Early Days on the East Coast

At the present rate of progress, it might be 30 years before motorists can speed from Wairoa to Ruatoria on a "super" highway. But at least today the traveller can get from Gisborne to Tolaga in an hour, more or less. These pictures, sent in by Mrs Mc Culloch of Ruatoria, hark back to the days when the Gisborne-Tolaga trip could, and often did, take two days.

Gisborne Motor Service's Co's open-air bus looks crowded with a football team aboard for a Tokomaru-Tolaga match in 1922.

The Gisborne-Wairoa trip was a real adventure in these 1924 service cars. In spite of rough roads, cars were often packed with up to a dozen passengers, plus mail and luggage bags hung outside. Surprisingly, they had a fine record of performance.

Mud to the axles was often the rule on the East Coast, "highway". These pictures show a football team having trouble with its "coach" on the way to a match in the days before motor transport. It was a case of everybody out and push, which at least would be good practice for the forwards so long as they were not completely exhausted by the time the game started.

The coast coach negotiating Loisel's gorge in 1924. It was soon to give way to the service car, which in turn was superseded by the modern passenger bus.

Wonderful patience of draught horses trained to stand unperturbed in breaking surf is seen in this 1919 picture of wool being transhipped at Waipiro Bay from wagon to lighter. Ship wait-ting in bay is almost entirely obscured by bow of lighter.

A 1929 picture of the Manutahi Hotel at Ruatoria.

The main street of Ruatoria, taken in 1929 from the balcony of the Manutahi Hotel.

Previous article Issue contents Next article

The Gisborne Photo News

No 32 : March 7, 1957

Early Days on the East Coast