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_The Evening Post_, 15 March 1924:
SENSATIONAL MOTORING
N.Z. RECORD BROKEN
BY
ESSEX CAR
——
AUCKLAND – WELLINGTON IN
13 HOURS 19 MINUTES.
DRENCHED to the skin, plastered in mud, and shivering with cold, Norman Smith, better known as “Wizard” Smith, of Sydney, reached the Wellington Post Office at 6.34 on Thursday evening in an Essex racing car,…498 miles [800 km]…from Auckland in 13 hours 19 minutes…the new record has been achieved in the worst possible conditions as regards the weather,…slippery, mountainous, and winding roads…. the strain was necessarily enormous, and, although both he and his mechanic, Ben Campbell,… were in the pink of condition, they were both feeling the effects of the marvellous feat.… His car was a four-cylinder Essex, 18 h.p., two seater.…
[Details of incidents]
CAUSES OF DELAY
That Smith is capable of clipping at least 2½ hours off his present record may be believed from the…avoidable delays which occurred:—Attention to exhaust, 15 minutes; accident, 47; wrong turning, 18; punt at Mokau River, 17; bad roads and rain between Levin and Wellington, 30; motor-lorry on road between Paraparaumu and Paekakariki, 40—a total of 2 hours 47 minutes…
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19240315.2.183
![Black-and-white photo montage: Thrilling motor sports at Muriwai Beach last Saturday: the Auckland Automobile Association’s speed tests. 1924. Description: Snapshots from the motor racing sports at Muriwai Beach which attracted 5000 motorists and spectators. 1. The natural grandstand at the start line: showing crowds seated on the sand dunes and a small aeroplane flying low across beach. 2. Officials on the judge’s stand. 3. Spectators in a car watching the race for the New Zealand Motor Cup (50 miles). 4. H. Natrass [Howard Nattrass], winner of the cup, in his Mercer car. 5. A view of the road to the beach, busy with cars and pedestrians. 6. The Austin that won the New Zealand Light Car Cup (50 miles). 7. The Essex competing in the race, in which it finished in third place. 8. Start of the Touring Car Handicap. Mr L. Howden’s Durant (18) winner. 9. Cars belonging to visitors parked in a valley near the beach. Citation: Supplement to the Auckland Weekly News, 27 March 1924, p. 39. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections AWNS-19240327-39-01. https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/photos/id/247247](https://social-cdn.vivaldi.net/system/media_attachments/files/114/163/048/310/170/000/original/a2431e307fd4f5cf.jpg "Black-and-white photo montage: Thrilling motor sports at Muriwai Beach last Saturday: the Auckland Automobile Association’s speed tests. 1924. Description: Snapshots from the motor racing sports at Muriwai Beach which attracted 5000 motorists and spectators. 1. The natural grandstand at the start line: showing crowds seated on the sand dunes and a small aeroplane flying low across beach. 2. Officials on the judge’s stand. 3. Spectators in a car watching the race for the New Zealand Motor Cup (50 miles). 4. H. Natrass [Howard Nattrass], winner of the cup, in his Mercer car. 5. A view of the road to the beach, busy with cars and pedestrians. 6. The Austin that won the New Zealand Light Car Cup (50 miles). 7. The Essex competing in the race, in which it finished in third place. 8. Start of the Touring Car Handicap. Mr L. Howden’s Durant (18) winner. 9. Cars belonging to visitors parked in a valley near the beach. Citation: Supplement to the Auckland Weekly News, 27 March 1924, p. 39. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections AWNS-19240327-39-01. https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/photos/id/247247")
