PROVINCIAL NEWS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 306, 28 December 1931, Page 12

PROVINCIAL NEWS.

WAIMAUKU.

The residents of Waikoukou Valley held a Christmas tree party in the tennis club grounds on Xmas Eve. The tennis pavilion was beautifully decotated with nikau palms and lycopodium, and the heavily laden Xmas tree stood in the .centre. Old-fash-ioned Xmas games were played by the children until it was dark and then Santa Claiis arrived- in a motor car, much to the delight of the children. Every child and adult present received a gift from the tree, those for the adults being more humorous than costly.

OPOTIKI.

In moving a vote of sympathy to Mr. ,T. 11. Reifl a board member, at the monthly meeting of the Opotiki Hospital Board, the chairman, Mr. F. J. Short, stated that he understood that the late Dr. A. Reid had left £100 to the hospital. A serious view of the destruction of trout in the Waioeka River was taken by the members of the. Dpotiki County Council at the monthly meeting. The trout are being killed chiefly by means of blasting the-river. The council decided to write to the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Minister of- Public Works asking that drastic action be taken. Mr. Butler said that in the past week or two dead fiSh had been floating down by the sackful. The lease of the Kutarere wharf by the Northern Steamship Company has now been completed. In referring to measures for the emplovment of the unemployed on productive works, the chairman, Mr. J. H. Reid, stated that at Ohiwa Harbour alone there were between 6000 and 8000 acres of good mudflats which could be reclaimed, while development work at Waitakarua, on the East Coast, would also be of a productive nature.

TE ABOHA.

At the examination held at the Technical School for engineering apprentices who sat for their first year mechanical drawing, six candidates out of eight were successful, as follows.—A. H. Hawkins and E. C. Meyer, first class; Rov Margison, second class; R. B. Wcthcrall, A. E. Rogers and Jack Lewis, third class. , , . Although the rates being advanced by dairy companies for butterfat are decidedly lower just now, it is worthy of note that the suppliers to the Te Arolia West factory this week received an advance of 1/0J per lb butterfat for the November supply. As the quantity of milk was large consequent upon the satisfactory" season, many cheques to suppliers were for very satisfactory sums. .. .... The number of visitors to Te Aroha this Christmas compares very favourably with that of recent years, accommodation at the hotels and boardinghouses being fairly well booked up. Many retailers have cause for satisfaction at the volume of trade recorded. Never before lias the town assumed a brighter appearance, for the number of business places shows an increase over last year.