| Brief Description |
Black and white photograph of the Wheelbarrow Derby held as part of the fundraising for the Kaitoke Forest Youth Scheme. The image shows a man pushing a wheelbarrow full of plants on the left, with another man pushing a well-dressed gentleman in a wheelbarrow on the right, and a crowd behind watching.
The image was taken during the Wheelbarrow Derby race from the Wanganui Town Bridge to the Regent Theatre on Victoria Avenue, Whanganui, on 10 July 1935. The challenger, Mr Ross Meikle, manager of the Regent Theatre, was to wheel Mr Bert Fry while Mr Dave Dustin, President of the Wanganui District Development League and a local caterer, was to wheel a barrow load of young trees which he and his assistants must sell. Mr Meikle needed to collect 12 pennies for each 20 yards of the journey and Mr Dustin had to sell one tree for one shilling for each 20 yards traversed. The proceeds were in aid of the Wanganui Youth Afforestation camp at Kaitoke. Mr Dustin was the eventual winner and raised the sum of £30 (equivalent to $3,244.93 in 2013) for the camp.
Another competition included guessing the weight of Mr Meikle and Mr Frey combined. None of the contestants managed to correctly guess the weight, which was 559 lbs (254 kgs). Consolation prizes, however, of dress circle tickets to either the Regent or Plaza Theatres, were awarded to those who guessed the closest weight.
The Wanganui Youth Afforestation Camp was officially opened on 3 September 1933, conceived and sponsored by the Wanganui District Development Leagues. The purpose of the camp was to provide forestry training for unemployed youth of the Whanganui region. The site of 900 acres was at Kaitoke. Initially 40 boys worked planting pinus insignis trees on the site. The boys received three shillings each week in pocket money and a bond for each week's work, payable in 1950. Bonds were offered for sale to members of the public and businesses. By 1935, 21 acres had been fenced and planted with 18,000 two-year-old pinus insignis. The holding nursery contained 46,000 yearling trees grown from cones gathered by the boys.
The planting of trees was seen to enhance the country generally, improve the climate, be beneficial to the health of the community, attract bird life and provide employment for the future. £1 bonds were offered for 16 shillings with an estimated worth in 15 to 20 years time of between £3 and £10.
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