Labour Day celebrations in Otago

Apparently the stormy weather with which the holiday broke yesterday had very little effect in keeping the trippers at home, for the Railways Department has to report record bookings over the weekend. Gore and

Oamaru and seaside tickets were sold at boxes outside the station, and this effectively prevented crushing and made for the greater convenience of travellers. The total bookings on Saturday last were 3639, and an incomplete return obtained in the afternoon showed Monday’s bookings to have then reached 4435, a total of 8074 for the two days, or 981 more than last year’s total. The Labour Day picnic train to Outram took about 1000 passengers in the 20 carriages, which is the largest number allowed by regulation in one train.

The special train for Outram took passengers to the 31st picnic held under the auspices of the Otago Labour Day Association, and young and old set out for a day in the country, leaving behind them with the city and its dust and noise all the cares and anxieties of life’s routine. Each year the Labour Day picnic seems to grow in popularity, and those responsible for the outing yesterday have every reason to be

satisfied with a result of their efforts. About a dozen races, some of a very amusing character, were held during the course of the day. The trophies were valuable and sometimes useful as well; for example the fleetest married lady in the crowd will have half a ton of coal delivered free at her home. In addition there was a plentiful supply of toys for the younger children’s races and many an infant might be seen in the homeward bound train hugging the precious toy that its prowess had won.