LOOKING BACK

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 68, Issue 27, 12 November 1947, Page 4

LOOKING BACK

FIFTY YEARS SYNE (From the “Guardian,” Nov. 12, 1897). Horse Fiend —Mr Joseph Salker’s entire pony “What’s Wanted” was stabbed to the heart in its box between ten and eleven last night at the Christchurch Showgrounds. There is no clue to the perpetrator. . The horse fiend has now taken to poisoning. This morning Mr J. Horler, Riccarton, found the lock wrenched off his stable door, and the valuable stallion, Young Brooklyn, son of Brooklyn, which was stabbed in the same box two years ago, suffering from poison. On Sunday morning, Mr E. Hack, Riccarton, found two dead horses in a paddock, apparently both having been poisoned. At a meeting of the Horse Owners’ Protection Association to-night it was decided to ask the Government to increase the reward from £SO to £IOO for the apprehension of the culprit. V TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO (From the “Guardian,” Nov. 12, 1922). “New Fangled Craze” —One incident in connection with wireless telephony that happened in the city the other morning was scarcely appreciated by the resident in a house, to the wall of which were attached the rods and other gear necessary for carrying the aerial (says the Dunedin “Star”). This gentleman was lying in a warm bath meditating in that comfortable frame of mind that is induced by just the right temperature, when suddenly there came a heavy gust of wind, accompanied by a still more startling crash. The bather sat up and to his astonishment looked out on an unimpeded view of the public highway. The wind, it appears, had caught the aerial, and the strain had torn out the brickwork until a large hole had been made in the wall. The bather was in a quandary. Should he “lie low” and risk being bricked in his bath, or should he reveal himself in puris naturabilis to the crowd of curious people gathered in the roadway? While in this state of indecision, his modesty was preserved by help arriving, and security was attained. But he has no time for the “new fangled craze” of wireless telephony now.