22-1 Speeding ban led of Wigram race to use circuit Had it not been for some concerned Waimairi residen orial Trophy race may have never been run of the Wi When the race was first introduced in 1949 the or- ¡ganisers (the Canterbury Car Club) had planned the , race to be run througl the i streets of the Waimairi district. Several months before the event the Canterbury Car Club approached the waimairi County Council and the Christchureh Transport Board and gained their approval. With one week to go before the start of the race, a • few worried residents who thought that the crowds i watching the race would ¡ damage their properties : complained to the Ministry of Transport. The result was advice ' that any driver exceeding the speed limit would be apprehended. The organisers went to the Wigram airfield, but they could not get permission to use the runway. In 1949 the Returned Services Assoclation was a fairly strong political organisation and it just so happened that the association would profit from the running of the race. A deputation from the Canterbury Car Club and the Papanui RSA travelled north and received a sympalhetic hearing from the Prime Minister (Mr Peter Fraser), who granted them permission Wigram aerodrome The car club had under 10 days to organiso the race. A cireuit of just over two miles, fashioned from runways and connecting roads, was the first real course to be used for motor racing in New Zealand. Five hundred bales of hay were placed on some the more hazardous bends as a safety measure. So it was on a fine Jate February summer day that 22 cars lined up for the first ever New Zealand road racing championstips. Wellington's Morrie Leoctor took the chequered flag in a time of 1 hour 35 minutes for the 105 mile race before a crowd 25,000 spectators. Portunately, there were no serlous accidents, The only incident occurred when a car failed to take a bend, hit the hay bales, rolled a few times and landed upside down in a dilch. The drivér escaped with only i fut thumb. In 1951 there were major upheavals in the Canterbury Car Club. Sevoral members wanted to drop the running of the race and a motion was passed to that effect. Because a lot of hard work had gone into organisation in the past a few members formed the Motor Racing Club and i took over the running of l the race. Lady Wigram married Sir Henry Wigram in 1885. le was a prominent local businessman and Mayor of ! Christchurch in 1902. Lady Wigram was member of the Red Cross is, the Lady Wigram igram aerodrome. for 40 years and she took on many tasks at home during. World War 2. The Wigrams owned one of the first cars in Canterbury and • Lady Wigram was one of the first woman drivers in the province. As well as cars, the Wigrams had a deep interest in flying. It was Sir Henry who set up the Canterbury Avialion Company to train young pilots. Lady Wigram presented the tropby for the first time in 1956, one year before she died at the ripe old age of 95.