private sidings on the Thorndon Quay side.
The passenger accommodation consists of three double and one single fronted platforms, giving seven platform fronts shown numbered on the plan of the yard. No. 1 platform is reserved for the Johnsonville multiple unit electric service. Access from this platform to the Johnsonville line is clear of all train movements to and from the other platforms. A crossover at the centre of the platform permits the departure of one unit while another is at the platform or arriving. Platforms 2 and 3 are for suburban, and No. 4 for general use. Nos. 5 and 6 are the main departure platforms, exactly opposite the main entrance to the building. No. 7 is the main arrival platform, with taxi road alongside. Trains can be shunted
The arrival platform is 20 feet 10 inches wide and 900 feet long; the departure platform is 29 feet 2 inches wide and 900 feet in length. The remaining platforms are 20 feet 10 inches wide and 640 feet long. All platforms are completely roofed over. On either side of the express car sidings are buildings for the use of the sleeping-car staff and the car-cleaning and car-shunting staff respectively. Each building contains suitable meal rooms, bath and locker rooms for the staff, as well as the necessary stores and work-rooms. A steam boiler with a reticulation through the car yard and extending to the platforms provides steam for car heating as well as for cleaning and drying purposes. A siding is provided handy to the arrival platform with covered loading bank for loading and discharging mail vans.
The number of lines crossing Davis Street, together with their spacing and the number of train movements, render it impossible to retain Davis Street for road traffic. A foot-bridge is being constructed, however, giving access by ramps from Thorndon Quay to Waterloo Quay. Davis Street was originally the access to the old Thorndon Esplanade. As the wharves gradually extended northwards from the original railway wharf at Bunny Street, the Bunny Street access became less convenient for road traffic crossing from the Hutt Road, and Davis Street came into use as a more direct access to the wharves by this route. With the completion of the road overbridge on Aotea Quay an even more direct route will be available, and Davis Street will be finally closed except for pedestrian traffic over the new footbridge.
A two-story brick building, facing Waterloo Quay, just north of the main building, contains the Head Office garage, and also a social hall, committee room and library for the various Railway Societies.
Most interesting of all is the station building itself; the situation is ideal, set back from Bunny Street, its two sides fronting Featherston Street and Waterloo Quay. Tramway access is available on Featherston Street, and here is the main suburban entrance. On Waterloo Quay, handy to the wharves and the main entrance road to the city, but clear of passenger traffic, are the entrances for parcel and luggage business.
The building is of attractive design with base of coloured granite, exterior walls of brick and roof of Spanish mission tiles. Eight massive columns reaching to four stories high support the portico protecting the main entrance from the weather, while bronze cantilevered verandahs over each entrance enable taxis to be reached without discomfort in all weathers. The frontage extends for the full distance from Featherston Street to Waterloo Quay, with the station entrance at the centre and office entrances towards each end. The building is five stories high on the three main fronts, with two extra stories along the north wall facing the platforms. The foreground on all three streets is laid out in lawns and shrubberies, harmonising with the architecture of the building.
The main structural members of the station building are of steel encased in concrete and supported on groups of reinforced concrete piles. The whole of the structural steel work and reinforcing was designed by Mr. Peter Holgate, structural engineer. The bricks used in the outer walls are of carefully selected tints and of a special design with slots through which pass vertical rods reinforcing the brickwork and binding it to the structural members. Where the heavy girders supporting the upper floors intersect the vertical lines of the window groups the wall surface is ingeniously treated with a terra cotta pattern in purple and green with a white chevron pattern repeating the vertical
A view of the Thorndon Station, Wellington, as it appears to-day.
The whole of the ground floor is used for station purposes, and the whole of the upper floors, except part of the first and the sixth, for office purposes. The lay-out of the station may be followed with the aid of the plan. Taxi roads lead to the covered main entrance, where rooms for the use of “red-cap” porters and taximen are located on either side. Within is a spacious and lofty booking hall. The floor is of terrazzo, with brass edgings, the lower walls of Whangarei marble, the upper walls of tinted plaster work. The arched roof is of fibrous plaster in deep panels of pleasing colours. Immediately on the right on entering are the ticket windows, on the extreme right is the reservations and inquiry counter, and opposite the ticket windows is the checked luggage counter. On the left centre is the train directory, while the stationmaster's office is immediately to the left of the entrance. At the extreme left is the dining room, the walls of marble brightened with numerous mirrors, the pillars of marble with bronze bases and capitals. Beyond is the kitchen, replete with all modern equipment for expeditious service.
Opposite the main entrance of the booking hall is the lobby leading to the concourse which runs parallel with the main front and opens on to all platforms. Excellent lighting is provided from the arched roof. At the Feathers-ton Street end is the suburban entrance, with the emergency booking office for race traffic on the one side and newspaper stall, barber's saloon and baths on the other. Fronting on a short platform opening on the north wall are public and staff lavatories, traffic stores and lamp room. Along the north wall on each side of the entrance to the suburban platforms are a group of telephone booths and a Post Office. On each side of the entrance to the main departure platform are the fruitstall and bookstall. The luggage room is at the extreme end of the concourse and extends through to Waterloo Quay where lorries may load and unload. On the side of the concourse adjacent to the main building are placed the Coaching Foreman's office and guards' and porters' rooms and the staff entrance to the kitchen. Next come the cafeteria, the general waiting room, the concourse entrance to the dining room and the ladies' waiting room with hospital, lavatories and bathrooms upstairs.
On either side of the lobby connecting the main booking hall with the concourse are a stairway to the upper office floors and a lift to the offices, staff rest rooms and children's nursery on the roof. Beyond the lobby the checked luggage office also opens on the concourse. Outside the concourse on the northern side a covered truck-way facilitates the carriage of luggage to and from all platforms without disturbing passengers waiting in the concourse.
W. W. Btewort collection).
Thorndon Station in the 'eighties.
The concourse is neatly finished in tiles and tinted plaster. A train directory is placed near the Featherston Street entrance. There is also an electric “informator” in the concourse and in the booking hall, supplying information as to railway matters, while loud-speakers suitably placed, will convey announcements as to trains and entertain waiting passengers with radio programmes between whiles.
Along the Featherston Street frontage there is an office and waiting room for the Road Motor Service. There is also an ambulance room with all necessary appliances for use in dealing with casualties.
A feature new to railway stations in this country is the provision of a crÁche and playroom for children, enabling mothers from suburban stations to come to town to do their shopping and for a small charge leave their children under proper care at the station. The elevator in the booking hall leads to the fifth floor and from thence a single flight of stairs leads to the roof where a sleeping room for babies, a playroom for older children and an outdoor playground are provided. The walls have friezes of attractive designs and the rooms are provided with toys of all kinds. A kindergarten nurse is in attendance and a kitchen is equipped for the preparation of simple meals. The nursery should prove a decided boon to mothers who would like to come to town but find young children too much of a problem.
The building as now completed is considerably larger than was originally planned and described in the December, 1934, number of this magazine on the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone. With the gradual recovery of railway business the staff had to be appreciably increased and it became apparent that the building
Lambton Station, Wellington, in the 1894
Entering by the office entrance near the Featherston Street corner, a lift and stairway lead to the offices above. The Traffic Manager's staff occupy the whole of this end of the first floor, the Traffic Manager in the corner, with the Assistant Traffic Manager, inquiries and traffic clerks along the Bunny Street frontage, and the Business Agent, staff room, telegraph operators and telephone exchange, wagon supply, train control and train running offices extending along the Featherston Street frontage. In the exchange the operators connect all offices with the public exchange and the principal offices with the railway wires connecting all stations in the North Island. The train control office, equipped with loudspeaker instead of the usual telephones, is in touch by an independent wire with all stations from Wellington to Marton.
Knowing exactly at all times the whereabouts of all trains on this length of line, marking them on a chart before him as they move from station to station, the Train Control Officer is able, whenever for any reason a train cannot keep its schedule times, to rearrange its crossings with other trains to the best advantage. On reaching Marton trains on the Main Trunk line come under the control of the operator at Ohakune who in turn directs them as far as Frankton where they come under the control of the Auckland office. In the train running office the permanent time-tables are prepared and special trains planned as required, with the aid of large diagrams on which trains are represented by lines intersecting at points corresponding to stations and times. The work to be done by trains at stations is also planned in this office.
Rly. Publicity photo.)
Lambton Station-a recent view.
On the second floor the Signal and Electrical Engineer is located, his Assistant Engineers and draftsmen, facing Bunny Street, the chief clerk, clerks and records, the electrical gear for the exchange below, technical and inspecting officers, and laboratories and test room extending northwards. At the end of the Featherston Street frontage are the Manager of the Outdoor Advertising Branch with offices for his salesmen, clerks and artists.
The third floor contains the library at the corner, and eastwards the Law Officer and his assistant, a conference room and various stores. On this floor (and the one above) the southern corridor leads above the main entrance, reaching to the Suggestions and Inventions Committee room and Refreshment Branch at the Waterloo Quay end. By gangways over the roof of the booking hall communication is also established with the corridor serving the offices fronting the north wall.
Northwards from the library are the offices of the Commercial Manager and his staff. Central on this wing, and extending half-way along the north wall are the staff division, divided into employment, staff and section clerks, and Staff Superintendent and his assistants. At the extreme north end are the mechanician's workshop and the head office of the Road Motor Services.
The whole of this end of the fourth floor is taken up by the Chief Accountant, Assistant Chief Accountant, and their staff and records. In a large room on the north side are the Power's machines used for freight accounting, checking of returns from stations and the compilation of various statistics dealing with such matters as classes of goods conveyed, average haul, and revenue per ton mile.
(Continued on page 97.)
Rly. Publicity photo.)
The Main Power House, Wellington's new station.
To most people the new station at Wellington appears a large and imposing building equipped with platforms by means of which people may reach the trains. Few people will realise that within the station building is installed a complete electric power supply and telephone equipment and in the station yard a complete interlocking system.
A description of the various phases of this equipment will be of interest and may start with a consideration of the power supply as the whole station depends upon this for its operation.
The electric power supply for the Wellington yard, taken from the Wellington City Council at 11,000 volts, is brought into a main power house (see illustration) and from there distributed at 11,000 volts to the main building, locomotive sheds and goods sheds. This distribution is carried out by means of a ring main so that should a failure of the cables occur an alternative supply can be given to these buildings.
Another of our illustrations shows the substation (in the station building) from which the power is supplied to the various services in this building. The 11,000 volts supply is here transformed to 400/230 volts and distributed by means of. 400 volt ironclad switchgear and armoured cables to subboards situated throughout the building.
In addition to the ring main supply previously described, the 11,000 volts supply is transformed to 3,300 volts in the main power house for the purpose of feeding the signalling installation throughout the yard, to Upper Hutt on one line and Tawa Flat on the other. As it is essential for safe operation of traffic that this supply shall not be subject to failure in any possible way, a standby plant driven by a petrol engine is installed in the power house so that in the contingency of the Council's supply failing, this plant can be brought into use at a few minutes' notice and keep the safety appliances working.
The main supply from the City Council is also supplied by means of a ring main so that if a failure occurs on one side of the supply power can still be maintained through the other.
The electrical equipment in the station building includes electric lighting, cooking and Refreshment Branch requirements, driving calculating machines for the Chief Accountant's Branch, some radiators for heating, and driving the motors for circulating hot water for the heating system. Other services include the automatic telephone exchange and lifts, of which there are four for passengers, one for goods and three service lifts.
Rly. Publicity photo.)
The new sub-station.
The lighting of the building was carefully studied and designed to avoid shadows, in conformity with modern practice. In drawing offices the lighting is totally indirect, the ceilings and walls being used as the reflecting medium. In other offices the lighting fittings are totally enclosed so as to obtain a diffused light. The switching
Rly. Publicity photo.)
Interior of new signal cabin.
There are over 50 motors used in the building, varying in size from a fraction of a horse power up to 10 horse power capacity, the total installed load under this heading, including radiators, being 1,200 horse power.
Electric clocks have been installed in all offices, in the various public rooms of the building and on the platforms. These clocks are electrically driven from a master clock situated in the telephone exchange and provision is made that should power fail, the accuracy of the clocks is maintained. The dials of the two outdoor clocks (one facing Featherston and the other Bunny Street) are internally illuminated. The lighting is controlled by an electric eye which automatically switches on the dial lights when daylight fails.
In the automatic telephone exchange, arrangements are made whereby any person requiring the Railways Department in Wellington dials the number 47-800. The calls end on a manual board at which five operators are seated. Immediately a call is received, an operator answers and connects the call through to the person or office wanted. Calls from the offices outwards are made direct to the Post and Telegraph Department's exchange. In addition to public calls dialled from the various offices, it is arranged that each office may call any other office in the building, or through the operator on the manual board can be connected via the Railway trunk lines to any station in the North Island.
Rly. Publicity photo.)
Automatic Telephone Exchange.
(Our illustrations show the manual board and the automatic exchange).
As an adjunct to the telephone exchange, provision is made for what is known as a watchman's service. A watchman going the rounds of the offices must, from 30 different positions, dial a certain number. This number goes through the automatic exchange and records on a chart the time and the office from which the call is made. A fire alarm service is also provided whereby from numerous locations in the building a fire alarm number may be dialled, which call automatically connects up with the Wellington City Council Fire Brigade. Each group of offices is equipped with call bells and indicators to suit the various requirements.
Loud speakers will be located on the platforms and in different rooms of the station building and by this means passengers will be given information concerning the departure and arrival of trains. It will also be possible to provide broadcast music in waiting and dining rooms and to advertise activities of the Department as necessary.
The District Traffic Manager's office, situated on the first floor of the main building, controls the running of trains in the Wellington area and in these offices is installed the train control system. From the control room the movement of all trains between Wellington and Marton and Wellington and Napier is guided by telephonic reports and plotted on train running charts by the Train Control Officer.
Rly. Publicity photo.)
Telephone Exchange Manual Board in the new station building.
This officer arranges the various train crossings and supervises the running of trains so as to avoid delays to traffic. The equipment in this office consists of a selecting device whereby the officer can select any station at will. A loud speaker enables any station in the district to speak to the Control Officer without the necessity for that officer using a telephone receiver.
It is intended as a further development of the communication services to install teleprinters in this office. These instruments are really electric typewriters which are installed at each end of a telephone line. Letters typed on a machine in Wellington will be reproduced as letters on the machines at other stations. The first installation of these instruments will work between Wellington, Wanganui and Auckland.
The new Wellington yard is about two miles in extent and, with the exception of a few signals and points in the goods yards, is wholly controlled from one main signal cabin. It will be appreciated that to control a yard of this length and size from one main cabin involves a very complicated electrical system in order to ensure that trains pass safely through their respective routes and only to lines which are clear. The signalling is operated by electric power and it has already been mentioned that every care is taken to ensure that the power supply shall be entirely reliable under all conditions.
The main signal cabin, where the electric interlocking machine consisting of 127 levers is installed, is situated about a-quarter of a mile north of the station building in close proximity to the main substation. The signals are those known as the three-position, colour-light type and give the well-known red, yellow and green indications to drivers. The points are operated by motors which are connected to the relative levers in the interlocking machine.
Situated above the interlocking machine is an illuminated diagram whereon the positions of trains in the various parts of the yard are indicated by lights. The signalman is thus aware at all times what parts of the yard are occupied and where trains are moving, There are approximately 80 indicating lights installed in this diagram and the signalman can work quite safely with this and does not require to see the actual trains themselves. Behind each of the levers are small indicating lamps which tell the signalman whether the lever is free to be pulled and whether the mechanism which it controls has responded to the movement of the lever.
The interlocking between signals and points is effected electrically and it is only after all the necessary conditions are complied with to ensure the safe passage of a train that the indicating light behind the lever will show free and indicate that the lever can be pulled. Unless this light shows, the lever is locked and cannot be moved from its normal position.
Trains moving through the yard put the signals to “Danger” behind them independently of the signalman and it is impossible for the signalman to allow a train to proceed on to a section of line which is already occupied.
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It has been mentioned that the points are operated by electric motors. There are 70 of these machines in the yard and the points are moved by them in approximately three seconds. While a train is passing through a pair of points the power to the motor is cut
What is known as electric detection is employed as an additional safeguard, the sequence of conditions when a train is signalled being, firstly, that the road must be clear, secondly, that all the points must be in the correct position and, thirdly, that the signalman pulls the correct lever.
Should any of the conditions not have been complied with, it is not possible for the lever to be pulled and, further, if any of the points are at all out of adjustment then the signal will not go to clear as the electric power to operate it passes through contacts on the particular pair of points over which it applies. An inside view of the signal cabin showing the interlocking machine and levers is the subject of one of our illustrations. In this the illuminated diagram can be clearly seen, as can also the indicating lights behind the levers.
In this short article it has been possible to give only the broadest out
Rly. Publicity photo.)
Signal and Electrical Engineer's Drawing Office in the new station building.
Their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (then Duke and Duchess of York) on the footplate of the Southern Railway Iocomotive” Lord Nelson,” at Ashford, Kent.
Everywhere throughout A the world the toast: “Gentlemen, The King!” is now being honoured. His Majesty King George VI, of whom His Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury remarked: “He has made the welfare of industrial workers his special care and study,” rightly may look upon railway folk at Home and overseas as among the most loyal and most devoted of subjects. Railway managements in every corner of the wide-spread British Commonwealth officially celebrate the Coronation of King George and his gracious consort; Queen Elizabeth, on May 12, and stations and offices carry a wealth of decoration suitable to the historic occasion.
Their Majesties The King and Queen, and, indeed, all the Royal Family, are very good friends of the railways. For short-distance travel, our Royal House naturally make extensive use of road motor transport. When it comes to long-distance travel, however, preference almost invariably is given to the railway as a means of movement. It has several times been the privilege of the New Zealand Railways to convey members of the Royal House over their system, while at Home a special Royal Train is always kept in readiness for immediate use at the Wolverton Carriage Shops of the London, Midland and Scottish line.
Unlike Queen Victoria, who disliked travelling at high speed, King George V liked to journey by rail at the normal high speeds of his day. The same normality applies to our present ruler, King George VI, whose Coronation we now celebrate. In the ordinary course of things, no attempt at record breaking is made when planning the schedules for the Royal Train. Now and again, however, some really fast running has been registered, notably on the Great Western line between London and Plymouth.
A red-letter run was made in July, 1903, when, as Prince and Princess of Wales, King George V and Queen Mary toured the Duchy of Cornwall. On this occasion the 245 3/4 miles between Paddington and Plymouth were scheduled to be covered in 4 hours 30 minutes, or fifteen minutes faster than the previous record journey made by King Edward VII in the previous year, in the opposite direction. The Royal Train consisted of five coaches, hauled by the 4-4-0 locomotive “City of Bath.” Leaving Paddington at 10.40 a.m., and running non-stop to Plymouth, via Bristol, it actually accomplished the journey in 3 hours 53 minutes.
In the course of his railway journeys, King George VI, like his beloved father, invariably evinces the greatest interest in the practical side of railway working. Thousands of railwaymen of all ranks have been engaged in conversation with His Majesty in his search for informtion regarding railway affairs, and King George VI is one of the easiest passengers in the world to please, being appreciative of every little act of courtesy, and never failing to bestow a kindly word of praise upon those concerned directly or indirectly with the operation of the Royal Train.
On several occasion our Kings have actually taken charge on the footplate of the engine drawing the Royal Train. There was that memorable experience, on April 28, 1924, when King George V and Queen Mary visited Swindon Locomotive Works. On the return journey, both the King and Queen mounted the footplate, and His Majesty started the locomotive (No. 4082, “Windsor Castle”) and drove it from the Locomotive Works to the Station. The engine to-day carries on each side of the cab a suitable brass plate recording this occurrence. As Duke and Duchess of York, our present Majesties inspected the Southern Railway Works at Ashford, on October 20, 1926. They viewed with pleasure the new Southern locomotive “Lord Nelson”—at that time the newest and most powerful locomotive
Journeys between London and Scotland are among the most important of the long-distance runs made by the Royal Train. Both the East and West Coast Routes are used on occasion. Normally the trip from London to Balmoral is made by the West Coast Route out of Euston Station. Built as long ago as 1900, in the Wolverton shops of the London and North Western (now L. M. and S.) Railway, the Royal Train always stands in readiness for a “journey at Wolverton. Twenty coaches are available for forming the train, these all being painted outside in the old L. and N. W. colours—lower panels in carmine lake, and upper panels in white, with lining of gold leaf. As a general rule, only ten of the available vehicles are selected to form the Royal Train, these ten coaches weighing approximately 370 tons. Two of the carriages are special saloons for the personal use of Their-Majesties, and these carry on the lower outside panels the Royal Coat-of-Arms, and the insignia of the various Orders of Chivalry, such as St. George, The Garter, St. Andrew and St. Patrick, these all being exquisitely hand-painted. The cornice mouldings are ornamented with an oak-leaf design and gilded; while the headstock ends are carved with lions' heads, gilded, and all the door handles are gold-plated. Replacing the conventional step-boards, there are provided leather-covered folding-steps extending to ground level.
Highly-polished teak double doors give access to a square vestibule at each end of the Royal saloons. In the case of the King's saloon, the forward entrance leads to the smoking-room, finished in fiddle-back mahogany. An arm-chair, covered in apple-green Morocco leather, stands in each corner of the smoking-room, while on each side is a table of the beautiful fiddle-back mahogany. Normally, this is the saloon in which both the King and Queen sit during their journeys. Only when night travel is involved, it is usual to attach the Queen's private saloon to the train.
Adjoining the smoking saloon is the day compartment, where the furniture coverings include imitation Jacobean tapestry patterned with quaint figures upon a cream ground, and a selection of green silk rep coverings which were personally chosen by Queen Mary. In the King's day compartment—largely devoted to office affairs en route—there is a special desk for His Majesty, where there are handled the messages brought to the train by King's Messengers at the various stopping-points. Connecting with this compartment is His Majesty's sleeping saloon, furnished with a silver-plated bed and satinwood dressing-table. Adjoining the bedroom is the bathroom, and a compartment for the sergeant footman attending upon His Majesty.
The Queen's saloon corresponds largely to the King's, but the interior colour scheme is in blue. A noteworthy feature is that all the interior equipment is arranged in duplicate—two writing-tables, two easy-chairs, and so on. This is explained by the fact that the carriage was originally designed for Queen Alexandra, who was always accompanied on her travels by Princess Victoria. The furniture is of satinwood, the walls are finished in white enamel, and the decorations are Georgian. The bedroom furniture is covered in blue silk brocade, and a pink marble wash-stand is a feature of the adjoining bathroom.
Behind the Royal saloons is marshalled the dining-car, with the kitchen end trailing. The car is of standard design, and the food is cooked by specially selected members of the railway catering staff. The complete train, including the locomotive cab, is linked up by an elaborate system of telephones. In addition to the ordinary train staff, the Royal train carries a special staff drawn from the carriage and wagon department, to act as train attendants and be available in case of emergency. Two skilled telegraphists also are included. A first-class corridor brake van, marshalled next to the locomotive, accommodates the train staff. The King, it may be remarked, only uses the special train when this is essential, many journeys being made in an ordinary reserved coach attached to the regular expresses. Incidentally, Their Majesties do not, as is sometimes supposed, travel free by railway. A charge is made to the Royal Household for the service, just as is done in the case of a private individual requiring special accommodation.
Quiet efficiency and dignity are the key-notes of Royal travel. On all but formal occasions, railwaymen and the public respect Their Majesties desire for reasonable privacy, but on State occasions the railways and railway workers meet to the full every ceremonial demand made upon them. Conveying Royal travellers is a great responsibility, but a great privilege. By one and all the duty is so regarded, and at this historic Coronation season railway folk the world over echo, loyally and with all their hearts, the time-honoured toast: “Gentlemen, The King! Long May He Reign!”
The spelling of the Maori language, which makes the tongue so easy and pleasant to learn, once the vowel values are understood, is a shining example to most of the written forms of the Polynesian languages. The spelling of the tongues of Samoa, Tonga, and Niue is particularly a matter of importance to New Zealanders, for we are constantly reading news items from these places and hearing various names pronounced, or mispronounced. The most notorious example of misspelling in the newspapers is “Pago Pago,” for Pango-pango, the American port on the island of Tutuila. Pangopango is the correct and Maori-like form; it is in fact a Maori name meaning dark, or gloomy, referring to the mountains that tower over the fiord harbour. It is phonetic in form; no one can go astray in its pronunciation. But “Pago Pago” is a travesty of the name, a form ugly as well as misleading. Naturally most people in their excusable ignorance call it “Pay-go-pay-go”; trans-Pacific passengers learn that aboard ship.
We shall be hearing a good deal about Pangopango, now that it is one of the stages on that modern miracle, the Pan-American clipper flight from San Francisco to Auckland. New Zealand would do well to rectify this misuse of a melodious and meaningful name. I was pleased to hear at least one man pronounce it properly; that was the National Broadcast announcer at 2YA. He gave it its rightful form and intonation.
It is strange indeed that this matter of spelling has not been rectified in Samoa and its neighbour countries long ago. The early missionaries blunder in making “g” the arbitrary written form for “nga” could easily be set right. Yet ugly and incorrect spellings like “tagitagi,” and “moega” and “Fagaloa” persist; and the new arrival in Samoa or Tonga cannot but think that the names as spelled look like a barbwire fence. It comes to the stranger as a glad surprise to find that the language is really soft and musical without a suspicion of a sharp “g” in it.
The moment is timely for a change in the official and popular misspelling of the Samoa and Niue tongues. Consistency is called for, throughout Polynesia, seeing that the Maori pronunciation is universal from Tonga to Easter Island. In Rarotonga and other Cook Islands fortunately the correct forms prevail. Imagine “Rarotoga” and “Magaia” and “Aoragi,” on the grotesque principle which gives us “Magiagi” — “Maggie-Aggie!” — in Samoa.
The pioneer missionaries of North New Zealand who translated the Bible into Maori accomplished a literary task which I admire more and more, as I dip into the pages of the “Paipera Tapu.” Perhaps I should take credit for more than a dip, since reading the Maori version is one of my favourite spare-time occupations, or relaxations. The literary beauty and the poetic glory of the English are in no way lost in the Maori. On the contrary, I hold that many Old Testament passages in Maori read more melodiously than our original English. The Psalms of David and the books of Job and Isaiah in particular captured the Maori heart not only for the spiritual thought, the tangi and the consolation, but for the sheer beauty of their rhythmic phrasing. Read aloud or chanted, they please the ear, the Maori ear, where the harder English often falls harsh and clipped. But the Maori must be read aloud to get the full worth of its broad vowel sounds and the accent beat that always falls on just the right syllable.
Such a line as the Prophet's “Woe to Ariel, to Ariel the city where David dwelt,” loses nothing in the Maori: “Aue te mate mo Ariere, mo Ariere mo te pa i noho ai a Rawiri.” Rather it gains in sonorous roll and fervour when a Maori minister reads it as I have heard it read.
I have often admired, too, the linguistic skill and the poetic feeling that made melody out of the most unpromising looking proper names in the Scriptures. The Hebrew names had to be Maorified. An example of name translation in which the translators grappled nobly with the formidable-looking original is this one, taken at random from the Paipera Tapu: Mahere-harara-ha-paha. It is the Maori form given to “Maher-shalal-hash-baz.” The Maori certainly falls softer on the ear.
We all know the powerful singer who invokes “Jee-roo-salem, Jee-roo-salem!” with the long bellow on the “roo.” The Maori gets a less painful effect with his “Hiruharama,” in which the “ha” is the syllable lengthened and stressed.
Had the late Ruatapu Kenana, the priest and prophet of the Urewera, died a generation earlier, his body would not have been sealed up in a concrete vault, pakeha fashion. The old Maori way of cave burial prevailed in his mountain land until a few years ago. The prophet's mortal remains would have been carried up the steep side of Maungapohatu, the sacred Rocky Mountain, at whose foot he was born, and would have been hidden away in a deep cave. The upper parts of the tapu mountain are pitted with caves and fissures in the limestone, and these have for centuries been the last resting places of the Urewera; and particularly of the section of that tribe known as Nga-Potiki (The Children), to which Rua belonged.
In the Rotorua thermal country the bones of the dead were often buried in deep natural pits which had once been geyser wells. In the Government Spa grounds, called Oruawhata by the Maoris, the old chief Kiharoa many years ago showed me an ancient burial cave, under a flat ledge of rocks, and also a certain tapu place that I suppose is quite unknown to the present generation.
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In 1932, Sir William Ellis, of the Alpine Club, London, addressed a gathering of mountaineers in Canterbury. In the course of his address, he said: “You have before you a magnificent opportunity of developing climbing in New Zealand, but you should approach the task with respect and care. The Alpine Club has always stood out for climbing with safety and basing progress on experience. I hope you will not let your vigour over-reach your discretion and so bring discredit on climbing. I wish you good fortune in your pioneer work.” These remarks were made by one who realised the great difference that exists between mountaineering in the European Alps and the Southern Alps of New Zealand. In Europe, all the mountains have been ascended many times, and some of the peaks are dominated by hotels on summits and cols, and alpine railways traverse their ridges.
In the Southern Alps of New Zealand there are no summit hotels, no mountain railways, and many peaks are still unclimbed. New routes exist in a distracting profusion, and, weather permitting, young climbers and old, can blunt their ice-claws on untouched ice falls, and test their agility on virgin rock. Some remote valleys are, as yet, even untrodden—especially in parts of Westland, difficult of access—but these are fast being explored.
In fact, access to the New Zealand mountain valleys is often difficult. It is only in the Arthur's Pass, Hermitage, Fox, Franz Josef and Milford regions, that hotels exist. In other valleys a primitive musterer's hut, or a sturdy alpine hut provides the only accommodation; but the majority of ravines nestle in solitude, only to be disturbed by visiting, parties in search of deer, gold, or mountain climbing.
These difficulties of access entail the perfection of a technique that has to deal with a wider range of subjects than the mere mastery of rope, snow, ice, and rock, with which the European mountaineer is mainly concerned. It is necessary for the New Zealander to acquire merit in the crafts of cooking, river-fording, track finding in untrodden jungle, compass-reading, map-making, and organisation.
Serious accidents in the Southern
When any accident occurs one man must set out for the nearest habitation, there to send a message for help. Quick organisation will bring a relief
When a whole party is overdue, the problem of relief assumes more serious proportions. Mountaineering expeditions are usually combined with a transalpine crossing of the Southern Alps from Canterbury or Otago to Westland. The intricate system of high passes on the Main Divide, and saddles on the sub-ranges, make it possible for a party to be bewildered with the variety of routes which it may traverse “over the range.” Would-be rescuers may be more bewildered. Parties overdue in bad weather may be assumed to be held up by flooded rivers. Many a party has turned up safe, with no record of accident or disaster, and yet has been a week late for work. The New Zealand rivers run deep, but belie the proverb, and are never still.
Would-be rescuers must use their initiative in cases of doubt, and their common-sense at all times. It is the unwritten law for the leader of a party that, before he sets forth for the high country, he must leave with his friends in the town a detailed list of the routes, and alternatives, to be followed. Notes as to progress are left in tobacco tins in huts or under bivouac rocks, where ashes will tell the tale of a camp fire. Yet sudden storm or unexpected floods can change the plans of a party on the crest of the Main Divideitself. Early in 1934 a Canterbury Mountaineering Club party had made the first ascent of oft-beleagured Mt. Evans, in Westland. They had traversed the three peaks of the mountain to an arctic benightment on the Red Lion Col and returned to their camp by way of the County and McKenzie Glaciers. It was decided to reach Westland habitation by a first crossing of the Full Moon Saddle of the Bracken Snowfield. A note to that effect was left in a cave camp. The party set out in a snowstorm. The blizzard on the high-level route became worse. The compass had been lost in a previous snow bivouac. Visibility was nil. The Full Moon Saddle could not be found, still less crossed. A forced camp was splayed on the Erewhon Col, and a retreat subsequently made to the Rakaia Valley in Canterbury. Through circumstances beyond their control the climbers had changed their plans. If accident had delayed them, and a relief party ultimately found the note in the cave camp, the latter would have crossed the Full Moon Saddle and sought in vain for their friends. As it happened the party was lucky, and retreated from the trap, having lost only a tent. But it all goes to show the problems that confront rescuers in New Zealand.
So much for theory. It is time to leaven the subject of alpine rescue-work with the spice of fact. Narratives of four relief expeditions are recounted to illustrate the nature of searches, when accidents do occur.
In January, 1932, three school masters on holiday were making what is known as the “Three Pass Trip” from Hokitika to the Bealey, involving crossings of Browning, Whitehorn, and Harman Passes, which under good conditions is a simple trip not requiring any long alpine apprenticeship.
Browning's Pass was crossed without incident. At the Park - Morpet Memorial Hut, in the Wilberforce Valley the three, B. Robbins, H. D. Smith and R. K. Loney, met two experienced men, J. P. Wilson and H. M. Sweney, and received directions as to the remainder of the route over the Whitehorn and Harman Passes. Wilson and Sweney were, at that time, prospecting for gold, although their usual occupation in the back-country is that of climbing mountains and crossing difficult passes.
Robbins and his party duly set out for the Whitehorn Pass and crossed it in drizzling rain and dense fog. Had they been familiar with the route over Harman Pass their way would then have been straight forward. As it was they had no compass and no first-hand knowledge. At dusk they had become lost and had climbed the slopes of Mt. Isobel by mistake. Thinking to retrieve the position, Robbins took a short cut to the Taipo-iti Gorge below which developed into a severe rock climb down waterfalls. He may have avoided the main waterfall, and met disaster when an avalanche snow-bridge gave under his weight and hurtled him into the swollen Taipo-iti Stream. His body was later found near the snowy edge of the stream. Smith died of exhaustion and exposure on the Isobel ridge. Loney sought help, and, on the following day, staggered into the Park-Mor-peth Hut with the news that Smith was dead. Wilson crossed the Whitehorn and Harman Passes that night. His solo trip in the dark was memorable. Descending the Waimakariri River he telephoned from the Bealey for help and searchers immediately left Christ-church for the Carrington Hut.
By noon on the following day the search parties had located the missing men and brought their bodies back to civilisation, Chester and others bringing the survivor Loney back to the Bealey.
Immediate co-operation of mountaineers had resulted in an expeditious recovery of the dead men, but it had been too late to avert tragedy.
While doing valuable climbing work in new territory at the head of the East Matukituki River, Aspiring region, Otago, a party of New Zealand Alpine Club members met unexpected trouble. S. W. Studholme fell from a glazed snow slope, and descended over a bluff to injure his back on a rock 35 feet below. All this was in the still evening, in country far more inaccessible than the Harman Pass, previously described.
Fortunately the Otago men numbered five, and were strong in their resource. Slowly the injured man was moved to a camp at the head of the valley, while two men dashed down the river and gorge to the Aspinall's homestead where a short-wave wireless set enabled communication to be made with Roland Ellis, of Dunedin, who organised a fully-equipped relief expedition.
Brief extracts from the New Zealand Alpine Journal will explain the difficulties attending the rescue: “The stretcher party moved on shortly after nine o'clock to the hardest work of the relief. After following the boulder-strewn riverbed for about half a mile, the party was compelled to take to the bush, where two men with axes cleared
It is satisfactory to relate that Stud-holme recovered, and owes his life to the efficiency and endurance of those men of the Otago mountains.
In May, 1934, J. Lysaght and B. Mason experienced winter ice conditions on the Whitehorn Pass, Wilberforce-Taipo watershed. While descending the steep Cronin slopes, Lysaght slipped and fell some 500 feet, suffering severe injuries to his arm. Mason had no ice-axe, but hacked his way down to his companion with a hunting knife. Thus began a period critical to the safety of both men.
Lysaght was unable to move, and Mason bound him up in two sleeping-bags and left for the Wilberforce Valley, where no help was available at that time. Mason returned the next day and helped the other down the Cronin Valley, both men lying out in the rain that winter's night. They reached the welcome haven of the Park-Morpeth Hut on the following morning, there to shelter for several days. Mason journeyed down the Wilberforce Valley where he met some Mt. Algidus mus-terers who lent him a pack-horse to enable him to take Lysaght to the nearest homestead, Glenthorne.
When it was known that these two men were overdue, a party left Christ-church and made a speedy trip up the Waimakariri in the dark. The river had to be crossed six times. Five men crossed the Harman and Whitehorn Passes under very bad conditions. No crampons (ice-claws) were available and the leaders had constant step-cutting. The utmost care was taken, the party being roped, and the treacherous ice slope into the Cronin was descended safely. At the Park-Morpeth Hut the relief men learnt of the safety of their friends and made swift travelling down the river to Glenthorne. They had accomplished a winter journey from the Bealey Hotel to Glenthorne Homestead via Harman and Whitehorn Passes in two days, entailing much travel over rough country in the dark, and dangerous ice work. This had been made possible by the topographical knowledge of the searchers who could pick the shortest routes in any conditions.
From this experience it will appear the search parties will face some of the ardours of travel which affect the lost men. The possibilities of accident, the maze of rugged country to be traversed and the heavy packs, all combine to render the search a matter for caution, yet speed which, under winter conditions, are not easy to combine.
On January 23, 1933, Guide Mark Lysons and Miss Ida Corry, a member of the Ladies' Alpine Club, England, made the first ascent of Mt. Goldsmith, 9,532 feet. On the descent Lysons broke his leg in jumping a crevasse. This accident would have been disastrous had not Miss Corry and her guide kept their heads in the most difficult of circumstances. They were far from outside help, and had to rely entirely on their own resources. Miss Corry assisted Lysons by cutting steps, the length of the rope, and belayed (anchored) while he lowered himself, using his ice-axe as a brake. With two ice-axes as crutches Lysons could force a trail over the snow at the foot of the slope. Night set in and made progress even more difficult. After twenty hours the Almer Hut was reached—a ten-mile journey, with a descent of 5,000 feet.
Guide Joe Fluerty happened to be at the Almer Hut. He fixed up Lysons's leg with ski-splints and raced down the Franz Jo