PROVINCIAL NEWS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 205, 30 August 1926, Page 10

PROVINCIAL NEWS.

PAPAKURA. The Papaknra Football and Hockey Clubs held their annual ball in the Paragon Theatre last evening, and it proved a great succese. The floor was in first-class order, and the ballroom was tastefully decorated in the Papakura football colours (black), and girls' hockey red and white). The takings in all were £45, which is a record for a 7/6 double ticket. The music wao supplied by Hume's Orchestra from Pukekohe. and was as usual first-class. Messrs. Wilson, Jamieson, Johnson ably acted as M.C.'s. and the hockey girls waited on weli laden supper tables. The hall, which had only recently been enlarged, provided a fine dancing floor. There were a large number of visitors from Auckland and suburban districts present. TE AROHA.

In a letter to the Borough Council, Mr. C. E. Macmlllan, M.P., wrote enclosing a letter from the Minister of Lands, with regard to the sections Inspected in June last with a view to providing land for workers' homes. It would appear, said Mr. Macmillan. that the Department considered it had reached the irreducible minimum. He had not been able to get a final decision regarding Baines' lease, the land of which the council desired to have vested in a reserve. The Minister wrote:

"I am advised that four sections In the block were disposed of for workers' dwellings, and that the present Government valuations range from £100 to £120 a section. The remaining sections In the block. 1 to 4. 6 to 8, and 12 to 19. were valued at £1140 by the Valuation Department in 1923, and a more recent valuation in April of this year fixes the unimproved value of the sections at £1260, or approximately £9(5 13/ a section. The Commissioner thinks that the value proposed for the sections required by the Borough Council is most reasonable, even for workers' dwellings, and the Land Board could not see Its way clear to recommend the sale to the Borough Council at a less price than asked." The Mayor moved that the matter be referred to the Legal and Finance Committee to make a recommendation to the council. This was agreed to. TAURANGA. Messrs D. A. Ivory and R. D. Kempster have been elected unopposed to fill the vacancies on the Tauranga Borough Council, caused by the recent resignations of Messrs. J. B. Stevenson and J. Martin.

At a special meeting of the Borough Council held on Thursday night the question of the sale of the existing library property and the building of a new library and Electric House Wiring Department's show rooms was discussed. The Act setting aside the present library endowment prevents a sale without special legislation, and the whole matter was referred to the Electricity Committee for a report, with a recommendation that suitable show rooms should be leased for twelve months.

In response to an Invitation from the local Hunt Club, the Waikato Hounds will visit Tauranga on September 21, and meets will take place on September 22, 24 and 27.