BY ROBYN PARKES
When an application was received by Nelson City Council from the Mardi Gras secretary asking for the use of their road roller it was laughed off as being a joke.
However, the request was made in all seriousness because it would bring huge enjoyment and be a great spectacle. It was intended that a race be held between the two council’s rollers.
More practical questions arose as to whether the roller would damage the road and/or, could the roller be damaged. One concern for who was going to pay for the coal. Cr Edwards stated that he would give 5/- towards the cost.
With an eye to the city’s finances, a light-hearted suggestion from a councillor was to put down a mile of metal and get it rolled cheaply through the occasion of the race.
In a sporting spirit the race was agreed to by both councils. The proposed course became a lively discussion with a suggestion that a good test would be to the top of Mount St where there was a turn that would test the drivers.
The great road roller marathon took place in January, 1923 as the first event of the Mardi Gras under the management of the city engineer, Mr J Littleton and Waimea County Council engineer Mr Menzies.
Thousands packed Trafalgar St to witness the event. There were two entries for the race, the Nelson City Council’s Wairoa Belle, weighing in at 12.5 tons, steam-driven and 20 years old, driven by Amos Taylor, and the newer Waimea County Council’s Sasanof, petrol-driven and weighing in at 10 tonnes.
The “gallops” were watched with great amusement and hilarity. The course ran from the Church Steps to the Post Office and back, with one part of the journey having to be completed in reverse gear.
The start saw Wairoa Belle given a fifty-yard head start due to its age and, as the starting tape was raised, both rollers dashed off amongst plumes of steam and the rattle of the gears.
When on the reverse gear, Wairoa Belle raced ahead, developing a good distance from its opponent.
As the race progressed, the big crowd followed, cheering on their choice. Wairoa Belle won the first leg and both rollers started side by side for the return with Wairoa Belle the victor.
The successful driver was carried on the shoulders of others to the nearest water tap where his health was toasted before being congratulated by Mr Lock, Mayor of Nelson.
Just a month later, the Waimea County Council roller was said to have inadvertently set a speed record of around 20 miles per hour in an unexpected event. The roller, driven by W. Anderson, was pulling a six-ton crusher up an incline near the Wakatu entrance to Cawthron Institute grounds. Once up the top of the hill, the driver changed gears from high to low, the low gear to act as a brake when proceeding down the hill nearby.
In doing this the engine had to be put into neutral first. However, the weight of the crusher caused the roller to run forward, and the driver could not put the engine into gear while on the move. Braking did not work and, as the decline increased, so too did the roller’s speed.
The wheel of the crusher then collapsed causing it to swing violently to one side, colliding with a telegraph pole. The swinging caused the steering gear to give way and the roller continued down, barely missing a group of willow trees. Fortunately, no one was injured.
