Newspaper Article 1961 – Country children in town on road safety project

Country children in town on road safety project

Forty-nine pupils of the Waiwhare School, under the care of two teachers and two school road traffic instructors, came into Hastings on a road safety project today.

The children came from Waiwhare, 30 miles up on the Taihape Road, in cars and two school buses.

The trip was arranged by the two road traffic instructors (schools) Mr R. J. Coddington, Hastings, and C. W. Horniblow, Napier, with the Waiwhare schoolteachers, Miss Kay Gibson and Mr Trevor Boyes.

The children were taken to the Central School, where school traffic patrols were working. They then went to the vehicle inspection depot and saw the safety aspect, with mechanics checking cars’ brakes.

Senior Traffic Officer R. O. Wilkinson welcomed the children at his office later, and then explained and showed how a parking meter worked.

Mr. Wilkinson spoke to a traffic inspector on patrol work over the radio and the children heard the officer’s reply.

The instructor then showed the children the use of traffic lights.

After lunch at Windsor Park, the children went to Crownthorpe School, where they received swimming instruction.

Photo caption – They’ve never seen anything like this before, judging by their expressions. They are children from Waiwhare School who spent today in Hastings studying traffic behaviour. They are pictured looking at a retort at the Hastings gas works, Karamu Road.