SUMNER RIPPLES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11562, 4 December 1915, Page 11

SUMNER RIPPLES.

[From Oira Cob-ssspondjen't.] TIDES FOR THE WEEK. High Water.

THE FRONT. Sergeant Mackenzie Gibson, a son of Chaplain-Major Mackenzie Gibson, has sufficiently recovered from his recent illness in Egypt to be able to return to the firing line on Gallipoli. Bingour has been located through n telegram received by Mr E. G. AVood from his son, Gunner A. 0. AVood. It is found to be in Londonderry, Ireland. Several Canterbury boys were reported at this station. Gunner AVood is making satisfactory progress. Recent advice states that Private A. Hines is recovering from his wounds satisfactorily but is temporarily incapacitated by deafness. Lance-Corporal Frank Pender is reported fit ami well. Hp lias been transferred from the infantry to the machine gun section. Driver Swift continues to write cheerfully of his doings. His health ks good and his appointment as orderly to ono of the generals is most grat dying. Private Frank Buttle still finds bis arm troubling him He has been visiting his .friends in London and Yorkshire. Private R. C. Massey is reported to be makintr favourable progress at Uotorua, where he is being treated for rheumatism. Gunner Harold Smith, the only son of Mr 0. H. Smith, of Nayland Street, writes from the transport reporting in optimistic vein the doings on board. Private Hugh Barr is to he congratulated upon bis promotion to LanceCorporal before leaving Trentham. Mr G. Pilcher, who succeeded Private L. F. Regnault on the staff of the school for the deaf, has now been definitely accepted for the front ami expects to leave for Trentham early next year. A ROLL OF HONOUR. Amongst the societies which have paid a heavy toll of members through the war is the Sumner branch of the Royal Life Saving Society. Mr G. \V. C. Snvthson, on being ask-'-d r-» unveil a roll of honour of member.; at the front, said t.hat he- was proud to know that so many were ?i<rvii>g Kmc: and Country. A very end creditable, portion of our yotuu: men bad gone willingly and were gnim' to Mia re in the deeds of cnii!'a:;e and daring. He bad great pleasure m umviling the roll, which contained the following list of names: —Lieutenant IT. M. Wright (killed in action) I,untenant G. S. Lavie, Private B. Smith (killed in action), Private A. 0. Champness, Private It. A. Kerr, Private L. F. Regnault, Private C. Tidy, Private A. Hint«» G. Osborne, Private S.'

H. Rowe, Gunner E. Wood and Trooper G. S. Kingscote. As the Union Jack was removed the meeting stood and sang the National Anthem, afterwards giving three hearty cheers for their representatives in the firing line. The work of inscribing the names was done by Miss G. Marriott, who. received a special vote of thanks for her services. The secretary, Mr W. Millar, at the request of the meeting, will communicate with each member on the roll of honour, advising him of his retention on the books of the society and of the inclusion of his name among&t those of the members on active service in the great war. LOCAL DEFENCE. Whatever may be said of other units, the fact remains that the Sumner Redcliffs unit is turning out remarkably well and is doing excellent work. Since the unanimous carrying of the resolution at their animal meeting, the majority of the members have : attended parades regularly. This applies -particularly to the Redcliffs ! sections. One and, all are beginning to recognise that the C.D.C. has not played its part in vain, and the men now turn out with the knowledge that, as part of the Territorial force, they are being needed by their country for work that must be done at home. Last Sunday at Redcliffs the men were further instructed in platoon drill i and were heartily congratulated by (both Captain Wilson and Drill-iSer-geant W. A. Smith on the finished work shown. The former stated that recruits would receive every assistance from men and officers and that Sumner was being looked to to provide a batch for next week. He also said that as the unit already possessed a small stock of ammunition, it Avas hoped to do firing on the Redcliifs range during the summer months. A meeting of N.C.O.'s was called for the following Friday, and notices of next week's parade at the Esplanade, Sumi ner, at 8 a.m. were duly distributed. Visiting members of the C.D.C. will be heartily welcomed, by the captain at all parades. RED CROSS CONCERT. The Red' Cross concert was an unqualified success in every way, and the thanks of the committee are due especially to Mr Barnes for his programme, and to Mr J. M'Dowell for ; his donation of a silk flag. This was auctioned during the interval by Mr Jones, assisted by the Mayor, Mr J. B. Laurenson, and, after realising £2O : in bids ranging from £2 2s downwards, was finally bought by Mr T. W. Johnson for £6. The total pro-, ceeds of the concert are expected to reach £35, which sum will place the local committee m a very sound position for some time. SEAMEN'S INSTITUTE. The annual meeting of the Sumner Guild of the Seamen's Institute was held during the week, Mrs G. W. C. Smithson presiding. The' following addressed the gathering Captain J, A. Marciel, Mr J. Millar, Mr F. Anderson, Mr Booth and Mrs Blunt, of the Christclrurch branch. The secre>tary reported receiving fifty Christmas ditty bags, each containing a shilling and a needle book. The election of officers resulted as follows:—President, Mrs G. W. C. Smithson; vice-president, Mrs J. B. Laurenson; secretary, Mrs 11. J. Marriner; treasurer. Mis'? Murley. Hearty votes of thanks were accorded to the Mayor a.nd councillors for the use of the building, to the retiring officers, hospital visitors and the organisers of the concerts at Lyttelton. THE SUMNER BRASS BAND. Under Bandmaster Fenton, the Brass Band gave the second concert of the season last Wednesday evening ou the rotunda at the pier. The items were creditably rendered and were well rev reived. On Sunday week arother performance will be given in the afternoon. To-day the members are assisting in the massed bauds' demonstration parade in aid of the Wounded Soldiers' Fund. ROYAL LIFE SAVING SOCIETY. The annual meeting of the Sunrner Branch of the Itoyal Lite Saving Society was held in the pavilion on Wednesday night. Mr G. W. C. Smithson uas voted to the chair. The annual report and balance-sheet were adopted. Special votes of thanks were passed to Messrs Reece and Sons, Star key and Co.. Congreve and Sons (sanitary fittings), W. H. Price and Sons (alarm ltd!), W~. Carter (pamtinc). Gibbs Bros, (carting), employees of the Borough (vsur.eil. \Y. Winter and the Hon ?T. Larr, for gratuitous assistance during the year. Mr H. Buttle, referring to the success resulting from the present site of 'iiL- dr.<\»-.-ing-sheds, recommended some form of plant decoration for the buildin nv < ;;i< improvement on their presojnev. V•! bare appearance. The ineetni}-. nned with his remarks, and dei-itk'i j<> ask the local Beautifying AsssM-ja'wsi tn act in the matter. The election of officers resulted as iollu\\>::—l' i Mr J. JS. Laurenson; vice-president > Messrs J. M'Comhs, • H. :h riner, C. Dcnham, S. J hirst Seagor. _> ■ H. Bonlton, T. Whitstone, G. \Y. ( . Smithson, 11. Buttle, sen., and F. L Andersen; captain, Mr I. N. Kerr; hon-uary treasurer, Mr E. A. Johnson; honorary 'secretary, Mr W. Millar: committee, Messrs H. Benson, Allender, S, K. La«s,-,ett, G. F Allen* H, MilK-r, W.J.

ander and W. Winter; honorary auditors, Messrs C. T. Middleton and W. S. Heyes. SCHOOL HOLIDAYS. The School for the Deaf expects to commence its Christmas vocation on December 16. Usually the Government sends the children home free of cost, under the proper direction of the members of the staff. Notice has been "Reived, however, that the free carriage of the children cannot this year be undertaken. This has occasioned a great deal of speculation amongst the scholars in residence, and as several lire in the remote corners of the Dominion, it is expected that the Christmas arrangements will have to be considerably modified. SUMNER BANDAGE COMMITTEE. The secretary of the Sumner Bandage Committee reports that the following articles have been forwarded to the depot for the fortnight ending December 4 —Forty-seven four-inch bandages, 26 three-inch bandages, 47 twoinch bandages, 1200 swabs, 60 face cloths, 30 triangular bandages, 160 operation cloths, 40 diet cloths,. 60 bundles 'of medicine cloths, 30 binders, 30 manitail bandages, 8 pairs of socks, 6 pairs of bed socks, and 6 mufflers. The ladies assisting in this work are doing the soldiers a genuine service. AN ANNUAL REPORT. The fourth annual report of the local branch of the Royal Life Saving Society said that, considering the great crisis in the affairs of the nation, and the absence of so many members on active_ service, the affairs of the branch "were ii; a very healthv condition. The membership had 1 been sadly depleted by the splendid response locally to the call to arms from the Motherland. Already two members had answered to the roll call for the last time, and the club's sympathies were extended to the proud relatives of men who had had the honour of keeping the flag flying in a noble cause. The following had also enlisted and would shortly leave for Trentham: Mr F. L, - Anderson, deputy-chairman, and Mr Fred. Lindroos, a member of the committee. During the past season the committe had done its best to patrol the foreshore on public holidays and on Sundays, to such good purpose that not a single drowning fatality resulted. The men s shelter was now close to the pavilion, and the area to be watched was therefore considerably reduced. It was becoming increasingly evident that classes of instruction for adult members would be needed to enable them to fill the places of .the soldier alientees. The committee recommended that the subscriptions of members at the front should be remitted until their return. the year Messrs Allender and Miller waited upon the head centre, and had been successful in obtaining a grant of £ls. The committee inso gratefully acknowledged the vote of £lO givea by the Sumner Borough Council. In 6onclusion, the committee sincerely trusted that members would regularly attend the surf practices, do their share of patrol work, and by dc-, veloping a high standard of efficiency, j assist to prevent tliat loss of life usually accompanying the average bathing ' season. METEOROLOGICAL. The following are the official sunshine records taken at Clifton for the month of November:—Ten hours and over were recorded on eight days, viz., ]

12, 17, 21, 22. 23, 25, 26 and 28; the maximum of .13 hours oO minutes was recorded on 28th and a minimum of 2 hours 20 minutes on 16th. Sunshine was recorded every day during the month. This has not occurred since October, 1914. The total for the month was 244 hours 15 minutes, as compared with 199 hours 40 minutes 'for the same period last year, and the total for the year to'date is 1859 hours 36 minutes as against 2002 hours 60 minutes for 1914. The minimum temperature in the shade for the month was recorded as 45deg Fahrenheit on November 9, and the maximum 78deg Fahrenheit on November 16. The maximum variation was recorded on November 16 as 20deg Fahrenheit, and tbo minimum as 7deg Fahrenheit on November 4. The average maximum for the mouth was (io.4deg Fahrenheit, and the average minimum 51.7deq; Fahrenheit, giving an average variation of 14.7deg Fahrenheit. This is a much highor range than usual. The barometer readings for the month show a minimum "pressure of 29.08 in on November 8. and a maximum pressure of 30.03 in on November 18, in a month of low records. Rain fell in very small quantities on ten days, viz., 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 15, 16, 19, 30, giving a small total of 1.41 in for the month; hail fell on November 19; electric storms passed over on three days 2, 9 and 19; and frost was registered on November 19. No fogs were recorded. Soil temperatures taken at 3 p.m. each Monday, at a depth of 4in, varied from 66deg Fahrenheit to 7Gdeg Fahrenheit in the open, ,iud from 69deg Fahrenheit to 80deg Fahrenheit in a sheltered position with a. northerly aspect. LIFE SAVING REELS. Although the local branch of the Life Saving Society will not be formally opened this year, the reels will bo placed in position and patrol work will be carried on as usual. Children frequently play with these reels and tangle the ropes to such an extent that the apparatus is worthless in case of extreme urgency. Parents and guardians would do well to instruct their families on the uses of these appliances and assist the society by seeing that the reels are always ready for immediate use. CHRISTMAS IS COMING. With the Yuletide festivities approaching local organisations are discussing proposed Christmas activities. On former occasions the band has made its annual appeal for funds at' this time of the year. It is the only appeal it makes and, as it trusts largely to donations at this time for its upkeep of music it has this matter now to consider most carefully. Another organisation proposes to sing carols at the houses of various residents and devote the whole of the proceeds to patriotio purposes. ON SCIENCE BENT.

The members of Ifcbe Christchurch Microscopic Society paid a visit to the rock pools last Saturday afternoon in search of marine specimens, but found tho water conditions not as favourable as was expected. To get the best results, the pools on the outer rocks are examined at a very low tide: and, as the tides vary with local winds and distant storms at sea, fully an hour at times, there is great difficulty in forecasting a time suitable, for their operations. On Saturday, December 11, with low spring tide water at about 2 p.m., it is possible that members may make a more successful venture. SUMNER BURGESSES' ASSOCIATION. Sir H. J. Maynard presided over the monthly meeting last Saturday. There was a moderate attendance. Matters in connection with the causeway were considered to be in good hands, and the tramway board was thanked for placing concession tickets on sale in the township. The meeting expressed a hope that parcel tickets would also be obtainable at the agent's in the near future. THE RISING GENERATION. At a meeting of the Ladies' Miniature Rifle Club, Mr C. J. Treleaven, in emphasising the great value of good shooting, stated that the club might very easily undertake the work of instructing some of the senior scholars of the schools. He himself was prepared to give the matter practical , support. At a meeting of the Life Saving Society Mr Bilson said that there were difficulties in the way of teaching children to swim in the surf and he thought that similar baths to these in use in Australia for children, could be formed by constructing a concrete wall to connect up some of the rocks near the pier. NEXT WEEK. Monday—Special meeting of RedcMs Burgesses' Associaticn committee, am! general meeting at 8 p.m. Tuesday—Permanent Vv ar Fund meets to make arrangements regarding Eiver Carnival, at 7.30. What are tho wild waves saying? "Think of the bargains at Armstrong's Summer Sale.' 1968

a-.m. p.m. Sunday . . 1.47 2.16 Monday . 2.47 3.18 Tuesday . 3.51 4.25 Wednesday . 4.39 5.32 Thursday • , 6.0 6.37 Friday . 7.7 7.36 Saturday . . 8.3 8.30