Railway Buses for Ambulance Work.

The Railway Bus Office, which was located close to the Masonic Hotel, was utterly demolished, but by extraordinary good luck the staff had saved their lives by sheltering in the strong-room and extricated themselves after the first heavy quakes had passed. The Officer in Charge, Mr. S. Viles, with the help of the available staff, set about turning some of the railway buses into ambulance cars. A skeleton service between Hastings and Napier was maintained up to 10 p.m. and the balance of the fleet of buses did yeoman service in conveying injured and maimed cases to McLean Park and refugees to Central Park and racecourse. Railway buses were also sent down for the sailors who were being landed by H.M.S. “Veronica,” and every transport facility was given that the plant available would permit.