1913 – The Year of The Lorry

The movement of bulk goods to, from, and around the Upper Clutha since Māori first passed through the area was largely limited to travel on foot, packhorses, drays pulled by bullocks or horses, rafts and canoes. That was until 1913.

That is not to say that motorized vehicles had not been used in the Upper Clutha area before 1913. Mt Cook Motor Services were providing service cars for transporting people (tourists usually) from Pukaki to Pembroke (now Wānaka) in December 1910. The development of motorized transport was in part restricted by the prohibition by the Councils on motor vehicles being used on certain roads in the area. However, apparently it did not stop a Mr Turnbull using his Model T – he apparently must have felt safe from the watchful eyes of Vincent County and Lakes County staff with their fines book! The catch-cry from some Councillors was that motor vehicles would “scare the horses”.

Additionally, the roads were also very rough, in many cases not more than a bridle track and some had huge ruts created by the wheels of the drays.

It was a young man who first introduced a motorized lorry for commercial transport purposes to the Upper Clutha.

George Edward Partridge (born 1 Dec 1889), a young 22 year old from Lowburn (parents Henry and Annie Partridge), took the plunge and arranged to purchase a Commer lorry from the New Zealand agent in Oamaru, Walter E Searle. Walter had a thriving motor vehicle business selling and servicing cars, lorries and buses. He even ran a local bus service in Oamaru. The new Commer lorry was ordered from the Luton, England factory in 1912 and arrived in Dunedin on 19 January 1913. It was then handed over to George.

George had arranged to set up a partnership with Samuel Hunter[1], a well-known and respected carrier from Pembroke. It was announced in the newspapers on 3 March 1913 and the name of their firm was “Clyde-Upper Clutha Motor Carrying Co”.

[1] Some Upper Clutha publications record his name as Sam Hunt but his surname was definitely Hunter as subsequently researched from a number of independent sources.

Believed to be George Partridge in 1913 (a colourised photo)

Their principal goal was to provide “a regular service from Clyde to Upper Clutha and surrounding districts”. Certainly, there was a good demand for such a service. Grain was produced in the area in large volumes, but transport was limited to drays and they were slow. Although the Flour Mill at Luggate had been in operation for some time, and was a boon to local farmers, flour, grain, wool etc. still had to be sent to Clyde whilst the locals continued their discussions for the Government to build a railway from Clyde to Hāwea Flat. The railway had been planned for a number of years and it appears on early maps, but it never came to fruition.

George at the wheel and Sam Hunter (standing on the rear of the lorry) outside the Albion Hotel (known now as the Luggate Hotel) on a promotional tour in late February 1913

George was the lorry driver, and it appears Sam was looking after the obtaining of freight contracts. The lorry was described as weighing 4.25 tons, had a body of the wagon 14ft by 7ft, and it was designed to carry a load of 6 tons. It was powered by a 40 hp engine fitted to a five-speed gear box. The wheels were “40 inch in diameter and fitted with twin solid rubber tyres giving an 11- inch tread on the driving wheel”. Top speed was 20 mph. All was not plain sailing however, as the Dunedin Expansion League was still negotiating in early February with the Vincent County Council to allow motor traffic at certain hours of the day on certain roads. Motor traffic was completely prohibited in some places back then. Even special arrangements had to be made in the event of meeting a horse-drawn coach on the road.

The matter was resolved, and it appears that the business went well. The only known issue with the lorry was the occasionally over-heating. This started occurring in early 1914.

Then disaster struck! Pat McCarthy, a farmer from Hāwea Flat, was travelling down to Clyde on 22 April 1914 when he came across the lorry standing in the middle of the road near Rocky Point. The toolbox was open, and the radiator cap was off. There was no sign of George. Pat travelled on to Lowburn and discovered that no one had seen George, so a search was instigated. It was noticed that a water jug that George had purchased earlier to top up the radiator was missing. Eventually it was surmised that George went down to the river with the jug to get some water to top-up the radiator, but likely slipped on the rocks at the river edge and fell in. The river is particularly “boisterous” at this point.

The last person to talk with George was Jack Oliver. He farmed Run 236R just on the northern side of where the Lindis River enters the Clutha/Mata-Au. Jack stated there was nothing amiss and after talking for 10 minutes, George drove off towards the Lowburn Bridge.

George’s body was never found, but it was reported at the inquest that there were four gold dredges operating just downstream and it was possible his body was buried in the tailings.

And so the business ended. George’s mother was his executrix, and she arranged auction of the lorry. It was sold on 1 June 2014 to WM Reid & Sons for £1,295, meaning the lorry stayed in the Upper Clutha area.

As for Sam Hunter, he packed up and purchased a farm at Taieri Mouth which he farmed until he retired. He passed away in 1939 aged 73.