WAITAHUNA.
Clutha Leader, Volume XXV, Issue 1292, 21 April 1899, Page 6
About this newspaper
WAITAHUNA.
[From Our Own Correspondent.] I must congratulate the proprietors of the Clutha Leader on publishing the paper twice a week. As a biweekly the Clutha Leader should be acceptable to its many readers in the counties of which Balclutha is an important centre. Since my last the farmers have succeeded in getting in most of the crops.-and a large number have had the threshing mill, the results from which are highly satisfactory. Of course the farmer has his growl at the prices, though he cannot help congratulating himself that he escaped the very boisterous weather of last week. The rain was badly wanted for grass and turnips so he cannot growl fairly even at the rain. Lawrence has copied the Waitahuna district inasmuch as it has erected a public sheep dip ; but that copying is easily accounted for, as Mr Hugh Cameron, the works president of the Tuapeka Agricultural Society, learned his farming and public ways in Waitahuna. There was one thing in connection with the opening that struck me as being rather funny. A bottle of champagne was wasted in christening (he dip — a drop from the 'sublime to the ridiculous ' with a vengeance. As one critic remarked to me, ' The society might have been content with the mode of the Baptists when they immersed a sheep.' The president had nought to do with champagne in Waitahuna, as the Blue Ribbonites can testify. Speaking of the blue ribbon reminds me that the meetings of the society have been few and far between since last winter. The principles of temper, ance have the greater hold when the converts are made by persuasion, rather than compulsion. Tfc is a pity to leave the work entirely to the struggle between for or against prohibition. ; That question will be fought out in Bruce with a good deal of zeal on both sides. I have heard opinions from them both. The prohibitionists hold that they will win the day with a proviso that if not, reduction will b* carried. The moderates on the other hand say that the * prohs.' will not have a show, and that reduction is not wanted as Bruce has a smaller number j of hotels for its population than any other such district. There are nearly as many hotels in and around Lawrence as in the whole of the Bruce electorate. Waitahuna has helped to supply the increase of gold found in Otago during the past year. She had four hydraulic lifts and two dredges at work part of the time. The new dredge (George Scott and party) is meeting with much success. In my last I made rather a big blunder when speaking of the dredge's lifting power. Instead of lifting a hundred tons per day, she can do that per hour. In fact she can lift 106 cubic yards, or about 140 tons, per hour, should each bucket be fully loaded. The dredge is now on virgin ground, which in days gone by was considered too poor to work by sluicing, etc., yet she is paying well. The old I dredge company (M'Kenzie and party) purpose haying a new dredge erected after the model of Scott's, and other
companies are spoken of, so we shall have quite a fleet. At any rate claims have been taken up for some distance up the river. This dredging mu3t be doing grand work for the coal miners. No other mode of gold-seeking has distributed benefits around in like manner. Ship carpenters, iron-workers, coalminers, and carriers, all reap a harvest from the dredger. Even the schoolmaster hopes for some of the crumbs. Many young men have rec^ivt d constant work on the dredges, and these then begin to look round for a Inss, the parson is engaged, and in the near future the school will probably be increased. Speaking of marriages, I should mention that Mr William M'Kenzie was joined in wedlock, during Easier we<ik, to Miss Mary Murraj, soil and daughter respectively of Mr Thomas M'Kenzie and Mr William Murray, two old and respected residents of Waitahuna. April 16, 1899.
