Ohinemuri Regional History Journal 12, October 1969
By Ruth Gamble.
My father was the Superintendent of the Methodist Sunday School. One Sunday he announced the hymn, "A Little Lamb Went Straying". Just then a big billy goat, plus chain, ran down the aisle of the Sunday School. Mr. W. Hicks smartly caught the goat and took it outside - the singing of the hymn went on!
XMAS 1921. Mr. H. Deverell Junr. was taking some gentlemen from Waihi to Auckland for the Ellerslie Races on Boxing Day by car, with my parents, brother and self making up the other passengers. We sat on a padded board across the dicky seat of the seven seater Chandler car, we being on our way to our cottage at St. Heliers Bay. We left Waihi at 4 a.m., and at Waitakaruru we asked a Maori man in a paddock the way to Auckland. He said, "Follow the best cow track until you reach Pokeno". We duly arrived at Ellerslie just too late for the last race, much to the dismay of the other passengers, but we were driven on to St. Heliers. After the races Harry drove the men home to Waihi, and I understand spent the next two weeks in bed recovering.
XMAS 1922. On Saturday the 25th December at 2 p.m. we set off for Auckland, my parents, brother and self with Mr. Sam Tanner and Wally, his son, driving their Chandler car. It was such a terribly wet day that the car lights were used, and as the car had only just been overhauled the lights, instead of shining on the road were tilted to the heavens. Mr. Tanner tried to improve the vision by holding a big torch out the side curtain of the car. At Turua we got lost, but eventually found the right road and arrived in Auckland at 10 p.m., very wet and tired. My brother Gordon, it was discovered, had a big bruise on his thigh, as he had been sitting in the centre in the front seat, and Mr. Tanner had kept punching the leg every time we came to anything, saying, "Pass him Wally!"