Did the Riepers have a car?
Jackson shows the Rieper family once in a car: Pauline is picked up at Ilam and driven home by Bert and Honora two days before the murder. The outside shots of 31 Gloucester St showed a modest car parked in front of the house. “Heavenly Creatures” has Honora and Pauline using public transportation most of the time. They take a tram to visit Juliet and we also see the girls riding a tram. The trip to Victoria Park is made on the bus. In real life the Riepers had a car, according to Herbert Riper’s testimony. However, he may have been the only driver, and he may not have driven the car to work. It is known from her diary entries that Pauline took the bus or rode her bike everywhere she travelled in Christchurch, when she wasn’t being chauffeured by the Hulmes (also mentioned in Pauline’s diaries). Honora and the girls definitely took the bus to Victoria Park on the day of the murder. Bert Rieper was driven by a coworker to Victoria Park after work on the day of the murder.
