History – Motoring mishaps

In March 1924, Ted Widdup travelled from Te Kopuru to Wharehine with his sister Alice, her husband Will Wordsworth, and their family to visit friends. Ted later wrote to Harold Marsh apologising for not being able to see him after dining with the Withefords.

It was raining heavily. Ted commented that if they’d been driving a horse perhaps they could have come, but a car was rather tricky on wet clay roads, particularly those to Port Albert and from Wellsford to Te Hana.

Alice and family were staying at the Powells in Te Hana and Ted thought they would worry if the two men didn’t return that night. As phone lines were down, they couldn’t get a message to her, so made the effort to get back. Ted wrote “on arriving home we were too conceited, nobody had expected us to think of returning home”.

The travellers intended returning to Te Kopuru next morning but it was far too wet. By afternoon, the weather improved and one of the Powell boys suggested going fishing in Te Hana stream. Will would drive Frank Powell and Ted to the boat, leaving his car at Roy Becroft’s while they fished.

As soon as Will got into the car, he realized that he hadn’t switched off the engine battery the night before so the battery was flat. He assumed his engine crank handle was in the car, but it wasn’t – it was at home. The men thought that if they pushed the car down a hill while in gear the engine would start, but that didn’t work. They jacked up a back wheel, put the engine in gear and then manually spun the wheel, but couldn’t turn the engine over quickly enough. As a last resort they borrowed two good horses, which didn’t have to go fast or far before the car’s engine started.

The next two days were stormy. They finally left for Te Kopuru, but the car refused to go beyond Topuni. They could see the problem was in the carburettor, so they took it out to clean and adjust it. As the engine was hard to start when cold, they rushed the work and broke a vital part.  The break couldn’t be repaired without a lathe, so Will and Ted went to Maungaturoto while Mrs Wordsworth and family stayed with residents in Topuni.

Repairs to the carburettor didn’t take long, but the men didn’t get back to the car until late next day. The engine started easily after being put back together, so Will and Ted left for Maungaturoto, wisely advising the rest of the party to travel there by train. After an overnight stay in Maungaturoto, they all finally arrived home at Te Kopuru.

Ted explained, “The car is a new one & behaves very well. The trouble we had with it was through no fault of the car, we take all responsibility for the trouble.”

Lyn Johnston, Albertland Museum
www.albertland.co.nz