NORTH CANTERBURY.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 18671, 21 April 1926, Page 3

NORTH CANTERBURY.

KAIAPOT. The annual meeting of parishioneifl of St.. Bartholomew's Church, Kaiapoi, was held in the schoolroom on Monday evening, the vicar, the Rev. J. T. Paddison, presiding over a good attendance. The vicar reported that during the past year there had been -3 baptisms, 19 burials, 13 marriages, and 1- candidates for confirmation. Th-; attendances at the morning services were not satisfactory, but he ' hoped they would improve during the coming year, and he urged the vestry to assist in this matter. He expressed regret at losing Mr G. E. March, vicar's warden, and thanked Mr A. Gordon, who had filled that office during the remainder of the year. He tendered his thanks to all church workers for their loyal support and parishioners for their many kindnesses. He hoped t-o stait special services for young people every fifth Sunday, commencing in May. aiid asked the parishioners to consider the possibility_ of establishing a Church of England primary day school in Kaiapoi. The bal-ance-sheet as read by Mr A. Gordon, showing a credit balance of £B3 12s Gd, was received and adopted. The following officers were elected lor the ensuing year:—Vicar's warden, Mr A. Gordon; parishioners' warden, Mr W. A. Wallace; vestry, Messrs L. C. B. Fuldseth, J. Jowers, W. Clements, F. Griffiths, H. Vaughan, L. Oram, J. Ellmers, R. H. Belcher, C. H. N. Clarkson, and Dr. G; E. Gillett; Church Council, Meedames E. Fear, E. M. Dierce. 0. Best, H. Hemingway, A. R. Butcher, H. W. Childs, F. Griffiths, L. Manning. Misses C. Taylor, M. Goldthorpe, M. Allison. Supper was then served, and whilst it was being partaken of, musical items were contributed. v AMBERLEY. At a. meeting of the Amberley branch of the Mothers' Union there was a good attendance of'members. A short service was conducted by the Rev. E. X. Blakiston in the church; and eleven new members took the oath of admission. An adjournment was then made to the Parish Hall, when Sister Opie, a missionary from Bengal, gave a very interesting address on the liie of women in that country. The Rev. E. N. Blakiston moved a hearty vote of thanks to Sister Opie, after which afternoon tea was dispensed. The committee of the Amberley branch of the Plunket Society held a meeting at the residence of Mrs J. Stratton, the president, Mrs Gordon Fulton presiding. After considerable discussion, it was decided to hold the annual ball early in June. Several offers of help • 'were forthcoming to make this important event a complete success. On Monday morning a number of children from the local, and surrounding schools left on their long-looked-for journey to the Dunedin Exhibition. The party is in charge of Miss Moore and Mr Davison. Keen interest is being displayed in the annual meeting of householders to be held in the school on Monday night. Discussion will take place on the advisability of establishing a swimming bath at the local school, and a good attendance is anticipated. WAIPARA. During the past week very warm, close : weather has again been experienced, with several foggy mornings. . The usual meeting of the WaiparaOmihi branch of the Mothers' Union was held in the Glenmark vicarage. An interesting paper was read by Mrs Fendall, and .afternoon , tea was. dispensed by-the ladies of the Union. A .meeting of the Waipara branch of the Plunket Nursing Division was held in the Publio Hall. There was a good attendance, including the vicepresident (Mrs Fentfall), Mrs N. Davis (secretary), and .Nurse Walker. . An apology Was received for the absence of the president (Mrs A.' Cameron). It was decided to hold a concert and dance about the ,end of May to raise funds for the district quota, and it was also decided to try to obtain the services of the Cheviot Dramatic" Compariy on'that occasion. l One pupil from the local school left to-day to visit the Exhibition in company with the Amberley pupils.. HAWARDEN. Excellent entries have been received for the Waikari Collie Club trials, and added interest will be centred in several imported dogs, who have been nominated to compete against the locally trained ones. It only remains for'the weather to be fine foi" the meeting to bo a- hugo success this year. LEITHFIELD. On Saturday, advantage was taken of the railway excursion to Otii;a, to. take the older pupils of the school on' a geographical and botanising expedition. Cars to convey the pupils to and from, Rangiora were loaned by Messrs J. Rhodes, J. W. Sarich, T. James, H. May, W. Janiieson, and Miss Lloyd.- Several parents and younger children joined the party. Although the ; drizzling rain which fell at Otira curtailed the prospective^activities of the party, it in no way./aaunted the gay spirits of the juveniles, who revelled in the delights of gathering specimens of ferns, lichens, mosses, and leaves of trees. Thanks are due to the school committee for so generously providing the railway fares for the pupils. Weather conditions are favourable for farming activities. Tractors and teams are working strenuously, preparing the ground for cereals. Some ef the recently-sown autumn crops are through, the warm weather after the rain of last week having hastened germination. CUST. . The annual meeting of the Church of England Cemetery Board was held on Monday. The cemetery was inspected and found to be generally in. good order, although some of the grave plots were in rather a neglected state. No burials had taken place during .the year. The year began with accredit of £l4 lis lid, and closed with a credit of £l7 (5s -Id. It was decided to write to some plot-holders drawing their •.attention to the condition of their , plots. OKAIN'S BAY. The Okain's Bay Sports Club held a ball on. Saturday night. The hall proved far too small to accommodate the large number present. .Spirited music was supplied by the Little River Orchestra and several extras by Mrs L. Bailey. During an interval, Mr E. (j. Mason, president of the club, thanked all who had contributed to the suewss of the sports, especially the ladies who had -helped with - the luncheon . and afternoon tea. Ho then presented the cups and trophies. The seven-year-old daughter of Mr and ' Mrs H. D. Muir was severely scalded about the - neck and arms through accidentally overturning a vessel of boiling, liquid. She was attended by Dr. Cowan and taken to the Akaroa Hospital, where" 1 she is progressing favourably.

HORNBY-ISLINGTON. Pending completion of the new cardroom at the Orange Hall, Hornby, the weekly euchre tournaments were brought to a temporary suspension on Saturday evening, the winners being Mesdames Morris, R. Cooke, H. Davj's, and Messrs R. Cooke, R. Motz, and A. Thompson (Prebbleton i. PREBBLETON. Amid most favourable weather conditions, the scholars of the Anglican Sunday School, together with a number of parents and friends, held their annual picnic on Saturday afternoon. The picnic party travelled by motorcars and traps to "Otahuna," the home of the Hon. Sir R. Ileaton Rhodes, M.L.C'., where a most enjoyable day was spent. A shy t programme of sports for the children was carried out, and the visitors also enjoyed the privilege of inspecting the beautiful grounds and gardens of the estate. Mrs J. Hayton, Prebbleton, is at present visiting Gore, where she is staying with her daughter, Mrs De Roo. Mrs T. lynley, of Tawhiti, West Coast, has been paying a short visit to liersister, Mrs L. Gallagher, Prebbleton. Local people visiting the Exhibition just now include Misses Stella Cherry, Doreen Tod, and Kathleen Tod, and Messrs Cecil Gallagher, Bob Longstaffe, and Jim Longstaffe. Mrs T. Lund (Christchurch) is staying with relatives iu Prebbleton. LEESTON. A harvest thanksgiving festival was observed at the Leeston, Brookside, and Killinchy Presbyterian Churches last Sunday. All the churches were decorated, and large congregations attended. A choir of 40 voices led the singing, suitable harvest hymns being chosen. Mr A. S. Mitchell and Misses Gladys Brooks and M. Cunningham were the soloists. The Rev. J. C. Young preached upon the law of harvest. A special appeal made at Leeston and Killinchy for thankofferings produced £lO9. St. James's Anglican Church, Southbridge, and St. John's Church, Leeston, were decorated for the harvest festival. An exchange of pulpits was made, the Rev. 11. G. Hawkins preaching at Leeston, and the Rev. W. Uphill at Southbridge. Mr and Mrs J. Cunningham, of Brookside, arrived back from Dunedin on Monday. HORORATA. The school children who visited the Exhibition last week returned home by special train on Friday afternoon. They report having had a thoroughly happy time, and visited places of interest in Dunedin, as well as the Exhibition itself. They were well looked after during the whole of. the visit. The children were met at Dunsandel and conveyed to their different homes by private car owners. The committee of the Returned Soldiers have completed . the • arrangements for the parade and. memorial service to be held on Anzac Sunday' morning. The parade will leave for the "Memorial Monument" (where the' service will take place), when Padre. H. N. Roberts and others will speak. A euchre party, which was well attended, was held in the hall on Saturday evening in aid of the_ library, and the following were the prize winners: Ladies, • Miss Polly Oliver 1, Miss Oliver 2; men, Mr A. Oliver 1,, Mr W. O'Brien 2.'Consolation prizes: Mrs I). J. Osborun and MrMurfitt. . A friendly game of. football was v played, on the Hororal!a grounds ,be.tweeii! DunsandcL and' Horor&ta on Saturday, and resulted in a win; for Dunsandel by 6 points to 3. The Aurora Australis was clearly visible in the southern skies on Thursday evening, and was very bright for several hours. WEST MELTON. On Friday evening a successful ball was held in the -ial hall to celebrate the official turning on of'the electric light in West Melton. Several dances were held with kerosene lamps for a light. During an interval, Mr A. Lang-dale-Hunt (district member of the Power. Board) took the opportunity to comment on the old style of-light-ing and the present day lighting by electricity. He then stated that Miss Trickett, the oldest resident of _ the district, was to switch on the light, and Mr and Mrs Watson, who are also very old residents, were to accompany her. On Mr Hunt asking Miss Trii.\:ett to switch on the light there was an' outburst of cheering. The speaker then called on Mr Watson (oldest gentleman resident) to say a few words. Mr Watson entertained those present with reminiscences of the early days. Mr Macginness also spoke. The Springs-Ellesmere Power Board had L'enerouslv supplied various coloured light bulbs for the evening. About 80 couples danced to excellent music, supplied bv Wills's Band, and extras were contributed by Mrs W. Hayes an:l Miss J. Thompson. The M.C.'s were Messrs K. C. Powers and Hawke. BURNHAM. The harvest thanksgiving service at the Methodist Church took place on ■Sunday afternoon. The church was appropriately decorated with sheaves of grain, flowers, fruit, and vegetables. The Rev. J. W. Parker, of Springston, preached, and special hymns were sung. Mrs R. Tweed was the organist.