Days of future past

Today an almost perpetual cacophony of police sirens heard in Hamilton’s CBD reflect the frequency with which the road code is transgressed. Ninety two years ago traffic offending was far less prevalent. However, one drunk driving case from 1925 warranted national headlines. Oscar Svenson’s day at the races had unforeseen consequences.

Svenson evidently imbibed to excess out at Te Rapa.

Though his subsequent legal defence was built around the claim that the liquor consumed was in someway ‘‘bad" a faulty batch if not a ‘‘Mickey Finn’’ – the court saw it differently.

The fact that Svenson was a travelling salesman who specialised in milking machines was not lost on the NZ Truth, which opined ‘‘that it would certainly be better for business – everybody’s business – if he stuck to cow juice’’.

It was considered a minor miracle that Svenson made it from the race course to the main street of town without incident, especially as traffic conditions were thought ‘‘dense’’.

The mayhem began once Oscar was loose upon Victoria Street. He first veered onto the pavement, driving over a stationary and thankfully riderless bicycle.

He ‘‘continued on the footpath for a distance, scattering pedestrians in all directions and then managed, in a miraculous manner, to find his way on to the road again without colliding with the telegraph poles or verandah posts’’.

Svenson made it to the Post Office – today’s ArtsPost building – before turning into Hood St and again mounting the pavement.

Here tragedy was narrowly averted. A father who was at once wheeling a bicycle and pushing a pram, one containing his infant child, was suddenly confronted by the fast approaching Ford motor vehicle.

Instinct kicked in. The man dropped the push bike, grabbed the baby and took evasive action. Svenson’s car ploughed into the pram, running it over.

As he rounded Alexandra Street, Svenson was on the wrong side of the road. Two motorists were forced onto the footpath to avoid collision.

He finally reached his destination – unsurprisingly, a public house – when he turned into Collingwood Street and parked at the Commercial Hotel. He was promptly arrested.